Seeds of Love

Sermon preached by the Rev. Lowell E. Grisham, Rector
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas
June 14, 2009; 2 Pentecost, Proper 6, Year B
Episcopal Revised Common Lectionary

(Mark 4:26-34) – 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 the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come."

He also said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet 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."

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.
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"The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed..." I would like to combine that opening phrase from today's gospel with another phrase, from 1 John: "God is love." (4:8; 4:16) The seeds that God sows are seeds of love, because God is love.

One of the original images of God is the image of a gardener. Genesis begins one of the stories of creation this way: "And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden..." (2:8) Because God is love, what God does is love; what God plants is love. The kingdom of God is as if God scattered seeds of love.

We see the seeds of love in the other creation story in Genesis. In the process of creation, over and over God looked with love at what God had created, "And God saw that it was good." (1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25) Then after God had created humankind in God's own image, and given the earth to our stewardship, the story says, "God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good."

The seeds of God come to us as God's fundamental love and blessing upon us. God is love, and God loves us. God sees the world God has made and God looks upon humankind, and God declares God's loving acceptance, God's blessing upon us: "It is good."

Now we know ourselves to be not-so-good, don't we? And some of us worry about our not-so-goodness. Will God quit being love? Will God quit being loving and accepting toward us?

The story of Jesus is God's great answer to that question. Will God quit loving and accepting us? "No!" God continues to love us, even when we are at our worst, when we act out of fear and guilt and alienation, even when we act with deadly violence and crucify goodness, God is love.

How can God be this way? Let's expand the seed image into the next mini-parable in today's gospel. "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed... like a mustard seed, ...the smallest of all the seeds."

The smallest of all seeds for humanity, is a little baby. Whenever we see a little child, our universal response is, "Oh! How beautiful!" Every human being has a fundamental acceptance and love for a baby, for a little child, the smallest of all the human seeds.

But what if the child becomes fussy and starts making noise? Maybe even gets angry and furious. We still regard the baby as good and beautiful, don't we? When a child becomes fussy, we know that the child may be hungry and is crying because it wants food. Or maybe the baby is wet and needs a change, some clean diapers. Or sometimes it is just tired and needs some rest. When a baby begins to fuss and acts up, we lovingly look to its needs – feeding, cleansing, inviting rest.

Imagine, if you will, God our Creator/Parent, lovingly regarding us. We are all infants in God's infinite eyes. God looks upon each of us as God's very own child, and God says, "Oh! How beautiful!" And God beams upon us the rays of love – enduring, infinite love.

The story of Jesus shows us God's intention for us, especially when we are at our worst – when we get extremely fussy and angry and we act out. In Jesus, God becomes one of us, one with us. And look what Jesus does. Jesus gives us the gifts that every good parent will give to a child. Jesus feeds us; Jesus cleanses us; Jesus gives us rest. It's what we see in the gospel story of Jesus.

When we are hungry, God in Christ feeds us. The only miracle of Jesus that appears in all four gospels is the feeding of the multitude. Jesus feeds everyone. And the radical hospitality of his table was scandalous in his culture. He ate with peasants and rich tax collectors, with sinners and righteous Pharisees, with women and foreigners. He fed not only their physical hunger, but also their spiritual hunger. Teaching about a God of love, who reaches out with blessing to the poor, blessing to those who mourn, to the meek, and to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. On his last night with his friends, when everything was falling apart, he gave them bread and wine, telling them that they would know him to be present whenever they would do this in remembrance of him. When we are hungry, God in Christ feeds us.

When we are soiled and dirty, sitting in the mess of our own making, God in Christ cleanses us, heals us, and restores us to newness of life. One of the reasons Jesus got in trouble with the Temple officials was that he made forgiveness freely available to all, just for the asking. Instant diaper change. You are clean. The characteristic work of Jesus day after day was his work of healing. Taking our brokenness and restoring us to wholeness. He invited everyone into the way of transformation – from sadness to joy, from guilt to freedom, from brokenness to wholeness, from alienation to communion. When we are soiled and broken, God in Christ cleanses and heals us.

Fed, cleansed, loved, accepted – we are invited into rest. Peace. "Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. My burden is light and my yoke is easy." Christ has already won the victory. We can relax. All is well. You don't have to go anywhere, do anything. You are accepted. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted, as you are. Relax. Rest. Receive Sabbath. When we are weary and tired, God in Christ gives us rest.

Like little babies, we get fussy and cranky and unhappy – when we are hungry, when we are dirty, when we are tired. In the name of Christ, the Church continues doing the same thing that Jesus does.

For the hungry, the Church gives freely the bread of life and the cup of salvation, the food that feeds us with divine life and makes us one in communion with ourselves, with God and with one another.

For the guilty and broken, the Church proclaims God's word and gift of forgiveness, touching us with God's healing presence to reclaim our purity and wholeness as God's own beloved children.

For the tired, the Church invites us into Sabbath rest. Leave the world and rest here a while. Breathe deeply and easily, and simply be, here in the arms of your Creator – embraced, lifted and held in the eternal peace which is your birthright.

Fed, cleansed, rested, we are renewed to go forth into the world rejoicing in the Spirit, to go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

God is sowing seed. Seeds of love. Food for the hungry, cleansing for the soiled, healing for the broken, rest for the weary. But it's all one thing. It is Love. For God is love.

Lest this sound too idealistic and sweet, don't miss the point of the mustard seed. What about the mustard seed? Jesus says, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God...? It is like a mustard seed..." Now, you need to know what Jesus' listeners knew. The mustard seed is a weed. No farmer would want a mustard seed mixed among the plants in his field. And heaven forbid that it would grow so large that the birds would nest and roost in it, nasty birds that will snatch up the farmer's seed and peck at the fruit as it ripens. The mustard seed is a joke. "The kingdom of God is like... a mustard seed!" Jesus the comedian. It's like his parable "the kingdom of God is like leaven." Everyone knows leaven is unclean and corrupting. It's like his story of the good Samaritan. Everyone knows Samaritans are bad. It's like his story of the dishonest steward who was commended for using unclean money to secure friendships.

God's mighty works are among the insignificant and the unclean. God embraces the little seeds and the nasty weeds. The kingdom of God comes to the little, the leperous, and the lost. God is love, and it is the little ones, the hungry, the dirty and the tired who need love most.

We are God's garden. God sows us with seeds of love and declares, "It is good." And even when we become weedy and a shelter for nasty seed-eating birds, God embraces us with a comprehensive love. God's mighty works are among the insignificant and the unclean. Bringing food to the hungry, cleansing to the unclean, healing to the broken, rest for the weary. The gardener is showering you with love. Take, eat. Be cleansed and satisfied. Jesus says, "Come unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."