Monday, August 29, 2011
More Parables
Matthew 13: 31-33 p 795
31Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field;32it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”33He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
This is the word of the Lord…..thanks be to God
The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed- the smallest seed, at least in that part of the world. the kingdom of heaven is like a seed that is so small that you can barely see it, so small that we don’t notice it when it gets mixed in with other seeds, or gets blown on the wind and plants itself in a field. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, that grows into the greatest of shrubs, and keeps on growing, so big, that it stops being a shrub and becomes a tree, a tree for the birds to come and nest in, a tree to take shade under, a tree that grows beyond our wildest imaginations. Except in the Middle East, the mustard seed is a weed, that invades fields and takes over if you don’t pull them out. Last week’s parable warned against trying to pull the weeds growing among the wheat. Sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s wheat and what’s weed, and besides, uprooting weeds may damage the wheat. This parable gives us another truth: maybe what we think are weeds are also the kingdom of heaven.
I guess that means…the kingdom of heaven is like some offensive plant you can’t control, that spreads and grows while we are sleeping. The kingdom of heaven is like weeds that disturb the beautiful, neat rows of corn and wheat, and seems not to care about fences or proper boundaries.
Or, to say it another way, the kingdom of heaven is like yeast—not yeast as we know it, in neat little packets or jars, but yeast that is like sourdough- a bit of wet bread left to sour on the countertop, yeast spores that blow in on the wind, yeast that smells bad, yeast that was considered a corruption, in Jewish thought- but yeast that when hidden in three measures of flour- enough to make bread for 150 people. And the one hiding it in the flour is a woman.
Strange kingdom. It comes from small things: tiny seeds, a small amount of yeast. This kingdom turns things upside down, breaks the rules, makes us feel uncomfortable.
And the kingdom of heaven is active, even when we don’t see it—seeds sprouting in the dark of the earth, even while we sleep. Yeast working when we are away from the kitchen, busy with other things. Unusual kingdom.
Matthew 13: 44-51 p 795
44“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls;46on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.47“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind;48when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad.49So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous50and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.51“Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” And he said to them. “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
This is the word of the Lord……thanks be to God
Perhaps you’ve seen them. The shows about finding treasure where there was no treasure to be seen, sometimes hidden in plain sight. You know them: Antiques RoadShow, Storage Wars. Pawn Stars, History Detectives, and now even a show named Buried Treasure. Perhaps you’ve even wondered if you had any treasures in your own home—and it is certainly what drives the numerous yard sales and garage sales!
Finding treasure, finding something hidden, something precious, is the stuff that dreams and stories are made of. It doesn’t have to be discovered in a sunken pirate ship, or buried on a desert island. Maybe it’s among your Aunt Anna’s castoffs, or tucked away in a cobwebbed corner of your garage or basement.
And hat’s what those tv shows show us. People who find an old Barbie doll, from 1963. A sword from the Civil War. An painting that was said by some in the family to be a Picasso. Things that are new and old. And sometimes it has huge payoff- and sometimes it’s just ordibnary, but people think it’s a treasure just the same, because it sat over Aunt Betty’s sideboard all those years, and was part of every Sunday dinner, and is now part of the family life and lore.
As crazy as it seems, this is what the kingdom of heaven is like.
Jesus says: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure in a field, hidden, which someone found and then hid again—and then in his joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Or the kingdom of heaven is like the pearl of great price—which the merchant, trained in the what makes for an excellent pearl, has seen, one day, amid shovelfuls of pearls, years of pearls- He recognizes this is the one- and he sells all that he has and buys it.
Both the buyer of the field and the merchant recognize something of great worth when they see it, and take action. They give all that they have, risk everything, for that one pearl hidden among others, for the field with its hidden treasure.
The kingdom of heaven is like a nearly invisible mustard seed, like yeast, like buried treasure, like a valuable pearl. God’s kingdom starts small, often in unseen ways, working while we are not even aware. But God’s kingdom and rule is not in some far off place that requires a special map: "X" marks the spot right here, right now, in all the ordinary people and places and activities of our lives. That is the Good News: God’s kingdom is here, and we are part of that kingdom-we are the treasure, we are the pearl of great value. Christ is the one who gave up everything to buy us, to redeem us, by his teaching, his healing, his embodying God’s love even as he died for us. And so we rest, and breathe, and live, knowing that we are claimed by God.
