... It’s a very comforting parable, because it reminds us
that the Kingdom is not ours – it’s God’s; and therefore, the growth of the Kingdom
is not our responsibility. We are called to participate, but we don’t make it
happen. God does. Which means that we don’t have to be meticulous about understanding
and controlling every aspect of our faith lives the way we are about securing
our homes at night.
But often, when it comes to our discipleship and when it
comes to the church, we feel like we do have to exert that kind of control over
things. We often feel like we do have to keep the doors locked and unwanted
intruders out. We feel like we do have to keep the temperature well-regulated
so no one gets too hot or too cold. And we feel like we do have make sure all
the lights are turned off when we want to sleep, especially that pesky closet
light that shines right in on our pillow.
Now of course I’m not referring to the literal church
building when I make this comparison. This challenge that the Parable of the Growing
Seed gives is not a reminder to the Property Committee to check all the locks
and thermostats and light bulbs. It’s a challenge for all of us to check the
ways in which we are trying to lockdown our faith, be in control of everything,
and keep the Holy Spirit from doing
anything unexpected; versus the ways we can relinquish that control, open
ourselves up to the Spirit, and be surprised by the growth that God is creating.
And what better real-life example of this do we have right
now than an actual garden? I’m referring, of the course, to the Lake Country Community
Garden, which got started this spring and embodies the lessons of today’s
parable. Remember what Jesus said:
“The Kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on
the ground, and would sleep and rise
night and day, and how the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know.” Now
in the literal sense, this parable does not apply to the Community Garden, because
it been planted by experts using sophisticated irrigation and pest control, and
it has been meticulously maintained by a strong team of volunteers.
But in the metaphorical sense, the story of how the Garden
was born is all about the unplanned and uncontrollable growth of God’s Kingdom.
Bill would be happy to share with you the full story; but the way that the idea
was conceived, hit an early roadblock, and then exploded in a different different
direction shows us that this is truly God’s work. We can understand it and control
it no more than we can control the weather. We are simply called to scatter the
seeds, to watch the Kingdom grow as we rise and as we sleep, and then to come
together to enjoy the benefits of the harvest.
Later in the summer, we plan on bringing together all of the
churches who are involved in the Community Garden and with Backpack Buddies – which
is another new ministry that has exploded in unanticipated ways – and having a
special service of thanks and praise to God. When we do this, we will
understand that while it is a good idea to lockdown and secure our homes and
our families each night, it is not such a good thing to try to secure and
control the growth of the God’s Kingdom. May the harvest bring us joy and
peace. Amen.
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