Growing Together Until The Harvest
Sermon
Pentecost Fire
Preaching Community In Seasons Of Change
I once knew this person who had both the blessing and the curse of utter clarity in his life. This person knew — or at least believed with all his heart that he knew — what was right, and what was wrong. Subsequently, he also knew — or at least believed with all his heart that he knew — which people were right and which were wrong. And by extension, this young man also knew — or at least believed with all his heart that he knew — which people were good and which people were bad.
He was a marvel of simple alacrity. He could make decisions with a snap of the fingers. He could even, with fatally flawed logic, argue almost anyone to a stand-still. And he could easily select the people with whom he wished to spend his leisure time. Until, that is, his job forced him to move to a place where almost everyone and everything fit his description of "bad." Suddenly, almost as though directed by a God with a sense of humor, this young man was plopped down in the midst of a neighborhood, into the middle of a community that — according to his understanding and clarity — was bad. The streets were dirty. The people were loud. And the children ran incessantly up and down the sidewalks, causing all manner of racket. There was no telling what was going on behind those doors. No telling indeed.
This guy was really upset. What good is clarity if it's muddied by your surroundings? He really thought he couldn't hack it anymore. Finally, he decided to ask his boss for a move, and if his boss wouldn't grant it, he would just have to take his chances and quit. Enough was enough.
There he was, fuming. There he was, rehearsing his speech to his boss, when all of a sudden that ill-behaved gang of kids came rattling down the sidewalk. One of the leaders among them stepped forward and said, "Hey, mister, we think we found your wallet down the street. Here." The man's mouth dropped open. For indeed there was his wallet. He did have the presence of mind to wait until the children had turned and headed back down the sidewalk. But then he quickly checked. Yes. All the cash was there.
Only moments later a group of friends were sitting there at the scene of the crime that didn't happen, and this person was asked about his transfer request. His answer was this. "If I leave now I might miss a chance to turn those kids around. I guess I can hang in here until the next move comes."
And the parable that Jesus relates in Matthew 13:24-30 tells of weeds that have been planted by an enemy in the midst of good seed. Terrible weeds, deceitfully planted in the dead of night by someone bent on weakening the crops that were promised by the good seeds. It turns out of course that the weeds cannot be pulled without also uprooting the wheat. And so, we let them grow together until the harvest.
Interesting stories, don't you think?
Isn't it interesting how enemies creep in and adulterate the good seed with weeds? Isn't it interesting how someone can get dropped into a field which seems to be weeds, only to learn that maybe this is the prime harvest? Isn't it interesting?
It's important, it seems to me, to acknowledge the multi-faceted truth presented here in these stories. Our gentleman who was blessed, or cursed, with clarity knew — or believed with all his heart that he knew — about good and bad. And he knew — or believed with all his heart that he knew — that he didn't want to be around the things that were bad — until he didn't have a choice.
Now let's get real. Who among us wishes to spend time in the midst of people they don't like? Who chooses to go into situations where they will feel uncomfortable? And who, once forced into the situation, can find even the grudging fortitude to stick it out and harvest a goodness they didn't even know existed? This guy's okay.
And consider for a moment, the farmer whose field has been seeded with weeds by an enemy. The weeds have taken root and cannot be removed without removing the very thing the farmer is trying to grow. So he shrugs and says, "Let them grow together until the harvest."
"Let them grow together until the harvest." Let them be together like our gentleman in the neighborhood he so despised. Let them grow and intertwine with one another until the harvest when the weeds will be collected, tied together, and burned.
In one case we tolerate that which we cannot abide, and as soon as the first opportunity arises, we rip it out and destroy it. Now, for the Christian community of Matthew's time, this story had some specific meaning. There were many different sects, and many different teachers were offering a host of different ideas — weeds if you will — among the good seed.
I know, I know. Last week we said not to attach values or symbols. But this is really a little more than that. The question that comes to us as a contemporary Christian community is how we deal with weeds. Do we let them grow together and then root them out at the harvest? Or do we find ourselves in a field of diversity and difference, and decide grudgingly to hang out for a bit to see what's going on?
Today, sisters and brothers, these questions are before us in much the same way as they confronted the early Church. How do we deal with weeds? How do we confront differences of doctrine and opinion? How do we encounter divergent ideas and teachings? Are we sitting patiently by, waiting to root out that which is different? Are we taking note of the weeds and marking them for the burning? For the Christian community of Matthew's day, that may have been needed. But I wonder if new times might be calling us to new fields and new methods of farming.
Could it be that we might — in today's Church — be a little more like my friend? Could we, in today's Christian community, be in a place where we might need to hang out and see what's going on before we bolt? Before we pull out the weeds and burn them?
What do you think?
Do we live in a world where insisting that Jesus Christ is the only Lord and Savior for all people for all time is a good thing? Can we live in a world where Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior? A world where the love of God in Christ Jesus is real for us, and in a world where Mohammed may speak God's voice to Islam as well?
Are we a people who simply tolerate the differences among us, waiting for a chance to stamp them out? Or are we a people secure in the love of our God, and able to learn from other people's experience of what is holy?
These are big questions; enormous challenges. And some people would wish that they were not upon us. Some people would sit patiently counting the weeds and awaiting the harvest. But I wonder, in faith, if that is truly our call in the twenty-first century. I wonder if, in truth, we are called to wrestle with diversities of faith and doctrine. I wonder if we are called to embrace the struggle of how to live in a shrinking world where people have authentic experiences of God that just might be different and valid.
