Proper 6B 2021 St. John’s Church Hill, Richmond, VA
Ezekiel 17:22-24; Ps. 92:1-4, 11-14; 2 Cor. 5:6-17; Mark 4:26-34
This week I’ve been thinking about St. John’s and my gratitude to Amelie for inviting me to serve as your interim supply priest these past three months as she recovered from back surgery. And, I’ve also been thinking about these parables in Mark. What I’m realizing is that it’s really important to pay attention to the small things. And Jesus must have thought so, too, for he uses something as small as a single seed to describe something as big as the Kingdom of God.
In today’s gospel reading Jesus tells two stories—and both are about seeds. The first is about how a seed, once planted, grows all on its own, without help or assistance. All the gardener has to do is to plant it. As Jesus tells it, the gardener can put the seed in the ground but can’t really do anything about its growing except to mind their own business. The gardener goes to bed at night and gets up in the morning—and then, as commentator Robert Capon imagines, “(the gardener) shops at the supermarket, unclogs the sink, whips up a gourmet supper, plays chamber music with friends, watches the ten o’clock news, and goes to bed again. And they do this and nothing but this, day after day after day—while all along, the seed…sprouts and grows in a way that (the gardener) knows nothing about.”
However, as Mark lets us know, Jesus’ story isn’t a lesson in agriculture. It’s a lesson in how the kingdom of God grows. As Capon points out, this is one of the most startling statements in all of Scripture: Jesus says that just as the earth produces of itself, automatically, so it is with God’s kingdom. If someone cares enough to plant the seed of the kingdom, that’s enough.
Just put the kingdom into the world, Jesus says, put it into any kind of world (and I quote Capon) “not only into a world of hotshot (Christians) or spiritual pros, but into a world of sinners, deadbeats, and assorted other poor excuses for humanity—and it will come up a perfect kingdom all by itself…first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain.” Yes, it may take its sweet time about it, but it will grow.
Plus, take note, in this parable there is not one word about worrying about crop failure, or how we can help the seed along. Nor is there anything about pulling up the weeds and throwing them into the fire. Just plant the seeds of God’s kingdom, Jesus says; take the seeds of justice and peace, welcome and inclusion, generosity and grace, take the seeds of good news about Jesus and lay them gently into the earth’s soil and then stand back, get out of the way and watch a miracle happen—the miracle of kingdom growth.
I don’t know about you, but I find this incredibly freeing. Jesus here is deliberately surprising us with something new to think about, which is: growing the Kingdom of God is not about us. It’s not about how knowledgeable we are about church growth, how experienced we are in teaching or preaching or praying or quoting Scripture. It is not about being creative and innovative. Growing the Kingdom of God, is about God!
We have so little to do with growing the Kingdom of God that we can just go to sleep. In fact, it might be better if we did sleep through the whole thing. By trusting that God is at work we can stop our ceaseless worry and fussing over every little seed: dousing it with pesticide, repotting it, stressing over the amount of sun and water it has or doesn’t have. The kingdom grows, Jesus says, because that’s the nature of the kingdom. And, as Jesus points out, even if we fall asleep, the seed of God’s kingdom will germinate and grow to maturity. Thus, with a sense of humor, one preacher suggests to her congregation, “stop calculating, stop worrying about program design and strategy, stop trying to crunch numbers for the budget, stop fretting over church attendance.” Simply scatter the seeds you have and hit the sack!”
Clearly, human cleverness, being busy and planning frantic activity is not the key to growing God’s Kingdom. Any bright ideas we have on the subject tend to get in the way because the kingdom is not built from bright ideas. The kingdom grows because someone has planted it. That’s our part—and, without that part—well, let’s just say that there won’t be much of a harvest. But, if we sow the seed, we can trust God…the seeds will grow, the harvest will come. God will see to it.
That’s the point of Jesus’ second story, as well. In the second parable, a mustard seed, the smallest of seeds, grows into the largest of shrubs because that’s God’s intention for that seed, that’s God’s promise held in that seed.
So, while our efforts to sow the seed of God’s kingdom may seem insignificant right now, especially as we are coming out of a pandemic and are worn down and wearied by the past year and a half, the promise of the parable of the mustard seed is that the smallest effort, the least kindness, perhaps a single invitation, or one word of mercy, or a solitary moment of grace can grow into something magnificent and wonderful. And, says Jesus, as the seed grows, the resulting mustard shrub “puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” From an insignificant-looking seed comes a lush bush that gives rest and shade to singing birds.
This is a vision of God’s kingdom—born out of God’s love for us, born out of hospitality and harmony, a place of welcome and inclusion, a place of peace and protection, a place of nourishment and rest. And that, my friends, is a vision held in God’s heart for St. John’s—that by countless sowings of kingdom seeds, this church will keep growing into a place of welcome and shalom, healing and hope, justice and peace for all in this community and beyond.
Whether you see it or not, the seeds you are planting are growing: Seeds of ministry with children and families, Seeds of racial justice and reconciliation, Seeds of compassion, welcome, hospitality, caring forgiveness and generosity, Seeds of prayer, formation, study, and service. And, while my time with you is concluding today, I will be curious to see how God’s kingdom continues to grow in this historic place.
Now, I, for one, am going to look for the Kingdom of God in all the small things that happen around me—a smile given, a word of thanks, a helping hand, an open door, an encouraging word. I’m going to practice paying more attention to the people around me, and enjoy the interruptions that come throughout my day. I want to take the time to truly be thankful for the gifts God has given me and my family.
And, I invite you to do the same—to slow down, to take the time to look around and see how the Kingdom of God is flourishing and growing. Pour out all the goodness and kindness, love and mercy, hope and generosity that is within you and scatter these seeds of the Kingdom—in this church, in this community, where you work, where you live, while you’re driving, cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry, changing the baby, working in the garden, speaking to the neighbor.
For, who knows, you just might be surprised to find that God’s Kingdom really has come—right here in Richmond and at St. John’s. And, you didn’t even know it. All you did was plant some seeds. Amen.
Sermon sources: Kingdom, Grace, Judgment, Robert Capon pp. 77-82; commentary in “New Proclamation” pp. 97-100; Preaching the Gospel of Mark by Dawn Wilhelm pp. 77-80; commentary in Feasting on the Word by Wendy Farley pp. 140-44, my 2012 sermon