The kingdom of heaven is like a fishing net, which brings in fish of every kind. And hidden among the catch waiting to be sorted are the good eating fish, much like the wheat and the tares in last week’s parable. But what is good and bad? Does good require righteousness? How is that righteousness lived out? How can I ever be good enough?
Fortunately, we are not the ones deciding who is a good fish and who is bad, who is in, who is out- and thanks be to GOD! The kingdom of heaven, like the mustard seed and the leaven, is wild and untamed and in a way uncontrollable—thanks be to God—otherwise, it would look like every other kingdom and realm in the history of the world- but it does not—“and that upsets our boundaries and categories, [as] it grows and spreads and takes root in unexpected ways, in unexpected people, until what we thought we knew is transformed and redeemed by our surprising, invasive, sometimes hidden God.”
Last year, we looked at the book of Revelation, and talked about apocalypse: which means an unveiling, a drawing back of the curtain, a showing of what is hidden, what is actually the real reality. What we have in these parables about the kingdom of heaven is also an apocalypse, a revealing- what seems to be so on the surface is not. And what is hidden is the real truth. The kingdom of God is small, at first, hidden, but active, and growing. The kingdom of heaven is about judgment—good and bad. And the kingdom of heaven is also about ordinary things: weeds, yeast, fields of dirt, somebody at work, fish in the sea, our everyday lives, things old and new, right here and right now.
When asked by Jesus if they understood the parables, the disciples said “yes”. I’m not sure that we can ever fully understand these parables, or understand God. But perhaps our understanding grows, even as seeds grow, as we take things out, old and new, and examine them in our lives, moments when God was made real, when God’s action, God’s rule, previously hidden, is now seen, when we realize we are treasured by God, that we are the fish gathered into God’s kingdom.
The kingdom of heaven doesn’t play by the rules of this world. It is God who is in charge, God who plants, God who stirs things up, God who chooses, God who finds, God who saves. May we have eyes to see and ears to hear the goodness of God, even in our ordinary lives. Thanks be to God.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds
Isaiah 44:6-8 p 587
6Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.7Who is like me? Let them proclaim it, let them declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be.8Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? You are my witnesses! Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one.
This is the word of the Lord…thanks be to God
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 p. 794
24Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field;25but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.26So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.27And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’28He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’29But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.30Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”36Then Jesus left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”37He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;38the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one,39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.40Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,42and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!
This is the word of the Lord…thanks be to God
Last week we heard the parable of the sower and the seeds. The Sower casts wonderously, extravagantly, generously- and the seeds fall where they will.
In this parable, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a field that has been planted—with good seed, we are told, but an enemy creeps in, in the middle of the night, and sows bad seed- tares, or bearded darnel, a weed that looks like wheat, at least on first glance, and is not only a weed, but is poisonous as well.
And the farm hands are given these instructions: don’t pull up the weeds, but leave it, until the harvest. Let them grow together. At the end, at harvest time, the farm owner will have workers collect the weeds, and bundle them, and burn them. But the good seed, the wheat, will be gathered into the barn.
So, the first surprise, at least for me is this-- An enemy sneaks in, at night, and…..sows more seeds? Of all the things an enemy could do, why would they sow seed- why not burn the field? Why not plow salt into it, the way that ancient conquerers did to their enemies.
But this is the way evil enters into our world and our lives…quietly, silently, not with a bang, or even a whimper, but…..without our noticing. While we are sleeping.
In many ways, this parable is about evil—and theodicy, a fancy word for why bad things happen to good people. “You sowed good seed, didn’t you, master?” the slaves ask the house holder. “Where, then, did these seeds come from?” But, much to our dismay and frustration, the house holder never really answers this question. All we get is “an enemy has done this….” Basically, a shrug. It happens, the householder seems to be saying.
The householder doesn’t seem upset, doesn’t seem anxious, doesn’t seem to feel a need to take any action—a this time
And that’s the next surprise—“let the weeds grow up with the wheat.” Really? We in America spend a great deal of time weeding—we pull, we spray, we mulch, we plow between the rows.
And the weeds keep coming back. Maybe that’s why the house holder doesn’t seem too fussed about all this—he knows what weeds are like—persistent. Sneaky. Very clever-the darnel, the weed, looks a lot like wheat. And its roots become entangled with the wheat, some say—so pulling out the weed will also damage the wheat crop.
