Seeds And The Kingdom
Preaching
Preaching the Parables
Series II, Cycle B
At this writing the U.S. House of Representatives has just completed its 100 days of legislation on the so-called Contract with America. It was an effort to change quickly a process which was at work through several decades. Some analysts criticize the legislation for having been put together too hastily. It was driven by a desire to demonstrate instant results.
The probability is that the legislation will move through the Senate with more "deliberate speed." The Senate will look more closely to discern whether the legislation will bring with it unintended results. The effects of the proposals may not have been sufficiently considered.
The disciples may well have expected that the preaching and activity of Jesus would produce immediate results in the coming of the kingdom. They may have been impatient for him to bring the kingdom instantaneously. Indeed, among the temptations of Jesus was to try to force the coming of the kingdom by some magical act of power. He made a deliberate choice to go the slower way that is analogous to the planting of seed, allowing it to germinate and eventually grow into the fruit of the harvest.
Jesus frequently drew on the images of farming to illustrate his understanding of how the kingdom develops in history. He had the patience to take the time to let his processes work their way to fruition. He could do so because he was confident that they were in accord with the reality of God's working through life to certain results despite the apparent contradictions when seen in a short-range view.
Context
Context of the Season
We are at the fourth Sunday after Pentecost. It is in the midst of the growing season for much of North America. It is a time of waiting for crops to mature. The seeds were planted earlier. In the Corn Belt the typical farmer would expect the corn to be "knee high by the Fourth of July."
For the church, much of the activity is engaged in the process of cultivating the Christian life. It is the long, steady time between the high events of the church year. What the pastor needs to do is to sustain the development of people's spirituality as they grow in fuller understanding of the life and teachings of Jesus, and as they apply them to their life and the world in which they live.
Context of the Lectionary
The First Lesson. (1 Samuel 15:34-16:13) Samuel had concluded that Saul was no longer qualified to be king. A successor who was more in accord with God's desire for a king over Israel was needed. Fearful of Saul's reaction if he knew what Samuel was doing, Samuel went searching on the pretext of offering a sacrifice. The choice of Saul as king was made at least in part because he was a striking figure and stood head and shoulders above the crowd. Samuel felt that the next choice should be someone with the inner strength of character to be king rather than the size (see 1 Samuel 16:7). After examining each of Jesse's sons, he came to the one whom Jesse thought would be the least likely choice. Saul anointed David as his choice to be the next king.
The Second Lesson. (2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17) Paul would prefer to be free from the limitations of the flesh and to be fully at home with his Lord. Nevertheless he had continuing work to do so he looks at his course from Christ's point of view rather than from the human perspective. Just as Samuel looked at the choice of a king from God's way of evaluating him, Paul looks at the world from the whole new creation which God is seeking to bring into being.
Gospel. (Mark 4:26-34) Jesus tells two parables to help the disciples understand the nature of the coming of the kingdom. It does not enter into history by some divine and spectacular intervention. It comes more like the growth of life from a seed to full maturity. Despite the slow process the results are both large and sure.
Psalm. (Psalm 20) The psalm is one of prayer for help for the king. It ends with assurance that God will support the leader. The psalm connects with the lessons which deal with issues of leadership. It connects with the Gospel reading in the expectation of the two parables that the results of God's kingdom will be great.
Context of the Scripture
The parable of the growth of the seed is one of two which are only found in Mark. Matthew and Luke have other parables that are somewhat similar but not identical.
Mark uses the word "parable" twelve times in his gospel (3:23; 4:2, 10, 11, 13, 33, 34; 7:17; 12:1, 12, 13; 13:28). Ten of the twelve are found in Matthew and Luke. In addition to the one today, another found only in Mark is 13:34-37.
Context of Related Scriptures
Ezekiel 17:23-24 - A twig of cedar planted by God will grow so that every kind of bird will live in its branches.
Daniel 4:10-12 - A vision of a tree so tall its top reached to heaven and birds nested in its branches.
Joel 3:13 - The call to put in the ripened harvest.
Matthew 13:24-30 - The parable of the weeds.
Matthew 13:31-33; Luke 13:18-19 - The parable of the mustard seed.
Matthew 17:20; Luke 17:5 - Faith the size of a mustard seed.
John 4:35-38 - The fields are ripe for harvest.
1 Corinthians 3:6-7 - Various persons plant or water, but God gives the growth.
James 5:7-8 - Be patient as a farmer who waits for the precious crop.
Revelation 14:14-20 - The angels using the sickle for harvest.
Content
Precis (Mark 4:26-34)
A parable is told to illustrate the nature of the kingdom of God. A farmer sows the seed. Then he waits to allow it to germinate, sprout, grow to maturity when it puts forth the heads for grain, and then the head ripens. Only at that point does the farmer again become active by cutting the plants to reap the harvest.
A second parable about the nature of the kingdom of God also comes from agriculture. The kingdom of God begins so small that it is like the smallest of seeds. The seed has within it the coding that results in the growth of a plant large enough so that birds can build nests in it.
