“A Community Formed by Grace” 2015

Ezekiel 17:22-24 Mark 4:26-32

Ezekiel 17:22-24

Thus says the Lord God: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost of its young twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. Under it every kind of bird will live; in the shade of its branches will nest winged creatures of every kind. All the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord. I bring low the high tree, I make high the low tree; I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I the Lord have spoken; I will accomplish it.

Mark 4:26-32

He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.” He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

The assignment for one of my courses during seminary

was to write about my faith-journey in some detail.

In particular, I was supposed to focus on the story

of how various people influenced my walk with God,

-- and how they helped plant seeds-of-faith in me.

It was a huge job

to go back and reflect on my spiritual development that way,

but it was also a wonderful opportunity and blessing…

… to remember with gratitude, the amazing kindness

and generosity of those whom God brought into my life,

and to think about

the many ways they contributed and supported me…

… and to remember their words of wisdom and faithfulness,

their life-of-faith example that helped form my faith.

As I wrote about

these seed-planters, those guides and influencers of my life,

I realized that most of them probably never even knew

or had any idea that they were being so effective

* and their seed-planting such a blessing to me.

The work of their ministry was mostly ordinary and unspectacular,

and at the time I didn’t fully appreciate

or recognize the importance of their gift.

* I received and I was blessed, but I never really offered thanks.

That seminary assignment was a very helpful and revealing way

to trace some of the spiritual threads of my walk with God,

and consider how those seeds have germinated and grown.

The work of God in our lives, and in this world is truly amazing.

That is some of what’s going on and being described

by the parables that Jesus tells in Mark 4.

These are two “the kingdom is like” stories that are intended

to illustrate what the reign of God really looks like.

In the first story,

a farmer scatters seed, and then gets on with life. vs. 26

The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day.

The point is that the growth just happens.

The farmer isn’t making anything happen or controlling it…

… it just grows and then later on he will harvest.

The farmer’s limited role is emphasized further by noting

that the farmer is clueless about how the growth happens.

vs. 27 and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.

The farmer’s role is to keep on planting seeds,

even when he doesn’t see any immediate results,

or even understand exactly how the growth occurs.

The point is, that we operate by faith, we’re not in control,

but we can trust that God is at work, and will accomplish his word.

The second kingdom parable is a picture of contrast ----

about how tiny and insignificant the mustard seed appears,

and yet can grow into a plant that is large enough

to provide shelter and hospitality to all kinds of birds.

As I dug into this passage, I realized

how odd this parable must have sounded at the time,

for no farmer would have ever sown mustard seed,

any more than you or I

would sow seed to grow ragweed or crabgrass.

Mustard was a pernicious weed that would quickly spread,

take over a field and choke out a farmer’s crop.

The original listeners would have also recognized the phrase,

“birds of the air” from the Old Testament prophetic writings.

Several of the Old Testament prophets described Israel’s role

as a witness to the truth about God before the whole world,

using the image of a tree planted by God where birds

can all make nests in its shade…as in Ezekiel, vs. 23

On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. Under it every kind of bird will live; in the shade of its branches will nest winged creatures of every kind.

So in the first parable, the farmer sows,

and the crop grows without his help or intervention.

In the second parable, the seeds grow like a weed,

into a shrub big enough to have room enough for all.

I think it’s likely that Mark’s parables draw from Ezekiel,

using the same metaphor to describe the Kingdom of God,

a picture of when God’s sovereign and life-giving grace

will finally and fully embrace the whole world …

… which the message of hope, the Good News of Jesus Christ.

 

The writer of Mark who chose to include these parables of Jesus

did so as a reminder to encourage that faith community

in a time of discouragement, need, doubt and loss of hope.

A little about the situation in Mark’s faith community.

On Pentecost the Christian Church began in Jerusalem

and that become the center and core of all Christianity.

Jerusalem is where the original disciples settled in

to preach, teach and wait for the return of Jesus Christ.

But the nation of Israel rebelled against Roman occupation.

The war ended with most of Jerusalem completely destroyed

and all the Jewish people permanently expelled from the city.

The Gospel of Mark was written soon after the rebellion we crushed,

and the Jewish Christians were forced to leave Jerusalem

which helped spread Christianity out into the Roman world.

But for those Christians, the church they had always known was gone

and it was a devastating loss and truth for that faith community.

They struggled to understand, “where is God in all of this?,

and will Christianity even be able to survive without

the familiar church in Jerusalem they had always known?”

In that first parable, they are reassured with a resounding yes,

that the seeds will grow and produce, for God gives the growth.

The parable was intended to be a word of hope and perseverance,

that the seeds will germinate, grow and produce

even without the farmer’s knowledge or intervention.

God’s Kingdom and reign are also like the mustard seed.