The householder is wise enough to know to let the weeds grow along with the wheat—because the householder also knows that, in the end, there will come a judgment, and a separating—the weeds to be burned, and the wheat to the storehouse, the barn.
His barn—not just any barn. But it is not those workers, the ones working in the field right now, the ones asking the question of “shouldn’t we DO something?” who will be the ones to gather, and sort, to burn or store.
That will be God.
There is judgment in the Gospel of Matthew. There is a real sense of evil, and sin, in the world and even among the faithful, and judgment. So this passage not only asks about theodicy-why bad things happen to good, “righteous” people, in the faith community, but also asks questions about our selves—
Where does our sin come from? Do we have weeds, or wheat, growing inside us? Will there be judgment—and what will it be like?
Rob Bell, a famous pastor and preacher, at least in the evangelical. Emergent church crowd, famously wrote the book earlier this year “Love Wins”. And he has been hammered for it—for in it, Bell writes that the overwhelming message of God in and through Jesus Christ is love. Not punishment. Not judgment—not eternal fire. Love. And many people did not like that, did not want to hear that.
So what are we to do, then, with this passage?
Jim tells the story of visiting a church in the Czech Republic. During the days of the Cold War, the days of the Soviet Regime, a pastor was holding services. Which was dangerous. To be a believer was not a good thing. And one day, the pastor found a list of names, left on a pew. Someone had been coming to worship, and writing down who was attending church. The pastor had an idea of who the writer might be. Because turning people in to the Soviet sponsored government was one way to get ahead.
But, in the years after, the grip of the Soviet block weakened, and was eventually overthrown. So now, there were files, that were now open to the public. Not only with names of who had been targeted, but also names of the informers. Members of their own congregations! What will the church do? Will the church weed out those who conspired against them? Will the church decide, like South Africa, to live out forgiveness and reconciliation? Will the church wait—knowing that God is our judge? What will the church do?
For this parable is first and foremost a parable about the church. The community of the faithful, gathered in Christ’s name, to worship God. The explanation in the text, given after the parable, is written for the Matthean community—the early church, asking what do we do with people, our own members, who are evil, who are sinful, who disagree with us, who cause trouble, who are hurtful to others—what do we do??
And the less than satisfying answer is “wait”. Wait. Take the long view—because, in the end, it is God who will sort it out. The same God who made the world, who rules over it now, will bring it to completion at the end.
Now, this is not a “don’t worry, be happy” kind of answer. It instead, rests on trust in God. The Psalmist wrestles with the same problem. In Psalm 36, She writes of evildoers: “Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in their hearts….the words of their mouths are mischief and deceit….they plot mischief while on their beds; they are set on a way that is not good….” But the answer is this: “Your steadfast love”, your chesed, your trustworthiness. Lord, extends “to the heavens” that is, it fills the universe. And then, a final plea from the Psalmist to God: “Do not let the foot of the arrogant tread on me, or the hand of the evildoers drive me away.”
The Psalmist knows, as we say “Our help is in the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”
But what are we to do, in this between time? What are we to do, when we want to take action, we want to root out evil, in our hearts, in our communities, in our churches? What are we to do—we want action!
We are to wait: in trust, because we trust God. We are to wait: because we might be mistaken about the difference between what is truly weed, and what is truly wheat. And we are to wait, because digging up the weeds might endanger the wheat.
As you might know, the Presbyterian church has struggled- for a long time about how to deal with our differences. Do we live with others who disagree with us, who think differently from us? Where is the line in the sand? Last year, some major changes were made to the PCUSA Constitution, including those that changed language for those seeking ordination in the church. Faithful people, on both sides of this issue, struggle about when to stay, and when to go- is the church so broken that we need to leave? Is the disagreement between us so large that I cannot in good conscience stand with you? Do we need to root out those who disagree with me?
Many congregations struggle with people who are hurtful—in action, in words, in intent. Where is the line between being the church, the body of Christ, and being hurt and abused? Where is the line in ourselves, between wheat and weeds?
The parable calls us to wait. But in our waiting, we are not to be passive: we are called to grow and thrive. We are called to shine like the sun.
“Bloom where you are planted” is an old saying. I don’t really like it: I think it is too simplistic, too cheery, that it is a quick, Hallmark card kind of answer to what are some of life’s deep and intricate problems.
But, apparently, this is part of what this parable teaches. For this parable is about the kingdom of God—the community of God.
A kingdom that is like a field, in which not just one type of plant grows. Where good and evil exist—at least for a time—together.