Jesus spoke his many parables publicly to large crowds. It was his normal way of addressing them. He explains them fully to his disciples in private. He does this to prepare them for a larger role in leadership later.
Thesis: The coming of the kingdom has the same mysterious but persistent growth characteristic of life.
Theme: Exercise patience and hope in waiting for kingdom results.
Key Words in the Parable
1. "Someone." (v. 26) It is not clear from the parable to whom Jesus referred as the farmer. Is the sower God, Jesus or anyone who proclaims the coming of the kingdom of God? Probably it implies that the sower is any Christian who by word or deed testifies to the presence of the kingdom of God.
2. "Scatter Seed." (v. 26) The seed is the word of God which is made manifest to people. It has to be spread abroad so that others may receive and respond to it.
3. "Sleep and Rise." (v. 27) The point is the length of time for planting to bring results. Kingdom growth is not to be forced. It requires patient waiting for the results to appear.
4. "Sprout and Grow." (v. 27) A seed, once planted, does not immediately produce harvest. The farmer can observe its progress but it takes time before the results come.
5. "The Earth Produces of Itself." (v. 28) The Greek word for "produces of itself" is the same word transliterated in English as "automatic." We do not make seeds grow and produce the harvest. So, too, we scatter the seed. The Holy Spirit is at work producing the results as naturally as seeds sprouting and growing when the conditions are right.
6. "When the Grain is Ripe." (v. 29) Here it is implied that time is not simply chronological. Certain moments are of more significance than others. Results come at the right time.
7. "He Goes in with His Sickle." (v. 29) It is unclear from the parable who reaps the harvest. In other passages in the Gospels, it appears that Christians are to help bring in the harvest. Elsewhere it appears that the harvest is eschatalogical - at the end of time.
8. "A Mustard Seed." (v. 31) The emphasis is on a seed that is small but with large potential. The point is not the value of the seed or the fruitfulness of it, but the contrast of its size with the size of the plant it produces. The mustard seed is not the one from which we get Grey Poupon!
9. "The Smallest of All Seeds." (v. 31) The seed is not actually the smallest of all seeds but was proverbially considered to be so. Any gardener knows that some seeds are so fine that you can hardly scatter them far enough apart to allow proper space to grow. The gardener will mix them with sand so as to "dilute" them.
10. "Birds ... Make Nests in its Shade." (v. 32) Be careful about allegorizing the parable. Some early interpretations saw the branches of the shrub as denominations and the birds as false sects that arose in Christian communities. It is almost certain that the only point Jesus intended was the exaggerated size of the outcome from small and not very pretentious beginnings.
11. "Able to Hear It." (v. 33) Jesus fashioned his message according to the condition of his hearers. He was an expert in mass communication, casting his message in a form that everyone could grasp and remember even if they did not fully comprehend its meaning at the moment.
Contemplation
Issues and Insights
1. The Kingdom and History. Two different views of the nature of the coming of the kingdom in history have developed from this parable. Some would press the image of "first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head" (v. 28) to refer to various dispensations. History moves from the dispensation of Law to the dispensation of Gospel to the dispensation of the Spirit. Law would be the Old Testament or Israel; Gospel would be the New Testament or the church; and the Spirit is the age yet to come and usher in the end of history.
Others would place the emphasis on the automatic nature of the kingdom of God. They see history as evolutionary. Religion moves through a series of stages as mankind understands better what it is about. It started with animism, progressed to polytheism, and on to henotheism until it reached monotheism. We are arriving at the highest stage of understanding with ethical monotheism.
The question is whether both of these are reading more into the parable than Jesus ever intended that should be gotten out of it. If we accept the fundamental principle that a parable is usually to make a single point, should we rather accept that the major teaching was that the kingdom is not coming in spectacular and magical ways? Is it not more of a gradual growth as people come to accept it as the true nature and meaning of human life?
2. The Results Will Come. When one reads the newspapers or watches television, the amount of evil in the world seems to be overwhelming. The news reports catalogue the ills afflicting humankind. They are filled with war, crime, natural disasters, violence, poverty, bankruptcy, sickness and death. It is sometimes hard to find any evidence of the kingdom of God in our midst.
Jesus certainly could look about him in Palestine and see evidence that the kingdom was not very fully realized. Despite his growing popularity, the task of trying to change the circumstances of people seemed overwhelming. Progress toward the establishment of the kingdom seemed very slow. His followers might well have become discouraged.
The parables give both perspective and hope about the nature of the coming of the kingdom. On the one hand, they call for patience while waiting for results to come. A farmer can sow the seed and try to set the conditions to encourage growth. Still, he can only wait for the forces to work automatically according to the nature of the seed and to bring forth life in its own time.
On the other hand, life is persistent. Despite all the obstacles to the fulfillment of life, it is persistent. The results are abundant. Since the very nature of its being accords with what is real and true, the kingdom of God must persist and its results will come.
Therefore the disciples and Christians work with confidence that the kingdom of God is coming. We need not be discouraged in the face of slow progress. The parable calls for continuing to scatter the seed, confident that God will produce the harvest in abundance.
