A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL on Sunday, June 14, 2009
Ezekiel 31: 1 – 6, 10 – 14; Psalm 92: 1 – 4, 11 – 14; II Corinthians 5: 1 – 10; Mark 4: 26 – 34
Put on your thinking caps…..
We have before us two very brief parables of our Lord today. Both use agricultural images (which were quite common in His teaching): One outlines the mysterious beginnings of the kingdom of God, while the other notes the small beginnings of the Kingdom as it grows into a big and glorious planting.
Both parables have as unstated ingredient the soil into which the seeds are planted.
So, here’s the question (and the reason you need your thinking caps):
“What/who/where is the soil into which the kingdom is planted?”
What would your answer be?
Would the soil be:
- The world?
- The nation of Israel?
- Society in general?
- The human mind?
- The human heart?
All of those are possible answers. (There may be more!)
But given the overall thrust of Holy Scripture, we’d have to say that the soil into which the seeds of the kingdom are planted is the human heart and the human mind.
It’s in this way that Jesus could answer the woman at the well in Samaria, who, in response to her question about the proper place to worship, said, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming, and now is, when neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father…But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth…” (John 4: 21, 23)
For, you see, the Kingdom of God is not an earthly kingdom…Jesus affirms this as He stands before Pilate, saying, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 19: 36)
No, God’s kingdom is a kingdom of the spirit, and of the heart, and of the soul, and of the mind.
The Kingdom of God isn’t concerned with buildings, monuments, military victories, or the exercise of power. It isn’t concerned with balance sheets, with levels of taxation and expenditure. It isn’t concerned with passing laws, or with preserving itself. Those qualities mark the kingdoms of this world.
So, if you identified the soil that is the place of God’s planting as being the human heart and the human mind, then we could end this sermon right here and now. We’d agree that the kingdom that God has in mind, and the kingdom that Jesus came to proclaim, and to usher in, is a kingdom whose ultimate realm is in the human heart and the human mind. From these places, as the kingdom is sown in each individual’s heart, the Kingdom of God seeks to change the kingdoms of this world, and even to change everyday life itself.
But to be fair to the text before us today, let’s look a little deeper at the implications of the images Jesus uses today. Let’s draw out the various meanings that we can conclude are part of Jesus’ intent as we look at the images of seed and soil.
And as we do so, we would do well to keep this maxim in mind: “The kingdom of God isn’t all about us…..but it is all about us!”
And so we begin:
Initiative: Notice that God is the one who plants. The initiative is God’s. That is surely so in the sending of Jesus Christ to proclaim and to usher in the kingdom. God has acted in Jesus Christ!
Our role: We, as the soil into which God plants, are indispensible to the process of growing the kingdom. For some odd reason or another, God chooses to use us as His chosen soil, to harbor the seed of the kingdom, and to provide nutrients for its growth from the richness of God’s grace that has been ours to this point in our lives.
Guaranteed growth: The two parables before us today seem to guarantee that growth, tremendous growth, will take place. As I consider this point, I recall the words of Isaiah (55: 10 – 11), which read, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return not thither, but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
The mystery of the coming of the kingdom: Surely the mysterious beginning of the kingdom is the central point of Jesus’ first parable. Oftentimes, growth in spiritual things is only noticed as we look back to see its presence in a person’s life. Think back on your own experience….is there a time (or times) when you said, “Now I understand, now I believe!”? Perhaps so.
One final comment is in order: I said a little while ago that the kingdom isn’t all about us…but it is! That’s my firm belief. You see, God seeks us out, prepares the soil of our hearts and minds, makes it fertile, weeds out the presence of evil, and works with the soil we present to him to enable it to receive the seed of His word. So, in a sense, it is all about us! But in another sense, what God is doing isn’t only for our benefit, but for the benefit of others who will receive the seeds that come from the fields of our hearts. In that sense, it’s all about God and all about others who will receive the seed in due time.
AMEN.