I saw a glimpse, a little bit, of what that kingdom looks like. And I saw it at Camp Whitman this past week.
Camp Whitman has been rocked by the death of one of their counselors. He died doing what he loved: snorkeling. And here is the kind of person Graham was: earlier in the summer, Graham had a few campers who were frightened of the water, and had what was for them a scary and difficult experience in the water. Graham asked for extra waterfront time with them, so that that scary experience would not be the way they remembered camp. He wanted them to love the water and camp as much as he did.
But his death has rocked that faith community, causing people to ask why did this happen, and why did it happen to Graham? Where was God in all this? Why wasn’t he saved? Didn’t they pray hard enough? Was Graham not faithful enough? Why did death and evil rear its head at camp, of all places?
And yet-here is where the glimpse of the kingdom of God was. At camp. At talent show night, of all things. The camp had made the decision to go ahead, and try and make this past week as normal a week for the campers- campers of all ages and faith development and races and backgrounds, campers with developmental disabilities, campers with not much talent, frankly, some of them- all were welcomed at the talent show. And there was joy—even in the midst of soul shattering grief, and questions about evil, and God’s action or lack of it.
Those campers sang—and danced—together. They laughed and they hugged, and they all clapped for everyone’s talent- what ever it was. They bloomed where they were planted—even in the midst of death and grief and evil. They shone like the sun. Thanks be to God. Amen
Friday, August 19, 2011
Sermon Aug 14 2011
Isaiah 55:10-13
10For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 12For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the LORD for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9Let anyone with ears listen!”
18“Hear then the parable of the sower. 19When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. 22As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
The Parable of the Sower
Parables are a mystery: they have a twist, a surprise in them. They are like a joke with an unexpected punch-line, which is what makes it funny. And parables use ordinary things, out of everyday lives, to talk about the surprises of God’s kingdom.
Listen: a sower went out to sow. And he sows the seed all over the place willy-nilly, apparently. That’s our first surprise. There doesn’t seem to be much planning, much plotting. In first century Palestine, farmers would scatter the seed first, and then plow the thin soil over it later. So it makes sense that some of the seed would land on rocks, perhaps, or in thorns.
But this doesn’t seem to be a very smart or, at least fortunate, farmer. Most of the seed lands on inhospitable places: some on a well worn path, some on rocky soil, some among the thorns. And that seed fails to thrive – pretty much a total loss. Only a portion falls on good soil. So, in the story, only one out of the four places where the sees lands is any good. Not a very good average. Not a very smart business plan.
In fact, to our ears, the farmer seems wasteful. Seed is expensive, it takes a great deal of effort to plant, and till, and harvest, and even in the best of years farming is risky. So wouldn’t the wise farmer, the prudent farmer, do a better job of sowing seed where there would be a better chance of a good harvest? Even in first century Palestine, surely, the farmer could have been a little more careful with the seed.
Ah- but this is not the Parable of the Wise Farmer. It is not the Parable of the Farmer who planned well. Sometimes this is called the Parable of the Soils.
And that is where we usually enter into this story. Because, in all stories, whether from our childhood, or the books we read, or the stories we see on television, we want to feel connected to the story. Especially in parables, we ask ourselves, “Where am I in this story?”
And this parable is usually told, and preached, and understood, this way: “Which kind of soil are we?” Are we rocky soil where faith never even has a chance to take root? Are success and wealth choking out the word of God in our lives? Are the troubles of life burning, scorching our shallow faith?
This parable is preached this way because that is Jesus’ answer when the disciples ask Jesus what the parable means. And all of those are might be true for us, at different times in our lives. We all, I think, have had times when we felt choked by life, or scorched by life, or alone and vulnerable. Times when we have felt God’s mercy and love was absent, that we were dry and parched, so burdened that nothing could grow in us.
Or perhaps this story about soil is a way of understanding our families. Perhaps that’s another surprise, or at least a puzzle: why is it that so many of us have grown up in families, with brothers and sisters, going to church—and some of us stay, and some of us never darken the door again? Why is it that the same lessons were heard, the same Sunday School classes attended, the same hymns sung, and some hear and bloom, and some do not?