3. Surprises in History. Humble and unlikely beginnings often have amazing results.
Who could have guessed in advance that the actions of a merchant's son who took the vow of poverty and went about the country as a beggar would lead to a movement of spirituality that saved the church for the city in the thirteenth century? St. Francis of Assisi generated a popular movement which still inspires many people.
Who would have guessed that the posting of 95 issues for academic debate about the nature of indulgences would spark a movement known as the Protestant Reformation? It is almost certain that Luther did not anticipate the implications of what he was doing. He probably did not want to break with the medieval church but rather correct it. He certainly could not have conceived of the extent of the consequences of that act.
Did Rosa Parks have any idea of the changes that would be wrought because she refused to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama? The unleashing of the civil rights movement that reached even beyond the issue of race to the place of women in modern society and many other civil rights concerns were not in her mind when she insisted on the simple right of justice.
It was hard to imagine ten years ago that a prisoner serving a life term on Robben Island would lead South Africa to a multi-racial government. All the predictions in the early 1980s anticipated a lengthy and bloody process with an uncertain outcome for that country.
In all these cases the seed fell into fertile soil. The conditions were right for the growth of the kingdom. Where will the seed be planted today in some simple act of faithfulness that will produce large and surprising results by the coming of the kingdom into history?
4. Salvation Includes Growth. Salvation comes both in an immediate sense but also by growth. At some point in life a person must respond directly to God's grace and be formed anew or regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit. At that point life receives a new direction. Instead of being propelled toward death by pride and self-interest, the person now moves in the direction of life and sanctification.
After the seed of the word has been planted and has sprouted, it must continue to grow to produce the stalk, the head and the full grain in the head. That should be an ongoing process of maturation in the Christian life.
In like manner a young church will probably first put its emphasis on calling people to the new life in Christ. As it grows it should move on to add to that thrust the growth in community that shows in its life all the teaching of Jesus, reaching out to manifest the coming of the kingdom of God in all its personal and social relationships.
The church, both in the life of its members and its corporate life, should produce the fruits of proclaiming the gospel, teaching the full implications of it, and healing the ills of evil and injustices around and within it.
Homily Hints
1. The Patient Farmer. (vv. 26-29)
A. Faithfully Sowing the Seed
B. Cultivating Conditions for Growth
C. Waiting for God to Give the Increase
D. Bringing in the Harvest
2. The Harvest Will Come. (v. 29)
What is the activity of the church in putting in the sickle to bring in the harvest? When does it come?
A. Watching for Growth. After proclaiming the Gospel the need is to wait for signs of response.
B. Timing of the Invitation. Persons who are ready to respond need to be invited but not unduly pressured to come into fellowship of the church.
C. Leaving the Final Harvest to God. Judgment about who is ultimately saved is God's prerogative, not ours.
3. The End is in the Beginning. (vv. 31-32)
A. The Beginning Point May be Small. The spoken word may seem insignificant but can be powerful.
B. The Outcome Depends on the Beginning. Only good means serve to bring good results despite apparent consequences otherwise.
C. Hope for the Harvest. Faith includes the trust that God will produce the harvest even when we cannot see far enough to see all the outcomes.
4. Speaking the Word. (vv. 26, 33-34)
A. The Seed Must be Scattered. The word needs to be proclaimed. People need to be confronted with God's claims and promises of grace.
B. Speaking to the People. The level of the message needs to be where the people are.
C. Explaining Everything. As people are ready to receive and understand, Christians should move beyond the simple gospel to the understanding of all things Jesus taught.
5. Expect Great Results. (vv. 31-32)
A. Do we Expect Too Little?
B. Dare to Venture for Large Results.
C. Place Your Trust in God's Outcome.
Contact
Points of Contact
1. An Antidote to Discouragement. Christians may become depressed and discouraged when they pray that God's kingdom will come on earth. If they do not see results of their efforts to live the Christian life and to build the church, they may despair that the gospel is not effective.
The two parables were given to encourage the people of Jesus' time when prospects that the kingdom was coming probably seemed bleak. Again and again in history the coming of the kingdom seems to be losing ground. Governments have exerted great pressures to root out Christianity all the way from the Roman emperors to the Communist regimes of modern times.
Even when the institutional church has become corrupted and it has appeared that the church was going to collapse from within, new movements have generated new life. A recovered vitality has renewed the life of Christians and given the church new influence in the world.
The parables suggest both patience in times of discouragement and hope for great results to come. People need to have the messages of both the parables as an antidote to discouragement and despair.
2. Expectations of Maturity. A frequent question in the church concerns the role of nurture in Christian faith. When should we expect people to be ready to respond to Christ's invitation? How much pressure should you exert on persons to assume the full responsibilities of Christian living?
Children need to be nourished and supported. They need to be prepared for the time when the faith becomes their own. The seed has to be planted and as it sprouts in the life of persons, they need to be supported. At some point the fruit needs to be harvested. Sometimes it becomes almost automatic at a certain age as a rite of passage. Not everyone matures at the same rate, however, or responds in the same way. People need to be confronted with choice, but a danger is that if they feel forced they may go through the motions but the experience may not be real. They then may be "inoculated" against the real thing.
