Johnny Appleseed

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 9/3/17

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^NRS Mark 4:13 And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? ¹⁴ The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. ¹⁶ And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. ¹⁷ But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. ¹⁸ And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, ¹⁹ but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. ²⁰ And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."

If you stood on the banks of the Ohio River 150 years ago, you might have seen a strange sight floating down the river. Two canoes strung together and piled high with leather bags full of apple seeds. Little children would run home and declare that Johnny Appleseed had come back for a visit and the festivities would begin. A small man dressed in tattered garments wearing his cooking pan as a hat, he made an interesting sight. When he would come ashore he would look for land rich and loamy where he would plant his seeds. He never forgot his planted orchards and year after year he would return to prune them and care for them until he taught those who he came into contact with how to do so. Often taking small amounts of money or bartered goods for the apples, it was not uncommon for him to sell or give away a whole orchard. The stories tell us that he also planted medicinal herbs in areas where doctors were scarce. All he ever asked was a good meal, a place to sleep and the time to share his bible stories which he would give to whomever befriended him. This is a story of a young man who traveled though much of the state of Pennsylvania, Ohio and on into Indiana and Illinois, wearing burlap clothing, carrying a tin cup and planting apple trees along the way. This is the story of Johnny Appleseed! What many do not know is that John Chapman, born in Leominster, Massachusetts in 1774 was real and his story, though possibly magnified over the years is also real. John never married but it is said that he never lacked friends. They included the many settlers who he befriended, the Indians who shared his love of nature and the animals he nursed back to health along the way. It is a true story of a man who gave back to the earth much of what he received in life. No one knows where he is buried, only that he died around the age of 70 somewhere near Fort Wayne Indiana spreading his trees, his love and the love of Christ.

My friends today we come together to learn one of the many parables that Jesus gave us as he tried to teach us the values of life. In this parable there are three types of earth in which the sower of the seeds plants his or her precious seed. Anyone who has farmed knows that seed costs hard earned money so it is important that where they are planted is in an area that they will grow and be fruitful. Our story of John Chapman reminds us that there are apple orchards across Pennsylvania to Illinois to this day that he planted. These trees planted in good soil still bear fruit today, a special reward for a man who also spread the word of God. In the Old Testament, whenever people met God along the way, they built monuments marking the spot. I wonder how many Apple trees mark the spot of a conversion experience in the late 1700’s to the mid 1800’s. You see, John Chapman was an evangelist in this country when primarily Methodist and Baptists were spreading the Gospel of good news throughout the land.

Jesus reminds us that there are four surfaces where seed is often planted, rocky ground, among the thorns and then in rich fertile soil. What would a farmer say about your soil? Are you fertile ground for your faith? What type of soil is in your heart? Those seeds planted on rocky soil never take root because seeds cannot root in rocks. And when the rain comes, the seeds are washed away with the rain water. Often when we harden our hearts and close ourselves to the words we hear, we too become like rocky soil. The words do not sink in and take root; rather the devil washes them away like the spring rains as easily as butter on a hot skillet. What type of soil is in your heart? Jesus tells us that those whose hearts are built like rocky soil may hear the word with great joy, but the moment that trouble presents itself, they immediately fall away. Our jobs as Christians is not easy, we were never promised a rose garden. But we are promised the rainbow after the storm. What type of soil is in your heart?

The second type of soil is one where the seed falls among the thorns. I like this one the best because I think it describes most of us. As we hear the word, we reach out with the rose petals that we want to share with the entire world. We are so joyful over the message that we hear that we reach out to others in an effort to spread the message. But then day by day, we integrate ourselves in the world, accepting and tolerating the way of life around us, wanting to be part of the flow that moves in and around us. And then before we know it, we are just like the rest of the world, flowing like muddy water down the mountain, through the hills and valleys as we make our way into the sea, where we become like grains of sand, lost in the mass of humanity and culture. No longer joyous about the word we heard once, rather we enjoy being a part of the in crowd, one of the guys or girls. If someone were to describe us, they would say that we were one of the guys or one of the girls. What type of soil is in your heart?

When we look in the wild, we find that the beautiful flowers and plants that we enjoy so on the surface are made with branches and thorns below. The thorns protect the flower, but also remind us that in order to reach the flower, you must navigate among things that can hurt you. Our culture is built to force you to fit in, be part of the crowd, be one of the gang. There is no room for folks who are a little different, especially if they threaten the good life. The lure of wealth and desire for material possessions quickly can overcome even the most fervent of the folks who call themselves God’s children. What type of soil is in your heart?

And then we come to the rich soil. The rich soil bears fruit for the first planting and then many plantings, continuing until natural death takes over. But the good fruit born in the rich soil, assures that even in death there is life, as the death of an apple tree bears witness to the many seeds that it has given to the world. It is said that John Chapman left behind one hundred thousand acres of apple trees and medicinal plants. We too become like the apple trees, our fruit becomes the seeds of future trees. What type of soil is in your heart?

The rich soil takes a single seed and blossoms into a tree that over the years of its life has hundreds if not thousands of apples, each with ten to twenty seeds. If we are to multiple our faith walk, like Johnny Appleseed and his apple trees, how many lives could you touch. If your faith is truly built in the riches of soils, the word of God, a spiritual life, and a Christian heart, how many souls could be touched and changed. How many people could one person impact in their lifetime if they spent their lives focused on planting fruit in the rich ground? Ask John! He traveled thousands of miles in an effort to spread more than just seeds. There is the story of another man who spent his life on a horse, traveled an estimated 300,000 miles in his effort to proclaim the good news among the world. It is kind of funny that his years also coincided with John Chapman’s years, 1745 to 1816. At the age of twenty-six he came to America and wrote in his journal, “ Whither am I going? To the new world. What to do? To gain honor? … To get money? No. I am going to live for God, and to bring others to do so.” When his travels were done, the Methodist church in America had grown from 5000 people to 214,000. It is said that Reverend Bishop Francis Asbury lived to preach and win people to Christ. In his later years he had to be removed from the horse, placed on a chair where he could preach and then placed back on his horse. What type of soil is in your heart?

My friends we come today to proclaim the good news that Christ has lived, Christ has died and Christ has risen again to show us that his soil is rich and fervent and full of life. If we would but plant our seeds in his soil, our lives could bear much fruit that would spread among all the earth. One man, one mission, one dream! We see today the results of two men who shared a love for rich soil, for a rich background steeped in the word of Christ and they left behind living reminders of their works. Think what you can do if you would simply plant yourself in the soil of Christ. Johnny Appleseed for all his good, never once watered, nurtured or picked the apples from one of his trees. Rather he spent his whole life planting the seeds that others would harvest. What seeds for Jesus Christ have you planted this week in your community, your workplace or your homes? What type of soil is in your heart?