Every year, we have Vacation Bible School. And every year, after the songs have been sung, after the ice cream wrappers have been picked up, after the decorations have come down and the floor has been swept, we say, “Oh, if only we could get those children to come back!” And some of us wonder if it is worth it. If it is working: why do so many come for a week in the summer, and we never see them again, until next summer? Why do their parents show up on Friday in the middle of the day, but they do not come the rest of the year? Why do we put so much time and energy and money into something that is only 20 hours a year out of a child’s life? And many, not just in our churches here, but in many churches are asking if now isn’t the time for VBS to be done. Over with. Certainly, in this technology savvy age, in which even the 7 year olds have cell phones to call their mom at the end of the day, in which nearly every child has access to computers, or at least an X-box or Wii, singing songs, making crafts, doing home science experiments, and racing around on the grass outside just aren’t cutting it. This doesn’t seem to be a very good use of resources and time.
Ultimately, though, parables are not about us. They are about God. They are about the mysteries of God, and about God’s mysterious grace.
And that is the third surprise. This story is about God’s Profligate, overflowing, abounding grace. Not grace that is carefully meted out, nor even grace that is carefully planned in strategic ways. It is about grace that is seemingly wasted. It is about grace that overflows like water, overflowing the edges of the bowl, grace that flows down like might waters, grace that goes everywhere- rocky soils, well worn paths, thorny areas—grace that just goes!
“This parable is not about what good soils we are, and how well we understand the divine mysteries. This is about what God is doing in staggering numbers. …If the return is really a hundredfold, then those bumper crops will flood the market. Everyone will have some, including those with hardened hearts.” It will be like zucchini season- when we’ve got so much, we don’t know what to do with it anymore—so much zucchini that we’ve run out of ways to cook it, so much that we are reduced, as Garrison Keillor says, to sneaking over to our neighbors in the middle of the night and leaving them bags of zucchini on their porch- when they already have all that they could ever need as well.
For look- listen! God’s grace is so overflowing that even the bad soil gets the seed. The logical place to sow seed would certainly be on good soil, or at least soil as good as we could make it. And the logical thing to do would be to sow seed more carefully, on soil that would be guaranteed to gives us a good yield- but that’s not what happens in this story.
“This parable is like a joke, like a riddle—hiding as much as it reveals about God. It leaves us scratching our heads about what this really means, and about the world as we know it, and about what God is up to.
And what God is up to, Always, Always, is about grace. This sower is “a high-risk sower, relentless in indiscriminately sowing seed on all soil—as if it were potentially all good soil….Which leaves us to scratch our heads, and wonder if there is any place or circumstance in which God’s seed cannot sprout and take root.”
The surprise is this: God’s grace goes in places that seem guaranteed not to work. Gods grace gets thrown in places and on people that we might think of as hopeless, lost causes. Because for God there are no lost causes. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. Grace is for people who think they don’t deserve it, cannot be good enough, are so broken God couldn’t-ever-love and forgive them. Isaiah reminds us of this: the word of the Lord, the grace of God, shall not return to me empty, God says. But deserts shall rejoice, and bloom. Grace shall fall on dry places, and barren places, and rocky places, and thorn infested places—and people.
Let us who have ears hear. Amen.
10For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 12For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the LORD for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9Let anyone with ears listen!”
18“Hear then the parable of the sower. 19When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. 22As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
The Parable of the Sower
Parables are a mystery: they have a twist, a surprise in them. They are like a joke with an unexpected punch-line, which is what makes it funny. And parables use ordinary things, out of everyday lives, to talk about the surprises of God’s kingdom.
Listen: a sower went out to sow. And he sows the seed all over the place willy-nilly, apparently. That’s our first surprise. There doesn’t seem to be much planning, much plotting. In first century Palestine, farmers would scatter the seed first, and then plow the thin soil over it later. So it makes sense that some of the seed would land on rocks, perhaps, or in thorns.
But this doesn’t seem to be a very smart or, at least fortunate, farmer. Most of the seed lands on inhospitable places: some on a well worn path, some on rocky soil, some among the thorns. And that seed fails to thrive – pretty much a total loss. Only a portion falls on good soil. So, in the story, only one out of the four places where the sees lands is any good. Not a very good average. Not a very smart business plan.
In fact, to our ears, the farmer seems wasteful. Seed is expensive, it takes a great deal of effort to plant, and till, and harvest, and even in the best of years farming is risky. So wouldn’t the wise farmer, the prudent farmer, do a better job of sowing seed where there would be a better chance of a good harvest? Even in first century Palestine, surely, the farmer could have been a little more careful with the seed.