Some people may find certain moments or experiences critical for moving from one stage to another. It may be some experience of illumination when the Holy Spirit makes clear to them another stage for their spiritual development. For some it may be a significant decision which they confront. It may be a career choice, the question of marriage, the birth of a child with its attendant responsibilities. It may be in facing some ethical choice or some personal behavior that needs to be changed.
We should encourage people to consider and celebrate as they grow to maturity. A decisive moment which begins the Christian life is not the final goal. We should expect that growth will be a lifelong process and encourage persons to confront from time to time how they move to greater maturing in Christian living.
3. Looking for the Harvest. God is active in history bringing forth new fruit. Church members can be challenged to look at where new growth is appearing or is needed. If they can exercise faith they can help to move the growth ahead.
Occasionally we become aware of some blind spot that persons or society have. We need to be sensitive to the developments that make the times ready to attack such problems. Church members should look about and try to identify where people are hurting and no one is doing anything about it. They should ask what the equivalents are today for giving sight to the blind, making the lame to walk, releasing the prisoner, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked.
The church has most frequently tackled both personal and social problems. It has noted the hurts and moved to heal and help. The Holy Spirit has helped Christians to realize their full personhood as they have reached out to meet the needs of others. The world needs the harvest of righteousness which changes the conditions that prevent persons from achieving their full possibilities.
4. Postponed Harvest. We live in an age of expectations of instant solutions. We have instant soups, instant coffee and tea, instant TV dinners, and instant solutions to complex problems or situations on television. This mood tends to lead people to want instant gratification.
When society was largely agrarian, people knew that it took time from the planting of seed until the harvest arrived. Results from efforts and activities came slowly. People had to wait for postponed consequences.
Jesus admonished the multitudes and his disciples to act in faithfulness to the will of God even though the results seem to be delayed in coming. The kingdom of God is often hidden in its results. People need to learn to be patient in their hope but trusting that God is in control and active. The harvest is sure and will be plentiful in God's good time.
Illustrative Materials
1. Surprising Harvest. In our garden some tomato plants appeared in the compost heap. We were unaware of having had cherry tomatoes. Nevertheless two or three plants grew, prospered, and produced a substantial crop which we enjoyed. On another occasion a peculiar looking growth appeared on some vines in the midst of our zucchini. To our surprise some very tasty cantaloupes eventually matured on those vines. They apparently grew from seeds in garbage we had buried the previous summer to use as fertilizer. God sometimes causes sprouts to arise and produce fruits where we are unaware of planting seeds!
2. The Miracle of Growth.
A. It is a miracle that in a seed so small as to be invisible to the naked eye encoded DNA carries a message that will produce a human being. The amazing talents of a Mozart, an Einstein, a Madame Curie, or a Florence Nightingale are potential in this small package. All the diversity and riches of human life with its great potential come from such small but very complicated beginnings.
B. The baby panda at birth weighs only about 2.5-5 ounces. It grows to be as much as a 220 pound adult. That is at birth one nine-hundreth of the weight of an adult panda. An elephant can grow from a baby of 200 pounds at birth to a mature animal of up to six tons. A whale weighs about 2.5 tons at birth. An adult blue whale weighs as much as 160 tons and can be 100 feet in length.
3. The Persistence of Life. Despite all that can threaten and destroy it, life is very persistent. We probably do not often think of bacteria as a form of life. Yet it is a life form that constantly struggles to stay alive.
We recently have become aware that tuberculosis has developed resistance to all the antibiotics that scientists have devised. As the bacteria have become resistant to one form of antibiotic, scientists found another to be effective. Each time the bacteria has adapted and some of them escaped to come back resistant and more virulent than before. While we do not like these forms of life, they do illustrate the persistence of life.
In a somewhat similar and surprising way, two children were born of mothers who had the HIV infection. The babies gave evidence of having the infection at birth. Doctors expected that these children would eventually contract AIDS and probably have a short life. Instead, at five years of age these children show no trace of HIV infection. Life shows ability to resist the threat to it.
4. Forcing the Kingdom. People from time to time try to bring the Kingdom of God by force. In the sixteenth century certain self-proclaimed prophets expected God to install his kingdom in the city of Strasbourg. The prophet was imprisoned and the kingdom did not seem to be coming there. Then some of the followers found the city of MŸnster receptive to their preaching. They concluded that they were mistaken both in the place and the way the kingdom was to come. They decided MŸnster was the place and that they should take over the city. They forced those who did not agree to leave the city. When it was attacked by opposing forces they defended it with weapons as they prepared to receive the kingdom. Instead, they were defeated and the attempt ended in disaster. Their fall smeared other peaceful efforts to live the pure Christian life and led any who did so to be suspected of going the way of the MŸnsterites.
The Crusades trying to liberate the Holy Land as God's will for the Christian church resulted in equally disastrous results. The crusaders ended up fighting more among themselves than against the Moslems. Even today much of the so-called "Christian West" activity in intervening in the Middle East and north Africa is branded as a new crusade. Moslems view such activity as another Christian effort to bring the kingdom by force instead of by the slower but more certain way of planting the seed, watching the growth patiently, and waiting for God to bring the harvest.
