First Lutheran Church
June 13, 2021 + The Third Sunday after Pentecost
Mark 4:26-34. 26[Jesus] said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground,27and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. 28The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”
30He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? 31It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; 32yet 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.”
33With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; 34he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.
Sermon
“Enchanted Soil, Invasive Weeds, and Annoying Birds”
Pastor Greg Ronning
In today’s appointed Gospel Jesus teaches his followers about the Kingdom of God. He begins by comparing it to a farmer who simply scatters seed upon the ground, goes to sleep and rises day after day, only to discover that one day, somehow, it has grown and is ready to harvest. He then offers up a second comparison, the kingdom of God is like a tiny mustard seed, which when sown upon the ground turns into a gigantic bush, large enough for the birds to make nests in it.
As I began to ponder these parables, I couldn’t help but wonder what my grandfather might have thought about them. You see, my grandfather spent his whole life farming in North Dakota. And I can’t help but think he must have thought Jesus was a fool when it comes to farming. These comparisons must have seemed ridiculous to him. Did Jesus really just say, “The Kingdom of God is like a dim witted lazy sleepy farmer, enchanted dirt, an invasive weed, and a flock of annoying troublesome birds?”
That was not how my grandfather understood and lived life as a farmer. He worked hard, he never slept in, he was out on his tractor at the crack of dawn. He rarely left the farm, there was always work to do. And he needed to understand the soil. He didn’t scatter seed and just wait around, he had to work the land, he had to apply fertilizer. He knew which soil was the best soil for each of his crops.
And he had to work hard to keep the weeds out! So why would any farmer ever sow mustard seed? Mustard plants are the enemy of the farmer, that unrelenting weed could destroy a crop if it wasn’t kept in check, eradicated. And then there’s the birds, farmers aren’t big fans of birds, that’s why they invented scarecrows! A large flock of birds might eat the seed before it can grow or eat the kernel of the crop before it could be harvested. Why would anyone, plant a mustard see, let alone allow a mustard seed plant to get so big that it became a home for birds.
My grandfather loved Jesus, but he must have thought Jesus knew absolutely nothing about farming. Farming was hard work, work that never ended, work that demanded skills and knowledge, and work that could never be considered carefree.
So, what is Jesus up to in these counter intuitive parables about the Kingdom of God? It easy to see at first glance that they don’t make much sense in any real-world applications. There is no lesson today that will make you a better farmer, nothing that will help you become a better gardener.
Yet perhaps that’s part of the point, the Kingdom of God“breaks” into our world, turning things upside down, challenging the status quo, questioning perceived realities; and in that disorienting process revealing to us the nature of God, the way of God, the very heart of God. The Kingdom comes to rattle our cages, and in doing so, shake loose that which binds us, setting us free, setting all of us free.
So, let’s take another look at today’s Gospel, let God shake things up a bit, let the Kingdom collide with the world, explore the disconnect, and see what“Word” might be present to bring us life!
Perhaps the Carefree Farmer comes into our life to remind us to slow down, to practice sabbath, to let go and to trust. We may not all be “Type A” people, but we surely live in a “Type A” world. And that often makes all of us victims of workingtoo much, slaves of perfectionism (our own or somebody else’s), and competitors in vicious dog-eat-dog world. Yet that doesn’t have to be our reality. In the end the Carefree Farmer puts their trust in God, in God’s mysterious presence, in the larger picture, in the values of the Kingdom. The Carefree Famer is not under the illusion that they are somehow in control. In this parable, it is not our endeavors, our good works, our knowledge, our spirituality, or our discipline that causes us to grow and thrive in God’s garden; it Is only the constant grace and love of God. Nothing more is needed.
And perhaps that is the enchanted soil, the love of God. When we are planted in such unconditional love, we can’t help but rise up, grow towards heaven, and bear the fruit of the kingdom. When we are planted in poor soil that does not happen, on the path the seed is snatched away by the birds, on the rocky ground without deep roots we fade, amidst the thorns we are choked out. We are reminded to plant ourselves in love, in the love of God. When you have love, experience love, understand such love, nothing more is needed.
In the Carefree Farmer and the enchanted soil,we hear a strong word of grace, however in the parable of the mustard seed that grows up into a giant bush we are challenged by the Kingdom. No matter how you look at it, the Mustard Seed Plant is a weed! And we don’t like weeds. Weeds are a nuisance, an annoyance, a bother, a trouble that needs to be destroyed. Yet Jesus insists that we check this gut reaction and ponder this weed as an invitation to better understand and engage, place ourself in the Kingdom of God.
The Mustard Seed, often described as the smallest of seeds, reminds us once again that God is often present in the most unlikely places, even forgotten and unwanted places. Perhaps Jesus is reminding us of his own origin story, the story of baby born in a lowly stable. Perhaps he is reminding his lowly disciples, a suspect group of fishermen and tax collectors, that the Kingdom of God is within each of them. Perhaps he is reminding us, that God is present with the coming of the kingdom, here and now, in our very own life. Perhaps we are being challenged to look for the sacred, the holy, the beautiful, the heart of God, in something as tiny and insignificant as a mustard seed?
And finally, we have to deal with the birds. This is where today’s parable really challenges me. Once again, while we all love birds, we have to admit that birds and farms and gardens do not go together well. Once again, that’s why we invented scarecrows!Even Jesus concedes this earlier in chapter four, he identifies the birds as agents of Satan snatching away the seeds, the word, that has fallen on the hard soil. The birds seem to be undesirable in this farming context! Yet, the mustard seed plant, attracts, welcomes, and houses them!
One of my favorite theologians Debie Thomas writes, “But Jesus isn't a scarecrow kind of gardener. Why? Because the kingdom of God is all about welcoming the unwelcome. Sheltering the unwanted. Practicing radical inclusion. The garden of God doesn’t exist for itself; it exists to offer nourishment to everyone the world deems unworthy. It exists to attract and to house the very people we’d rather shun. Its primary purpose is hospitality, not productivity.”
The Kingdom of God is like a giant mustard seed bush that attracts and houses those birds that can be annoying, difficult, and even troublesome. Perhaps we are being reminded that the same love and grace that was offered to us in Christ, “while we were yet sinners; ”we are now called to offer to our neighbor, especially our neighbor in need, the neighbor who is different than us, the neighbor who is stranger to us, even the neighbor that is enemy to us. May God grant us such faith, the courage and patience to resist shooing those birds away, and the love of the kingdom to begin to find ways, shape policies, and enact strategic plans to provide for all those in need, especially those deemed undesirable.
Today Jesus offers us nothing helpful when it comes to farming or gardening, but he does reveal unto us the Kingdom of God. In grace and love we are embraced, we are planted in love; and in grace and love he rattles our cages in hopes that the things that binds us will shake loose, and we will be set free to love and to serve, to be a part of the kingdom that is coming, the kingdom that is here.
Hear the good news, you are loved, and in that love, you will grow and bear fruit. And hear this as good news too, God is coming into the world like an uncontrollable weed, God is on the loose reconciling all of creation, bringing us all together in a Kingdom that does not cast out anyone, a kingdom that has a place for everyone. Let us join in the prayer, “May thy Kingdom come, may thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Amen.