Ah- but this is not the Parable of the Wise Farmer. It is not the Parable of the Farmer who planned well. Sometimes this is called the Parable of the Soils.
And that is where we usually enter into this story. Because, in all stories, whether from our childhood, or the books we read, or the stories we see on television, we want to feel connected to the story. Especially in parables, we ask ourselves, “Where am I in this story?”
And this parable is usually told, and preached, and understood, this way: “Which kind of soil are we?” Are we rocky soil where faith never even has a chance to take root? Are success and wealth choking out the word of God in our lives? Are the troubles of life burning, scorching our shallow faith?
This parable is preached this way because that is Jesus’ answer when the disciples ask Jesus what the parable means. And all of those are might be true for us, at different times in our lives. We all, I think, have had times when we felt choked by life, or scorched by life, or alone and vulnerable. Times when we have felt God’s mercy and love was absent, that we were dry and parched, so burdened that nothing could grow in us.
Or perhaps this story about soil is a way of understanding our families. Perhaps that’s another surprise, or at least a puzzle: why is it that so many of us have grown up in families, with brothers and sisters, going to church—and some of us stay, and some of us never darken the door again? Why is it that the same lessons were heard, the same Sunday School classes attended, the same hymns sung, and some hear and bloom, and some do not?
Every year, we have Vacation Bible School. And every year, after the songs have been sung, after the ice cream wrappers have been picked up, after the decorations have come down and the floor has been swept, we say, “Oh, if only we could get those children to come back!” And some of us wonder if it is worth it. If it is working: why do so many come for a week in the summer, and we never see them again, until next summer? Why do their parents show up on Friday in the middle of the day, but they do not come the rest of the year? Why do we put so much time and energy and money into something that is only 20 hours a year out of a child’s life? And many, not just in our churches here, but in many churches are asking if now isn’t the time for VBS to be done. Over with. Certainly, in this technology savvy age, in which even the 7 year olds have cell phones to call their mom at the end of the day, in which nearly every child has access to computers, or at least an X-box or Wii, singing songs, making crafts, doing home science experiments, and racing around on the grass outside just aren’t cutting it. This doesn’t seem to be a very good use of resources and time.
Ultimately, though, parables are not about us. They are about God. They are about the mysteries of God, and about God’s mysterious grace.
And that is the third surprise. This story is about God’s Profligate, overflowing, abounding grace. Not grace that is carefully meted out, nor even grace that is carefully planned in strategic ways. It is about grace that is seemingly wasted. It is about grace that overflows like water, overflowing the edges of the bowl, grace that flows down like might waters, grace that goes everywhere- rocky soils, well worn paths, thorny areas—grace that just goes!
“This parable is not about what good soils we are, and how well we understand the divine mysteries. This is about what God is doing in staggering numbers. …If the return is really a hundredfold, then those bumper crops will flood the market. Everyone will have some, including those with hardened hearts.” It will be like zucchini season- when we’ve got so much, we don’t know what to do with it anymore—so much zucchini that we’ve run out of ways to cook it, so much that we are reduced, as Garrison Keillor says, to sneaking over to our neighbors in the middle of the night and leaving them bags of zucchini on their porch- when they already have all that they could ever need as well.
For look- listen! God’s grace is so overflowing that even the bad soil gets the seed. The logical place to sow seed would certainly be on good soil, or at least soil as good as we could make it. And the logical thing to do would be to sow seed more carefully, on soil that would be guaranteed to gives us a good yield- but that’s not what happens in this story.
“This parable is like a joke, like a riddle—hiding as much as it reveals about God. It leaves us scratching our heads about what this really means, and about the world as we know it, and about what God is up to.
And what God is up to, Always, Always, is about grace. This sower is “a high-risk sower, relentless in indiscriminately sowing seed on all soil—as if it were potentially all good soil….Which leaves us to scratch our heads, and wonder if there is any place or circumstance in which God’s seed cannot sprout and take root.”
The surprise is this: God’s grace goes in places that seem guaranteed not to work. Gods grace gets thrown in places and on people that we might think of as hopeless, lost causes. Because for God there are no lost causes. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. Grace is for people who think they don’t deserve it, cannot be good enough, are so broken God couldn’t-ever-love and forgive them. Isaiah reminds us of this: the word of the Lord, the grace of God, shall not return to me empty, God says. But deserts shall rejoice, and bloom. Grace shall fall on dry places, and barren places, and rocky places, and thorn infested places—and people.