The church seems small, weak and insignificant,

but God will bring growth, and it will spread…

… and the Christian church did spread

as it was driven out of the familiar comfort of Jerusalem,

and had to go out and make a home in the empire,

and eventually, even overcame that empire…

…producing branches for all of the birds of the air.

** So what does this mean for us, in our time and situation?

In the last few years, we have experienced incredible change & loss

in our world, nation, culture, denomination, and church …

… and having to adjust to such expected and dramatic upheaval,

it’s easy for us to feel defeated, discouraged and frightened,

and pessimistic about the future, that maybe we’re dying.

That defeatist attitude and perspective can severely undercut

our enthusiasm, passion, sense of hope and dampen our joy …

… and we so need to hear and heed these parables today,

as a reminder that we still belong to God,

who is working out his gracious purpose for our good.

Maybe when things were easy and familiar,

we bought into the illusion that we are in control,

but truly, that has never been the case ---

- in fact our efforts, work and activities become constructive

only when we accept and allow Jesus Christ to take full charge,

for we are called to trust and obey,

and believe that God does know what he is doing…

… and shift our focus away from what we do not have or can’t do

toward learning to appreciate and use well and creatively

whatever time, resources and relationships we do have.

It is easy to find evidence that justifies

feeling crushed, fearful, cynical, bitter and discouraged,

but those are certainly not the truth or message of Christ.

Jesus talks about the Kingdom, as something like a mustard seed,

insignificantly small, but that becomes something great.

Jesus came with a new and hopeful perspective,

about small seeds that produce great results,

and it’s God’s love and grace that makes it so…

* … and we are denying and rejecting God’s promises and call,

if we live as if there were no hope, no purpose, no future.

Part of the Gospel message is to open

our eyes, hearts and minds to new and unexpected possibilities.

God’s Kingdom comes without our striving or making it so,

and maybe beyond and outside the outcome we would expect…

* … but oftentimes, we just don’t see it or notice it.

One time at a Presbytery meeting back in North Carolina,

and our Church Development committee was asking for permission

to rent a small farmhouse near where migrant workers lived,

and to allow an elder from Guatemala to use it

to hold worship services for the workers.

It was late in the afternoon, everyone just wanted to leave.

I was last on the docket and explained our new project,

and our request passed easily without any discussion.

Then the Moderator of the Presbytery looked at me and asked,

“Did we just start a new church?”

* Something significant happened, but most folks hadn’t noticed!

It was a tiny, seemingly insignificant beginning, maybe 20 people,

and at the next Presbytery meeting I came with another request.

We needed to rent a much larger farmhouse, because in just

a few months they had already outgrown that space.

* From the seed of that tiny group of migrants,

God was at work, building and growing into several hundred.

Our task today is to remember who our God is,

to remember and trust God’s steadfast faithfulness and wisdom,

that calls us to pay attention,

to look and notice and connect where God is at work.

God is at work, even when we do not see it or recognize it,

even when we don’t know where, or why or how, and sometimes,

it’s in secret, that the Kingdom unfolds as God intends.

And it is by faith, trust in God, that we can begin to participate,

as by prayer, we can get aligned with God’s Kingdom and purpose,

and become God’s living love and grace in this world.

Together as individual Christians and as the Church,

our task and call is to keep planting seeds of faith,

trusting God to be faithful toward an abundant harvest.

** Our task is also to support the floundering and discouraged,

to be open eyes for those not seeing the hopeful vision.

To those trapped and imprisoned

in the bondage of negative thinking, doubt and disappointment,

we are called remind them, to proclaim truth, the Good News

of God’s grace and hope that overcomes and sustains…

…and with loving compassion,

help catch the failing and falling and hurting.

 

When the Golden Gate bridge was being built in San Francisco,

a number of workers lost their lives

by falling from precariously high positions.

As a result, the work was proceeding slowly, behind schedule.

In 1936, when accidents were increasingly slowing construction,

Joseph Strauss invested over $130,000 in a safety feature:

a net, similar to a circus net, suspended under the bridge.

The safety net extended ten feet wider than the bridge's width

and fifteen feet further than the roadway's length.

It gave workers a sense of security as they moved more freely

and quickly across the slippery, half-constructed steel.

With the security of the net below them,

they could work without the dread of uncertainty

and the pace of construction more than doubled.

We may not be able to see the net below us, but it’s there.

Our security comes from our loving and always faithful,

all-powerful God who protects us every step of the way.

By faith we know that God is working in His Kingdom,

and that is our sense of security, the work of grace,

even when we’re not sure or how God is at work.

Despite all appearances, our fear, doubt or discouragement,

as God spoke and promised through the prophet Ezekiel:

“Thus says the Lord God, you shall know I am the Lord.

I the Lord have spoken, I will accomplish it.

… and you know, that’s good enough for me.