Proper
6 :: Ezekiel 17: 22–24; Psalm 92: 1–4, 11–14; II Corinthians 5: 6–17; Mark 4:
26–34
This
is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, by Fr. Gene R.
Tucker on Sunday, June 17, 2018.
“OF GROWING
THINGS AND A LIVING FAITH”
(Homily
texts: Ezekiel 17: 22–24 & Mark 4:
26–4)
Let’s
engage in a bit of free association this morning, using our reading from the
Old Testament prophet Ezekiel and our Gospel text, which contains two of Jesus’
parables, as the jumping off point. Both readings have something to do with
growing things
Ezekiel’s
writing takes the image of a twig, which – when broken off – is planted on a mountain
in Israel, where it grows and provides goodness under its boughs. Jesus’ two
parables also have to do with growing things: The first parable describes the
mystery of the growth of seeds that are planted, while the second parable is
the familiar Parable of the Mustard Seed.
Holy
Scripture frequently uses the image of plants, planting and agriculture as a
way to understand God’s goodness and our relationship with Him. For example, in
the Old Testament, Israel is often described as being a vine, planted in a vineyard[1]. In the
New Testament, we read many of the Lord’s parables which use an agricultural
theme.
God’s
people in those ancient times would have been very familiar with the ways of
plants, plantings and agriculture. They, perhaps more than we are capable of
today (because many of us are removed from living a life which is connected to
the ways of farming) could easily identify with the images used. Even though
many in today’s culture aren’t engaged in farming or in growing things, we are
still capable of understanding and appreciating the imagery.
So,
let’s turn our attention to the matters of faith, toward our walk with God,
using the imagery of growing things.
Rootedness: Every plant needs a good root system, which
draws nutrients and water up into the plant, allowing for good growth. The
roots also support the plant when they are firmly anchored in the soil. So,
too, with our life in God, are we dependent upon the foundation for our faith.
That foundation rests on the record of God’s interaction with His people in
times past. The principle source for this foundation is Holy Scripture, for
“God’s word written”, the Bible, consists of the record of God’s moving among
the people He has claimed for His own possession. It is our task to become more
and more rooted in the pages and in the truth of Holy Scripture, drawing
sustenance for our walk of faith today. The foundation that the Bible provides
anchors us in the tradition of God’s people.
The
stem (or trunk) of faith: Many
plants have some way of connecting the leaves of its branches to the root
system which provides nutrients. The Christian faith maintains that that
connection to God’s interacting with humankind is Jesus Christ. For it is He
who came to allow us to dig our roots more deeply into the truths of God as
those truths had been received from the prophets and sages of old. In so doing,
our Lord had to crowd out the corrosive effects of misguided beliefs and
practices as He found them in the time and place in which He came to us: He had
to confront the Pharisees with their legalistic outlook on what a proper walk
with God should look like; and He had to confront the religious authorities of
His day, whose love affair with earthly power and prestige allowed them to collaborate
with the Romans to do away with anyone who dared to confront that power. In so doing, our Lord restored to God’s people a
proper relationship with His Father. He reminded them of the power of God’s
love. He reminded them that God’s deepest desire for His people was that they
would follow God’s commandments out of love, not out of fear of punishment.
Light: It’s no wonder that the creation account we
read in the Book of Genesis, chapter one, tells us that the first thing that
God created was light. All growing things need light in order to grow. We human
beings – along with the animal kingdom – also need light in order to live.[2] The Bible talks a lot about light. Our
Christian walk informs us that the Holy Spirit’s work involves the
enlightenment of the Lord’s people. Jesus said to His disciples, “When the Spirit
of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth…” (John 16: 13b) So the Holy
Spirit enlightens and informs us, allowing us to receive God’s truth as we
receive it from the pages of Holy Scripture.
These
three ingredients of growing things illustrate the ways in which our walk with
God is dependent on the rootedness of our faith, which is grounded in the
record of God’s dealings with humankind in times past. Our walk with God is
also dependent on the strength of the stem or trunk which is Jesus Christ,
whose work connects us to God’s truth. And finally, our walk with God is also
dependent on the light of the Holy Spirit.
These
three things work together, one aspect of them assisting and aiding another, to
build us up in our faith walk.
AMEN.
[1] Some examples are: Psalm 80: 8–15, Isaiah 5: 1–7 and
Jeremiah 12: 10.
[2] Not long ago, I toured a cavern. There,
those of us who were taking the tour were told that, if we stayed in the total
darkness of the cave for a very long period of time (I can’t recall how long
that would take), our eye would lose the ability to see. That’s just one
example of our need for light.