Let us who have ears hear. Amen.
Sermon Aug 7 2011
Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21 p. 506
8The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.
14The LORD upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.
15The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
16You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings.
18The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
19He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them.
20The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
21My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.
Matthew 14:13-21 p796
13Now Jesus withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.14When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.15When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”16Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”17They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.”18And he said, “Bring them here to me.”19Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.20And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.21And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
This is the word of the Lord…..thanks be to God
If there was only one story you could tell, what would it be? You know, the kind of story that sums up, in one caption, one illustration, the kind of person a person is? We often tell these stories after someone has died. We heard many stories about Jean this past week. If there was one story we could tell about Jesus Christ, about what God is doing in Jesus Christ, what would we say?
This story, of the feeding of the 5000, is the only story to appear in all of the 4 of the gospels. This story must have meant something deep and wonderful to the early church, a way to explain who Christ was, and what God is like.
I can imagine the disciples telling the story, years after the event: a little embarrassed, perhaps, laughing in that sort of shamefaced way….”well, we were just trying to be practical, you know- it was really late, and the people were a long way from home…and then—and then- Jesus looked at us and said “you give them something to eat…….” And then the smiles began, and perhaps a few tears- “and so, we gave him what we had- which wasn’t much!” and then we took up baskets- large baskets- of leftovers- we started with practically nothing, and there were leftovers- 12 baskets- we each went around and collected what was left over- that’s what I can’t get over- we all ate, and had enough to eat, and there were leftovers after having practically nothing at all!”
What kind of God is God? What kind of Savior is Jesus?
A God who is concerned with us on a bodily level. A God who knows that talk is cheap. That hungry people don’t care about religion—they only want to see that their children get fed.
And a God who calls us to participate in miracles.
Very early in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is in the wilderness, tempted by Satan. And Satan shows him all the stones lying on the ground—“turn these into bread” Satan says. People will follow you, you will be popular, you will rule the world if you can feed them. It was a strategy that was working for the Roman army—bread! The people may not like the oppressors, but at least there was bread!
But in that wilderness, Jesus resisted, turned down Satan’s offer. He did not want to rule by being a “bread king”. Here, out in this wilderness, Jesus sees the crowd, and has compassion. Why feed them now? Perhaps it is this: he turns to the disciples and says: You give them something to eat.
Yikes. 5 loaves and two fish. Not even enough for 12 disciples, much less 5000 men and their families. And yet, they hand it over to Jesus.
And Jesus looks up to heaven, and blesses the bread, and breaks it, and hands it out. And there is enough. More than enough—an overflowing, abundant more than enough. Enough so there are leftovers- 12 baskets of leftovers. Twelve BIG baskets—and the words there mean a surprising abundance, more than expected, more than just enough.
We have talked recently about being co-laborers with God, co-participants with God’s work in the Kingdom. It is true here- Jesus calls the disciples to be part of the solution—“you give them something to eat”. It is a participatory miracle. Jesus intends to bless people through the works of his followers. As someone has said, Jesus could just as easily have made a happy meal—or at least the 1st century version of a happy meal—show up in everybody’s lap, and it would have been just as much a miracle. But that’s not what Jesus did. And it’s not the way God calls us to work in the world as followers of Christ.
The church finds its identity when it participates in the mission of God. We are followers of Christ when we are joining the mission of Christ’s compassion to the world. The church knows who it is and what it is doing when we are involved in doing the work- the compassionate, merciful work—of God. I have a friend who says “be careful what you pray for—because God just might use you to be part of the solution.” Praying about the hungry people? God will move you to help. Concerned about domestic violence? God will find a way to use you.
We feed people here. One Great Hour of Sharing. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. The food pantry, the mobile food truck. Free Friday lunch. The clothing drive. Ask anybody who’s worked those events—how moving it is, to be able to help people. The Food pantry truck was in Burdett last week- the entire truck was emptied in 40 minutes.
But we have to remember it is God who is feeding—and we are hungry, and are fed, as well. In Session this week, we talked about where we find ourselves fed: in church, at this Table, in Sunday School, when we are serving others. In a few minutes we will go to the table, and we will celebrate the gifts of God for the people of God. We will be pass the bread around, just as it was passed in that Galilean wilderness all those years ago. We will be fed with God’s amazing, surprising abundance and grace. We will have leftovers, as well. We will tell the story of what God is like, and how God cares for us through Christ, and how we are to care for the world that God so loves. Amen.