The probability is that the legislation will move through the Senate with more "deliberate speed." The Senate will look more closely to discern whether the legislation will bring with it unintended results. The effects of the proposals may not have been sufficiently considered.
The disciples may well have expected that the preaching and activity of Jesus would produce immediate results in the coming of the kingdom. They may have been impatient for him to bring the kingdom instantaneously. Indeed, among the temptations of Jesus was to try to force the coming of the kingdom by some magical act of power. He made a deliberate choice to go the slower way that is analogous to the planting of seed, allowing it to germinate and eventually grow into the fruit of the harvest.
Jesus frequently drew on the images of farming to illustrate his understanding of how the kingdom develops in history. He had the patience to take the time to let his processes work their way to fruition. He could do so because he was confident that they were in accord with the reality of God's working through life to certain results despite the apparent contradictions when seen in a short-range view.
Context
Context of the Season
We are at the fourth Sunday after Pentecost. It is in the midst of the growing season for much of North America. It is a time of waiting for crops to mature. The seeds were planted earlier. In the Corn Belt the typical farmer would expect the corn to be "knee high by the Fourth of July."
For the church, much of the activity is engaged in the process of cultivating the Christian life. It is the long, steady time between the high events of the church year. What the pastor needs to do is to sustain the development of people's spirituality as they grow in fuller understanding of the life and teachings of Jesus, and as they apply them to their life and the world in which they live.
Context of the Lectionary
The First Lesson. (1 Samuel 15:34-16:13) Samuel had concluded that Saul was no longer qualified to be king. A successor who was more in accord with God's desire for a king over Israel was needed. Fearful of Saul's reaction if he knew what Samuel was doing, Samuel went searching on the pretext of offering a sacrifice. The choice of Saul as king was made at least in part because he was a striking figure and stood head and shoulders above the crowd. Samuel felt that the next choice should be someone with the inner strength of character to be king rather than the size (see 1 Samuel 16:7). After examining each of Jesse's sons, he came to the one whom Jesse thought would be the least likely choice. Saul anointed David as his choice to be the next king.
The Second Lesson. (2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17) Paul would prefer to be free from the limitations of the flesh and to be fully at home with his Lord. Nevertheless he had continuing work to do so he looks at his course from Christ's point of view rather than from the human perspective. Just as Samuel looked at the choice of a king from God's way of evaluating him, Paul looks at the world from the whole new creation which God is seeking to bring into being.
Gospel. (Mark 4:26-34) Jesus tells two parables to help the disciples understand the nature of the coming of the kingdom. It does not enter into history by some divine and spectacular intervention. It comes more like the growth of life from a seed to full maturity. Despite the slow process the results are both large and sure.
Psalm. (Psalm 20) The psalm is one of prayer for help for the king. It ends with assurance that God will support the leader. The psalm connects with the lessons which deal with issues of leadership. It connects with the Gospel reading in the expectation of the two parables that the results of God's kingdom will be great.
Context of the Scripture
The parable of the growth of the seed is one of two which are only found in Mark. Matthew and Luke have other parables that are somewhat similar but not identical.
Mark uses the word "parable" twelve times in his gospel (3:23; 4:2, 10, 11, 13, 33, 34; 7:17; 12:1, 12, 13; 13:28). Ten of the twelve are found in Matthew and Luke. In addition to the one today, another found only in Mark is 13:34-37.
Context of Related Scriptures
Ezekiel 17:23-24 - A twig of cedar planted by God will grow so that every kind of bird will live in its branches.
Daniel 4:10-12 - A vision of a tree so tall its top reached to heaven and birds nested in its branches.
Joel 3:13 - The call to put in the ripened harvest.
Matthew 13:24-30 - The parable of the weeds.
Matthew 13:31-33; Luke 13:18-19 - The parable of the mustard seed.
Matthew 17:20; Luke 17:5 - Faith the size of a mustard seed.
John 4:35-38 - The fields are ripe for harvest.
1 Corinthians 3:6-7 - Various persons plant or water, but God gives the growth.
James 5:7-8 - Be patient as a farmer who waits for the precious crop.
Revelation 14:14-20 - The angels using the sickle for harvest.
Content
Precis (Mark 4:26-34)
A parable is told to illustrate the nature of the kingdom of God. A farmer sows the seed. Then he waits to allow it to germinate, sprout, grow to maturity when it puts forth the heads for grain, and then the head ripens. Only at that point does the farmer again become active by cutting the plants to reap the harvest.
A second parable about the nature of the kingdom of God also comes from agriculture. The kingdom of God begins so small that it is like the smallest of seeds. The seed has within it the coding that results in the growth of a plant large enough so that birds can build nests in it.
Jesus spoke his many parables publicly to large crowds. It was his normal way of addressing them. He explains them fully to his disciples in private. He does this to prepare them for a larger role in leadership later.
Thesis: The coming of the kingdom has the same mysterious but persistent growth characteristic of life.
