God, Seed, Growth, Harvest

There are certain times in our lives and there are certain levels within the self in which we are hard ground, rocky ground, thorny ground, and fertile soil.

But even in harsh conditions, sometimes his word will prosper amazingly.

I can tell you about several plants at our house.

The seeds of asclepias are similar to milkweed; when they are ripe they can float on the breeze to distant places.

One such seed settled in a crack in my sidewalk and amazingly took root there. It has grown and is now blossoming, somehow extracting enough moisture and nutrients from the hard soil beneath that sidewalk.

And then there is a purple coneflower that took root in the stones next to the gate to the yard.

I tried to dig it out the other day to move it to a more favorable location, and could not get through the stones...but the roots of that plant obviously could!

Impossible, or at least unlikely...but there they are!

And it is good news for us!

We would be ready to say that it is ridiculous to broadcast seed on unprofitable-looking places.

God may have a different opinion.

Some of you have discovered our congregational web-site, of which Gary Weber is our web-master.

Why should he bother with stories and pictures of our activities, posting our newsletter and making available historical information about the parish as well?

We don't know who will see it and respond.

We have received notes from persons who have moved away from Williamsport and appreciate renewed connections.

We hear from those who are looking for the names of lost relatives.

We have heard from the merely curious, and we have heard from those hungering for the Gospel.

We can't predict what may happen next.

Who might we reach with this broadcasting of word and story and picture at www.stmarkswilliamsport.org?

Just last week we took it a step farther.

We have jumped into that wild-west marketplace called You-Tube.

There are some interesting things there, and there is also lots of hard places, weeds, and thorns.

We're attempting to plant something positive and interesting there, talking about Bible, faith, life, prayer, and lots more in a gentle and we hope intriguing way, in 1 or 2 minute bits.

The assistance of everyone in the parish is needed: look up “stmarkschurch” on You-Tube (or have your children or grandchildren do it) and sample the video bits and then pass the link along to someone else whom you think might be interested.

We don't know what might happen.

We don't know the kinds of soil on which it might land.

We don't know who might view the video clips and have some seed take root.

For someone it might be just the right moment.

We know how tricky it can be to plant the seed at the right moment.

Each of us can think of times in our lives when we have been each of those kinds of soil.

We have been fickle, changeable, and inconsistent.

For we also have undertaken work in the name of Jesus with lots of enthusiasm that just as quickly fade.

We too have started something only to have it choked by a world full of cares.

We too have had good intentions that have been devilishly misused.

And hopefully, we too have been involved in words and actions that have opened a new future for someone else in the name of Jesus, and thereby bourne fruit many times over.

So it is important that the seed being planted at the right time for it to take root and grow....and since we don't know when that right moment will be, then we know that we need to be broadcasting the seed all the time!

That is the one thing in the story that is constant – the seed keeps being sown.

Again and again the sower reaches into his treasury of the word of promise and broadcasts the seed.

When we are hard, the seed is sown.

When we are stony and shallow, the seed is sown.

When we are overwhelmed by a great thorn-bush of cares, still the seed is sown.

Isn't that wonderful news?

Because the most unpromising soil can be transformed.

One of the great preachers of the early church, John Chrysostom, in the 4^th century observed that

the farmer might be laughed at for sowing seed in unlikely places since it is impossible for a rock to bear fruit.

But with respect to persons this is not so predictable,

for God can drive out the weeds of temptation, burn the thorn bush of cares, and make the rock into rich land.

“For if it had been impossible, the sower would not have sown,” Chrysostom reminds us.

Sowing seeds...

I'm working with two young boys right now in preparation for baptism, ages 4 and 6. Someone might well ask why I am spending time with them since their attention spans are so short.

Our job is to sow seed, and to rejoice whenever and wherever it takes root.

Sowing seeds...

I'm working with two adult men in preparation for baptism at next spring's Easter Vigil.

Is this a good use of my time?

Yes, indeed!: sowing seed and rejoicing whenever and wherever it takes root.

Sowing seeds...

Persistence in sowing was Monica's forte. She prayed regularly for nearly 30 years that her son would be converted.

He came to know about her prayers.

At length he stopped chasing all of the popular fascinations and became a Christian. His name is St. Augustine, one of the most influential thinkers in the history of the church.

Sowing seeds...

Each weekday morning a few folks join me in Morning Prayer at 9:00 A.M.

Seeds of admonition and comfort, of examination and expectation are being sown as we open God's word and name ourselves and a needy world in prayer,

anticipating that we will be changed and redirected by the exercise of that prayer.

Sowing seeds...

The Synod Assembly passed without dissent a motion urging us to be diligent in opening the Bible regularly, personally, and corporately,

at home, in meetings, classes, and devotions, as well as our regular worship and study.

The call is to put yourself where the sowing can take place, and we can be surprised at what God will do with us.

Sowing seeds...

I recently heard about a Congregation Council who strongly resisted their Pastor's wish to begin or end the session with Bible-based devotions.

Why would a group of good people make it harder for the Spirit to work in their midst?

Why choose deliberately to be a thorn-bush of cares?

Keep sowing, pastor, because we do not know what God can accomplish despite our hard-headedness.

Sowing seeds...

I read this week about a woman who saw a mission opportunity in her church's neighborhood in the form of a needed day care center for senior adults.

But there was much resistance, worries about liability, the care of the building, etc. etc. It was defeated.

“I've wasted 10 years in this church, trying to get us moving, praying for change,” she said, and in frustration began to look for another congregation.

Three years later she was attending a workshop and ran into a large delegation from her former congregation.

“We're here to learn how to better organize our Senior Center,” they told her. “It has been in operation for over a year, and we need some more help in management and organization now.”

She had sown seed that was bearing fruit even after she had given up waiting!

Sowing seeds...

I was approached by a man on the street the other day who wanted to know how to get an answer to prayer.

In the course of our street-corner conversation, I tried to plant the seed of an idea that God might be answering his prayer by surrounding him with good people who proposing good courses of action to him.

He was demanding something dramatic and certifiable, and wasn't ready to hear that God might work through very ordinary means in our lives.

I broadcasted the seed of good news for him, and he wasn't ready to let it take root...but maybe someday.

Sowing seeds...so how is it going with you?

Everyone bumps into opportunities for seed-sowing.

It may involve talking, but just as likely it will feature “doing.”

Each of us can serve as a signpost, pointing toward what is important.

One does not need to say a word in order to be a word!

By your example, point to this gathering for worship.

By your example point to study groups and Sunday School classes.

By your example, point to service opportunities such as our Habitat Day.

Point to those whom you know to be saying or doing things that fit a Christian well.

These and many other things are seed-sowing that can be done by anyone of any age or situation.

Seed, seed everywhere...that is our gift and our commission from Jesus, and he will arrange for the harvest.

Amen

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.