8The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.
14The LORD upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.
15The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
16You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings.
18The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
19He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them.
20The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
21My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.
Matthew 14:13-21 p796
13Now Jesus withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.14When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.15When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”16Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”17They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.”18And he said, “Bring them here to me.”19Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.20And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.21And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
This is the word of the Lord…..thanks be to God
If there was only one story you could tell, what would it be? You know, the kind of story that sums up, in one caption, one illustration, the kind of person a person is? We often tell these stories after someone has died. We heard many stories about Jean this past week. If there was one story we could tell about Jesus Christ, about what God is doing in Jesus Christ, what would we say?
This story, of the feeding of the 5000, is the only story to appear in all of the 4 of the gospels. This story must have meant something deep and wonderful to the early church, a way to explain who Christ was, and what God is like.
I can imagine the disciples telling the story, years after the event: a little embarrassed, perhaps, laughing in that sort of shamefaced way….”well, we were just trying to be practical, you know- it was really late, and the people were a long way from home…and then—and then- Jesus looked at us and said “you give them something to eat…….” And then the smiles began, and perhaps a few tears- “and so, we gave him what we had- which wasn’t much!” and then we took up baskets- large baskets- of leftovers- we started with practically nothing, and there were leftovers- 12 baskets- we each went around and collected what was left over- that’s what I can’t get over- we all ate, and had enough to eat, and there were leftovers after having practically nothing at all!”
What kind of God is God? What kind of Savior is Jesus?
A God who is concerned with us on a bodily level. A God who knows that talk is cheap. That hungry people don’t care about religion—they only want to see that their children get fed.
And a God who calls us to participate in miracles.
Very early in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is in the wilderness, tempted by Satan. And Satan shows him all the stones lying on the ground—“turn these into bread” Satan says. People will follow you, you will be popular, you will rule the world if you can feed them. It was a strategy that was working for the Roman army—bread! The people may not like the oppressors, but at least there was bread!
But in that wilderness, Jesus resisted, turned down Satan’s offer. He did not want to rule by being a “bread king”. Here, out in this wilderness, Jesus sees the crowd, and has compassion. Why feed them now? Perhaps it is this: he turns to the disciples and says: You give them something to eat.
Yikes. 5 loaves and two fish. Not even enough for 12 disciples, much less 5000 men and their families. And yet, they hand it over to Jesus.
And Jesus looks up to heaven, and blesses the bread, and breaks it, and hands it out. And there is enough. More than enough—an overflowing, abundant more than enough. Enough so there are leftovers- 12 baskets of leftovers. Twelve BIG baskets—and the words there mean a surprising abundance, more than expected, more than just enough.
We have talked recently about being co-laborers with God, co-participants with God’s work in the Kingdom. It is true here- Jesus calls the disciples to be part of the solution—“you give them something to eat”. It is a participatory miracle. Jesus intends to bless people through the works of his followers. As someone has said, Jesus could just as easily have made a happy meal—or at least the 1st century version of a happy meal—show up in everybody’s lap, and it would have been just as much a miracle. But that’s not what Jesus did. And it’s not the way God calls us to work in the world as followers of Christ.
The church finds its identity when it participates in the mission of God. We are followers of Christ when we are joining the mission of Christ’s compassion to the world. The church knows who it is and what it is doing when we are involved in doing the work- the compassionate, merciful work—of God. I have a friend who says “be careful what you pray for—because God just might use you to be part of the solution.” Praying about the hungry people? God will move you to help. Concerned about domestic violence? God will find a way to use you.
We feed people here. One Great Hour of Sharing. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. The food pantry, the mobile food truck. Free Friday lunch. The clothing drive. Ask anybody who’s worked those events—how moving it is, to be able to help people. The Food pantry truck was in Burdett last week- the entire truck was emptied in 40 minutes.
But we have to remember it is God who is feeding—and we are hungry, and are fed, as well. In Session this week, we talked about where we find ourselves fed: in church, at this Table, in Sunday School, when we are serving others. In a few minutes we will go to the table, and we will celebrate the gifts of God for the people of God. We will be pass the bread around, just as it was passed in that Galilean wilderness all those years ago. We will be fed with God’s amazing, surprising abundance and grace. We will have leftovers, as well. We will tell the story of what God is like, and how God cares for us through Christ, and how we are to care for the world that God so loves. Amen.
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