Theme: Exercise patience and hope in waiting for kingdom results.
Key Words in the Parable
1. "Someone." (v. 26) It is not clear from the parable to whom Jesus referred as the farmer. Is the sower God, Jesus or anyone who proclaims the coming of the kingdom of God? Probably it implies that the sower is any Christian who by word or deed testifies to the presence of the kingdom of God.
2. "Scatter Seed." (v. 26) The seed is the word of God which is made manifest to people. It has to be spread abroad so that others may receive and respond to it.
3. "Sleep and Rise." (v. 27) The point is the length of time for planting to bring results. Kingdom growth is not to be forced. It requires patient waiting for the results to appear.
4. "Sprout and Grow." (v. 27) A seed, once planted, does not immediately produce harvest. The farmer can observe its progress but it takes time before the results come.
5. "The Earth Produces of Itself." (v. 28) The Greek word for "produces of itself" is the same word transliterated in English as "automatic." We do not make seeds grow and produce the harvest. So, too, we scatter the seed. The Holy Spirit is at work producing the results as naturally as seeds sprouting and growing when the conditions are right.
6. "When the Grain is Ripe." (v. 29) Here it is implied that time is not simply chronological. Certain moments are of more significance than others. Results come at the right time.
7. "He Goes in with His Sickle." (v. 29) It is unclear from the parable who reaps the harvest. In other passages in the Gospels, it appears that Christians are to help bring in the harvest. Elsewhere it appears that the harvest is eschatalogical - at the end of time.
8. "A Mustard Seed." (v. 31) The emphasis is on a seed that is small but with large potential. The point is not the value of the seed or the fruitfulness of it, but the contrast of its size with the size of the plant it produces. The mustard seed is not the one from which we get Grey Poupon!
9. "The Smallest of All Seeds." (v. 31) The seed is not actually the smallest of all seeds but was proverbially considered to be so. Any gardener knows that some seeds are so fine that you can hardly scatter them far enough apart to allow proper space to grow. The gardener will mix them with sand so as to "dilute" them.
10. "Birds ... Make Nests in its Shade." (v. 32) Be careful about allegorizing the parable. Some early interpretations saw the branches of the shrub as denominations and the birds as false sects that arose in Christian communities. It is almost certain that the only point Jesus intended was the exaggerated size of the outcome from small and not very pretentious beginnings.
11. "Able to Hear It." (v. 33) Jesus fashioned his message according to the condition of his hearers. He was an expert in mass communication, casting his message in a form that everyone could grasp and remember even if they did not fully comprehend its meaning at the moment.
Contemplation
Issues and Insights
1. The Kingdom and History. Two different views of the nature of the coming of the kingdom in history have developed from this parable. Some would press the image of "first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head" (v. 28) to refer to various dispensations. History moves from the dispensation of Law to the dispensation of Gospel to the dispensation of the Spirit. Law would be the Old Testament or Israel; Gospel would be the New Testament or the church; and the Spirit is the age yet to come and usher in the end of history.
Others would place the emphasis on the automatic nature of the kingdom of God. They see history as evolutionary. Religion moves through a series of stages as mankind understands better what it is about. It started with animism, progressed to polytheism, and on to henotheism until it reached monotheism. We are arriving at the highest stage of understanding with ethical monotheism.
The question is whether both of these are reading more into the parable than Jesus ever intended that should be gotten out of it. If we accept the fundamental principle that a parable is usually to make a single point, should we rather accept that the major teaching was that the kingdom is not coming in spectacular and magical ways? Is it not more of a gradual growth as people come to accept it as the true nature and meaning of human life?
2. The Results Will Come. When one reads the newspapers or watches television, the amount of evil in the world seems to be overwhelming. The news reports catalogue the ills afflicting humankind. They are filled with war, crime, natural disasters, violence, poverty, bankruptcy, sickness and death. It is sometimes hard to find any evidence of the kingdom of God in our midst.
Jesus certainly could look about him in Palestine and see evidence that the kingdom was not very fully realized. Despite his growing popularity, the task of trying to change the circumstances of people seemed overwhelming. Progress toward the establishment of the kingdom seemed very slow. His followers might well have become discouraged.
The parables give both perspective and hope about the nature of the coming of the kingdom. On the one hand, they call for patience while waiting for results to come. A farmer can sow the seed and try to set the conditions to encourage growth. Still, he can only wait for the forces to work automatically according to the nature of the seed and to bring forth life in its own time.
On the other hand, life is persistent. Despite all the obstacles to the fulfillment of life, it is persistent. The results are abundant. Since the very nature of its being accords with what is real and true, the kingdom of God must persist and its results will come.
Therefore the disciples and Christians work with confidence that the kingdom of God is coming. We need not be discouraged in the face of slow progress. The parable calls for continuing to scatter the seed, confident that God will produce the harvest in abundance.
3. Surprises in History. Humble and unlikely beginnings often have amazing results.
Who could have guessed in advance that the actions of a merchant's son who took the vow of poverty and went about the country as a beggar would lead to a movement of spirituality that saved the church for the city in the thirteenth century? St. Francis of Assisi generated a popular movement which still inspires many people.
