"Sowing the seeds of Love"
Ryan Jensen, Preacher
Gen. 25:19-34; Ps. 119:105-112; Rom. 8:1-11 Matt. 13:1-9,18-23
July 13, 2008
It was about a year ago that I helped lead a week-long confirmation camp for youth. My main responsibility there was to teach and lead during vespers, while my friend Monica directed recreation and music. One of the songs that Monica chose to teach was, “The Fruit of the Spirit” song. Because we sang that song time and again, the words are still, one year later, ringing around in the back of my mind. So it was that when I read the Matthew text and ran across the word, “fruit” that the song came pouring back. Now, I am going to be kind to you by not singing this song… not because it is a bad song, but because I am not very confident in my ability to sing a solo. And being that it took George thirty years and a Gospel Sunday to sing his first, I think that I am pretty well ahead of the curve. The words to the song are:
“The fruit of the spirit's not a coconut;
The fruit of the spirit's not a coconut,
If you want to be a coconut
You might as well hear it,
You can't be a fruit of the spirit.
Cause the fruit are love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
While the fruit changes each verse to watermelon, cherries, bananas and so on, the chorus, of course, remains the same. So it is that by singing this song time and again, that the fruit of the spirit do become firmly lodged in your memory. Many of you can relate to this. Because of singing some of the same hymns year after year, there are times when you don’t need the hymnal. Because you have spent time repeating the words, they come easily to mind.
But what else do we spend our time learning? I can tell you what that will soon look like for me. I confess that a good deal of my time will be spent following college football. Week after week, I will watch games and I will be able to tell you what teams are doing well and what teams will be staying home during the bowl season. Furthermore, (or worse yet), I will follow my school team to the point that I can tell you the names of many of the players as well as the status of their health. And my team does not even have a tradition of winning. I can’t imagine what this means for some of you who follow teams like Alabama or Auburn.
I mention this subject of time in pointing out today’s Gospel text. I think it is easy to read this parable and think that what Jesus is asking for is more of our time. Taking a look at the sower, we find that there are four ways to respond to the Word. The first way is to hear and not understand. To be quite honest, we all fall into this category. Other than God, there is no one who understands all there is to know about scripture. The second way to hear is to hold on to the Word only for a little while. With consideration to this, it’s easy to say the name of God’s Son on Sunday, but perhaps not as easy every other day of the week. The third way is to receive the word and then to break the tenth commandment, which has to do with wanting other people’s stuff. The fourth (and really the only way), is to hear the word of the kingdom, to understand it, and to let it influence and guide our way of living. How else to do this than by increasing our dedication to Scripture and to the church, right?
Jesus wants us to be more like the good soil and to receive the word of the kingdom a little more readily. Jesus wants us to spend more time studying, reading, preaching, and listening to what it is that the Bible has to say. Then, once we have done these things, we should spend even more time sharing God’s word with others. We become good soil and then we work to make good soil out of others. The trouble with this interpretation, though, is that it puts us in the middle of things. The parable becomes less about what Scripture has to say and more about what we are to do with it. Our good buddy John Calvin reminds us, “It is clear that those who are justified by faith are justified apart from the merit of works—in fact, without the merit of works.”1
Okay, then it is not about what we do, it is about faith. But aren’t we supposed to do something with our faith? The interesting thing about the parables of Jesus is that they can never be understood if only given a cursory glance. Even when explained in Scripture like this one is today, parables are difficult to figure out. Take for instance the question of who it is that is sowing in the first place. Looking to the beginning of John’s gospel, we remember that even before the world was created, that the Word was with God and that the Word was God. It therefore stands to reason that in today’s parable, God is the sower. The question we now have has to do with why it is that God would spend God’s time sowing seed on the path and the rocky and thorny ground. Is this not bad stewardship? Again, parables are a little tricky.
I read an article in The Presbyterian Outlook that brought into question the value of short term mission trips. The first line of the article posed the question, “Transformative or tourism?” I took exception to this article because I have led several such trips in the past, not to mention the fact that this congregation hosts these kinds of mission trips. To be fair, the writer was not out to sink our ship. There are, however, those who feel like week-long mission trips are a waste of time. Cited in the article was an example of a day care center in South America that was painted seven times in one summer. Many of us would love this kind of attention! Other arguments against short term mission trips include the thousands of dollars spent getting mission groups to their destination… meaning, this money could be sent directly to the mission field for things like food, shelter and medicine. Others claim that mission teams from the U.S. take away jobs from nationals. The Outlook points out that mission trips can sometimes be confused for tourism and there is an example of one who proclaimed, “We’ve done Mexico. We want to do some place else.” Based on these examples and arguments, we could certainly make a case for keeping our time and money a little closer to home.2
So why do it? Why should we invest in mission and why should we send our youth and ourselves to faraway places? For one, God tells us to do it. We know of the great commission that says, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” It is, however, what happens when we actually go that provides the clue. When we interact with the person next to us in the pew and when we interact with a person on the other side of the globe, a similar thing happens. We communicate. We find out that we have a lot in common. We share a laugh. We discover that our fears and anxieties of the other begin to melt away… Yes, money is vital to mission but it will never replace what happens in these face to face encounters.