Can we grow together until the harvest? Can we intertwine our roots? Can we hang around and see what a different neighborhood has to offer? In the love of God in Jesus Christ, let us pray that this is possible. Amen.
He was a marvel of simple alacrity. He could make decisions with a snap of the fingers. He could even, with fatally flawed logic, argue almost anyone to a stand-still. And he could easily select the people with whom he wished to spend his leisure time. Until, that is, his job forced him to move to a place where almost everyone and everything fit his description of "bad." Suddenly, almost as though directed by a God with a sense of humor, this young man was plopped down in the midst of a neighborhood, into the middle of a community that — according to his understanding and clarity — was bad. The streets were dirty. The people were loud. And the children ran incessantly up and down the sidewalks, causing all manner of racket. There was no telling what was going on behind those doors. No telling indeed.
This guy was really upset. What good is clarity if it's muddied by your surroundings? He really thought he couldn't hack it anymore. Finally, he decided to ask his boss for a move, and if his boss wouldn't grant it, he would just have to take his chances and quit. Enough was enough.
There he was, fuming. There he was, rehearsing his speech to his boss, when all of a sudden that ill-behaved gang of kids came rattling down the sidewalk. One of the leaders among them stepped forward and said, "Hey, mister, we think we found your wallet down the street. Here." The man's mouth dropped open. For indeed there was his wallet. He did have the presence of mind to wait until the children had turned and headed back down the sidewalk. But then he quickly checked. Yes. All the cash was there.
Only moments later a group of friends were sitting there at the scene of the crime that didn't happen, and this person was asked about his transfer request. His answer was this. "If I leave now I might miss a chance to turn those kids around. I guess I can hang in here until the next move comes."
And the parable that Jesus relates in Matthew 13:24-30 tells of weeds that have been planted by an enemy in the midst of good seed. Terrible weeds, deceitfully planted in the dead of night by someone bent on weakening the crops that were promised by the good seeds. It turns out of course that the weeds cannot be pulled without also uprooting the wheat. And so, we let them grow together until the harvest.
Interesting stories, don't you think?
Isn't it interesting how enemies creep in and adulterate the good seed with weeds? Isn't it interesting how someone can get dropped into a field which seems to be weeds, only to learn that maybe this is the prime harvest? Isn't it interesting?
It's important, it seems to me, to acknowledge the multi-faceted truth presented here in these stories. Our gentleman who was blessed, or cursed, with clarity knew — or believed with all his heart that he knew — about good and bad. And he knew — or believed with all his heart that he knew — that he didn't want to be around the things that were bad — until he didn't have a choice.
Now let's get real. Who among us wishes to spend time in the midst of people they don't like? Who chooses to go into situations where they will feel uncomfortable? And who, once forced into the situation, can find even the grudging fortitude to stick it out and harvest a goodness they didn't even know existed? This guy's okay.
And consider for a moment, the farmer whose field has been seeded with weeds by an enemy. The weeds have taken root and cannot be removed without removing the very thing the farmer is trying to grow. So he shrugs and says, "Let them grow together until the harvest."
"Let them grow together until the harvest." Let them be together like our gentleman in the neighborhood he so despised. Let them grow and intertwine with one another until the harvest when the weeds will be collected, tied together, and burned.
In one case we tolerate that which we cannot abide, and as soon as the first opportunity arises, we rip it out and destroy it. Now, for the Christian community of Matthew's time, this story had some specific meaning. There were many different sects, and many different teachers were offering a host of different ideas — weeds if you will — among the good seed.
I know, I know. Last week we said not to attach values or symbols. But this is really a little more than that. The question that comes to us as a contemporary Christian community is how we deal with weeds. Do we let them grow together and then root them out at the harvest? Or do we find ourselves in a field of diversity and difference, and decide grudgingly to hang out for a bit to see what's going on?
Today, sisters and brothers, these questions are before us in much the same way as they confronted the early Church. How do we deal with weeds? How do we confront differences of doctrine and opinion? How do we encounter divergent ideas and teachings? Are we sitting patiently by, waiting to root out that which is different? Are we taking note of the weeds and marking them for the burning? For the Christian community of Matthew's day, that may have been needed. But I wonder if new times might be calling us to new fields and new methods of farming.
Could it be that we might — in today's Church — be a little more like my friend? Could we, in today's Christian community, be in a place where we might need to hang out and see what's going on before we bolt? Before we pull out the weeds and burn them?
What do you think?
Do we live in a world where insisting that Jesus Christ is the only Lord and Savior for all people for all time is a good thing? Can we live in a world where Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior? A world where the love of God in Christ Jesus is real for us, and in a world where Mohammed may speak God's voice to Islam as well?
Are we a people who simply tolerate the differences among us, waiting for a chance to stamp them out? Or are we a people secure in the love of our God, and able to learn from other people's experience of what is holy?
These are big questions; enormous challenges. And some people would wish that they were not upon us. Some people would sit patiently counting the weeds and awaiting the harvest. But I wonder, in faith, if that is truly our call in the twenty-first century. I wonder if, in truth, we are called to wrestle with diversities of faith and doctrine. I wonder if we are called to embrace the struggle of how to live in a shrinking world where people have authentic experiences of God that just might be different and valid.
Can we grow together until the harvest? Can we intertwine our roots? Can we hang around and see what a different neighborhood has to offer? In the love of God in Jesus Christ, let us pray that this is possible. Amen.