Who would have guessed that the posting of 95 issues for academic debate about the nature of indulgences would spark a movement known as the Protestant Reformation? It is almost certain that Luther did not anticipate the implications of what he was doing. He probably did not want to break with the medieval church but rather correct it. He certainly could not have conceived of the extent of the consequences of that act.
Did Rosa Parks have any idea of the changes that would be wrought because she refused to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama? The unleashing of the civil rights movement that reached even beyond the issue of race to the place of women in modern society and many other civil rights concerns were not in her mind when she insisted on the simple right of justice.
It was hard to imagine ten years ago that a prisoner serving a life term on Robben Island would lead South Africa to a multi-racial government. All the predictions in the early 1980s anticipated a lengthy and bloody process with an uncertain outcome for that country.
In all these cases the seed fell into fertile soil. The conditions were right for the growth of the kingdom. Where will the seed be planted today in some simple act of faithfulness that will produce large and surprising results by the coming of the kingdom into history?
4. Salvation Includes Growth. Salvation comes both in an immediate sense but also by growth. At some point in life a person must respond directly to God's grace and be formed anew or regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit. At that point life receives a new direction. Instead of being propelled toward death by pride and self-interest, the person now moves in the direction of life and sanctification.
After the seed of the word has been planted and has sprouted, it must continue to grow to produce the stalk, the head and the full grain in the head. That should be an ongoing process of maturation in the Christian life.
In like manner a young church will probably first put its emphasis on calling people to the new life in Christ. As it grows it should move on to add to that thrust the growth in community that shows in its life all the teaching of Jesus, reaching out to manifest the coming of the kingdom of God in all its personal and social relationships.
The church, both in the life of its members and its corporate life, should produce the fruits of proclaiming the gospel, teaching the full implications of it, and healing the ills of evil and injustices around and within it.
Homily Hints
1. The Patient Farmer. (vv. 26-29)
A. Faithfully Sowing the Seed
B. Cultivating Conditions for Growth
C. Waiting for God to Give the Increase
D. Bringing in the Harvest
2. The Harvest Will Come. (v. 29)
What is the activity of the church in putting in the sickle to bring in the harvest? When does it come?
A. Watching for Growth. After proclaiming the Gospel the need is to wait for signs of response.
B. Timing of the Invitation. Persons who are ready to respond need to be invited but not unduly pressured to come into fellowship of the church.
C. Leaving the Final Harvest to God. Judgment about who is ultimately saved is God's prerogative, not ours.
3. The End is in the Beginning. (vv. 31-32)
A. The Beginning Point May be Small. The spoken word may seem insignificant but can be powerful.
B. The Outcome Depends on the Beginning. Only good means serve to bring good results despite apparent consequences otherwise.
C. Hope for the Harvest. Faith includes the trust that God will produce the harvest even when we cannot see far enough to see all the outcomes.
4. Speaking the Word. (vv. 26, 33-34)
A. The Seed Must be Scattered. The word needs to be proclaimed. People need to be confronted with God's claims and promises of grace.
B. Speaking to the People. The level of the message needs to be where the people are.
C. Explaining Everything. As people are ready to receive and understand, Christians should move beyond the simple gospel to the understanding of all things Jesus taught.
5. Expect Great Results. (vv. 31-32)
A. Do we Expect Too Little?
B. Dare to Venture for Large Results.
C. Place Your Trust in God's Outcome.
Contact
Points of Contact
1. An Antidote to Discouragement. Christians may become depressed and discouraged when they pray that God's kingdom will come on earth. If they do not see results of their efforts to live the Christian life and to build the church, they may despair that the gospel is not effective.
The two parables were given to encourage the people of Jesus' time when prospects that the kingdom was coming probably seemed bleak. Again and again in history the coming of the kingdom seems to be losing ground. Governments have exerted great pressures to root out Christianity all the way from the Roman emperors to the Communist regimes of modern times.
Even when the institutional church has become corrupted and it has appeared that the church was going to collapse from within, new movements have generated new life. A recovered vitality has renewed the life of Christians and given the church new influence in the world.
The parables suggest both patience in times of discouragement and hope for great results to come. People need to have the messages of both the parables as an antidote to discouragement and despair.
2. Expectations of Maturity. A frequent question in the church concerns the role of nurture in Christian faith. When should we expect people to be ready to respond to Christ's invitation? How much pressure should you exert on persons to assume the full responsibilities of Christian living?
Children need to be nourished and supported. They need to be prepared for the time when the faith becomes their own. The seed has to be planted and as it sprouts in the life of persons, they need to be supported. At some point the fruit needs to be harvested. Sometimes it becomes almost automatic at a certain age as a rite of passage. Not everyone matures at the same rate, however, or responds in the same way. People need to be confronted with choice, but a danger is that if they feel forced they may go through the motions but the experience may not be real. They then may be "inoculated" against the real thing.