This church offers opportunities for these encounters when volunteers serve breakfast to the homeless every weekday morning. In the short time I have been here, I have already witnessed how these meals impact both the server and the one being served. Imagine if all we did was to place food on the table, open the doors, and walk away… leaving the men and women to serve themselves. As I mentioned earlier, this congregation also hosts week-long urban mission camps where youth from all over the country come to live out the Great Commission. They come to learn, to serve, and they will inevitably form relationships with people along the way. And what’s more, when these youth return home, they will energize their churches with stories of discipleship and evangelism. When they grow older, they will remember the importance of mission and will more likely become involved in helping others to do the same.
This week, our church will host a Kids’ Kamp for the children of this community. After the sermon, we will commission those who will work with these children throughout the week. This will either begin or continue the journey of faith for all who participate, both young and old.
There is also the participation of this congregation with the Interfaith Hospitality Network as well as what this organization has accomplished in Mobile and the communities beyond. Because of you, Karen Olsen, and the many other participants, the impact of this service is simply beyond measure.
These are only a few examples of what this church is doing. These are only a few examples of how this church is in relationship with God’s people and God’s creation. This gets back to what the parable of the sower might be all about.
If we think the parable is only about us and our ability to soak in Scripture or our ability to spread the Good News of the Gospel, then we have likely missed the point. If we think that the parable is only about sitting on the side lines and watching God work in the world, then we are also off track. The parable seems to imply that God is inviting us to participate in the life of Jesus the Christ. This invitation is so broad, that God sends it to places where most people will be unable or unwilling to accept it. According to the parable, at least a third will not retain what God is freely offering. Still, God does amazing things. It is not God’s Word that is prone to failure. Even in the worst case, the seed is lying on the path, ready to germinate… ready to be heard and understood.
It is understanding God’s Word that we first must grasp. For some in the Outlook article, this understanding meant realizing that evangelism is everyone’s responsibility and that acts of compassion and speaking the name of Jesus are essential. For those in this congregation, this understanding likely has something to do with the need of the people of downtown Mobile.
Here is where the issue of time enters back into the picture. Discipleship, by its very name, demands that we become a student of what God has to teach throughout the story of creation and time. Thinking about what it means to be on the learning side of things, I’ll tell you a little bit about my experience with gardening. My wife Laura and I recently planted a garden that is sixteen feet long, eight feet wide and one foot tall. Laura’s father was our teacher and we, in a sense, were his disciples. He brought tomato plants, pepper plants, fertilizer, garden tools, and poles for the plants to climb up and around. Those plants are doing very well. This gets to the part where Laura and I decided to plant a few things on our own. Having recently departed the Southwest, we stuck several cilantro seeds into the ground. Each morning, we only find weeds where these plants should be. We tried, without the help of a teacher, to do things on our own. It seemed simple enough. While we remain hopeful that these plants might still come up, it turns out that Laura’s father is a good teacher. He really helped us on our way. The same goes for all things in life. We would be no where without the help of our parents and those who feed and nurture us as children. When we go off to school, there are teachers, counselors, principals, and others who are responsible for our education. In sports, there are coaches. In music, there are instructors. In our professions, there are those who train, supervise, and manage. Throughout life, there are those who show us the way.
When it comes to our faith, we know that God does much more than these kinds of things. God shows us the way and is actively sharing the living Word with all of us. Not just the “good soil”, but with all of us. God does not care so much about our success or achievements. God simply wants us to share in the love that is Jesus Christ. How is it that we are to respond to this?
It is here that I am reminded of women who, when at a wedding reception, gather to catch the bride’s bouquet. Of course, not everyone does this…. some women already have what they are looking for, and some just aren’t looking in the first place. But there are those who will jockey for position, huddling together, trying to discover the best place, the most likely place, where the flowers will land. While there are surely some that participate in this tradition out of a sense of obligation, it is my observation that most do it because they get caught up in the joy and excitement of the moment. It is a response in honoring and celebrating the bride’s new beginning.
How amazing it is when we respond to God in a similar way. As a joyful response, the things of studying, reading, and listening to Scripture take on a new light. We consider these things not in terms of a goal to achieve for our own good, but rather as a way to respond to God’s activity in the world. And it is when our life begins to become a faithful response that life in Christ begins to sink in. Just as with “The Fruit of the Spirit” song, faithful participation as disciples of Christ begins to take root in our mind. Just as with the hymns we know so well, responding to God’s grace and love becomes a part of our heart and our being. The opportunities to respond to God certainly abound in this place. Just come around any time this week to discover how God’s seeds are taking root, and how it is that people are responding and participating as joyful disciples.
_________________________________________
1Calvin’s Institutes, 3.11.18
2The Presbyterian Outlook, vol. 190, no. 22. July 7, 2008. p.10