Some people may find certain moments or experiences critical for moving from one stage to another. It may be some experience of illumination when the Holy Spirit makes clear to them another stage for their spiritual development. For some it may be a significant decision which they confront. It may be a career choice, the question of marriage, the birth of a child with its attendant responsibilities. It may be in facing some ethical choice or some personal behavior that needs to be changed.
We should encourage people to consider and celebrate as they grow to maturity. A decisive moment which begins the Christian life is not the final goal. We should expect that growth will be a lifelong process and encourage persons to confront from time to time how they move to greater maturing in Christian living.
3. Looking for the Harvest. God is active in history bringing forth new fruit. Church members can be challenged to look at where new growth is appearing or is needed. If they can exercise faith they can help to move the growth ahead.
Occasionally we become aware of some blind spot that persons or society have. We need to be sensitive to the developments that make the times ready to attack such problems. Church members should look about and try to identify where people are hurting and no one is doing anything about it. They should ask what the equivalents are today for giving sight to the blind, making the lame to walk, releasing the prisoner, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked.
The church has most frequently tackled both personal and social problems. It has noted the hurts and moved to heal and help. The Holy Spirit has helped Christians to realize their full personhood as they have reached out to meet the needs of others. The world needs the harvest of righteousness which changes the conditions that prevent persons from achieving their full possibilities.
4. Postponed Harvest. We live in an age of expectations of instant solutions. We have instant soups, instant coffee and tea, instant TV dinners, and instant solutions to complex problems or situations on television. This mood tends to lead people to want instant gratification.
When society was largely agrarian, people knew that it took time from the planting of seed until the harvest arrived. Results from efforts and activities came slowly. People had to wait for postponed consequences.
Jesus admonished the multitudes and his disciples to act in faithfulness to the will of God even though the results seem to be delayed in coming. The kingdom of God is often hidden in its results. People need to learn to be patient in their hope but trusting that God is in control and active. The harvest is sure and will be plentiful in God's good time.
Illustrative Materials
1. Surprising Harvest. In our garden some tomato plants appeared in the compost heap. We were unaware of having had cherry tomatoes. Nevertheless two or three plants grew, prospered, and produced a substantial crop which we enjoyed. On another occasion a peculiar looking growth appeared on some vines in the midst of our zucchini. To our surprise some very tasty cantaloupes eventually matured on those vines. They apparently grew from seeds in garbage we had buried the previous summer to use as fertilizer. God sometimes causes sprouts to arise and produce fruits where we are unaware of planting seeds!
2. The Miracle of Growth.
A. It is a miracle that in a seed so small as to be invisible to the naked eye encoded DNA carries a message that will produce a human being. The amazing talents of a Mozart, an Einstein, a Madame Curie, or a Florence Nightingale are potential in this small package. All the diversity and riches of human life with its great potential come from such small but very complicated beginnings.
B. The baby panda at birth weighs only about 2.5-5 ounces. It grows to be as much as a 220 pound adult. That is at birth one nine-hundreth of the weight of an adult panda. An elephant can grow from a baby of 200 pounds at birth to a mature animal of up to six tons. A whale weighs about 2.5 tons at birth. An adult blue whale weighs as much as 160 tons and can be 100 feet in length.
3. The Persistence of Life. Despite all that can threaten and destroy it, life is very persistent. We probably do not often think of bacteria as a form of life. Yet it is a life form that constantly struggles to stay alive.
We recently have become aware that tuberculosis has developed resistance to all the antibiotics that scientists have devised. As the bacteria have become resistant to one form of antibiotic, scientists found another to be effective. Each time the bacteria has adapted and some of them escaped to come back resistant and more virulent than before. While we do not like these forms of life, they do illustrate the persistence of life.
In a somewhat similar and surprising way, two children were born of mothers who had the HIV infection. The babies gave evidence of having the infection at birth. Doctors expected that these children would eventually contract AIDS and probably have a short life. Instead, at five years of age these children show no trace of HIV infection. Life shows ability to resist the threat to it.
4. Forcing the Kingdom. People from time to time try to bring the Kingdom of God by force. In the sixteenth century certain self-proclaimed prophets expected God to install his kingdom in the city of Strasbourg. The prophet was imprisoned and the kingdom did not seem to be coming there. Then some of the followers found the city of MŸnster receptive to their preaching. They concluded that they were mistaken both in the place and the way the kingdom was to come. They decided MŸnster was the place and that they should take over the city. They forced those who did not agree to leave the city. When it was attacked by opposing forces they defended it with weapons as they prepared to receive the kingdom. Instead, they were defeated and the attempt ended in disaster. Their fall smeared other peaceful efforts to live the pure Christian life and led any who did so to be suspected of going the way of the MŸnsterites.
The Crusades trying to liberate the Holy Land as God's will for the Christian church resulted in equally disastrous results. The crusaders ended up fighting more among themselves than against the Moslems. Even today much of the so-called "Christian West" activity in intervening in the Middle East and north Africa is branded as a new crusade. Moslems view such activity as another Christian effort to bring the kingdom by force instead of by the slower but more certain way of planting the seed, watching the growth patiently, and waiting for God to bring the harvest.
