On a beautiful summer day, someone who doesn't know the full story can stand and look out across the field, with amber waves of grain rippling in the breeze, and think “Oh, how wonderful, beautiful, and peaceful it all is!”

 That is only one part of reality; another part is the enemies such as weeds, insects, and diseases are attacking the grain at all times. 

--It can get a rust disease which kills the plant prematurely;

--insects can eat so many leaves so as to stunt the growth of the plant;

--and the weeds, oh, the weeds! 

 

One is called bindweed. 

The flowers look like morning glories and are very pretty, but the vines get tangled in the reel that guides the grain into the machine which gathers  the ripened plant and separates the grain from the straw.

One has to stop the machine, get off the tractor, take shears and cut the tangle off of the reel, think nasty thoughts about weeds, get back on the tractor and proceed. 

It is a hassle and a time-waster. 

The beauty of the grain field is only part of the story, you see.

 

We have folks that we know and admire as Christians. 

Look at all that they have been able to accomplish!

But that is only part of their story; they may well be plagued with the human equivalent of weeds, insects, and disease.

 Illness can weigh down the spirit and cause despondency.

Weeds? They can be a disaster for us.

They can start out small enough, but they will grow rampant and entangle and even smother our lives.

An addiction may start so quietly, and we may think that we can handle the situation, but before long it consumes our thoughts, actions, time, and money.

Whether it is drugs, or alcohol, or pornography, or gambling, or a host of other possibilities, these personal weeds can make a mess out of our lives.

 

One of the farm jobs in June is cultivating the corn fields.

Pointed hoes are fixed on a frame attached to the tractor in exactly the right position so that as the tractor is driven down the row, the hoes turn over some soil.

The hoes cut off some weeds, bury others, and gets additional soil next to the corn to help stabilize the young plant.

The job is done while the corn plants are small, in order to discourage the weeds which want to compete with the corn.  

Weeds can still be a problem, and it is impossible to get rid of them all, but a larger corn plant can shade out some of the weeds and withstand their effects much better.

 

Cultivation around young plants.

We try to do that as people, too, don't we?

We try to root out as many of the problems as possible while the kids are young,

 at least the things that we can identify as problems,

in hope that the youth can grow stronger and be able to withstand the problems that will continue to assault them as the years go by.

When they are stronger and more experienced, perhaps they can shade out the weeds in their lives and keep those weeds weak and ineffective.

Life is messy; we cannot get rid of every problem.

Some will stay with us no matter what, but perhaps we can overwhelm them with good growth.

 

This past week has been catechetical camp, when six of our youth spent three full days with the pastor thinking and talking about the catechism, the Bible, the hymnal, and life.

It is hard work, but necessary.

--We are beginning to make the shift from just learning a Bible story, to thinking how this story is shaping my life.

--The hymnal is not just an object in the pew rack, but a tool for my thought an devotion, a tremendous resource with all sorts of information and guidance for me within its covers.

--The catechism is not just a few texts to be memorized, but provides a way for me to deal with the twists and turns of daily life.

 

One of the activities that we do is to take something from the newspaper and try to discern which of the commandments might apply to that story or situation.

 

We also use Luther's explanations of the commandments, both the negative parts of those explanations as well as the positive parts.

So, for example, in a particular newspaper story, a commandment might be being broken or being kept.

--In a story about a court case conviction on a burglary charge, the 7^th commandment was broken.

--Another story, this one concerning the Job Center moving to new quarters also reflects the 7^th commandment, but this time the keeping of the commandment, as one thinks of Luther's explanation about helping the neighbor maintain his way of making a living, instead of stealing from him.

This discussion is more than a classroom exercise; it is teaching us to observe carefully what is going on in ourselves and around us in the weedy world where evil is always trying to choke us.

I commend this activity to families together at the dinner table and individuals at any time during the day.

 

In all of this, one of the key words which we explore kn our catechetical study is grace, by which we mean God's good gifts that come to us  unearned, undeserved, and often unasked.

The first of these is life itself.

We have a chance at life because God gives us that chance.

He wants us to be in communion with him, to grow and respond to his love for us in the gifts of creation and even more especially in the gift of our Lord Jesus.

For, by means of his words and actions of promise in Holy Baptism, Holy Communion, and the preaching of the Word, he guides and strengthens us for life in the kingdom.

That is grace upon grace,

            gift after gift,

            promise following promise.

And it makes a wonderful difference.

 

For an additional insight, we turn for a moment to the second Lesson today.

Paul does not leave us with the illusion that it will be easy to discern the commandments in action, to confess the faith clearly and accurately, or to pray steadfastly.

Paul knows what hard work it is.

 

We have a list of requirements in the process leading to confirmation—affirmation of Baptism.

Sometimes there is moaning and groaning: “why do we have to do that stuff?”, etc.

It is apparent that we need discipline in two senses, both as admonition and correction, and as encouragement and direction.

Although Paul does not use the word discipline in this passage, it is surely indicated.

But he does not mean that it is all up to us, in a pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps way.

The Spirit comes to us to say and to do what we cannot do alone.

When we run out of words, the Spirit carries on our conversation with the Father with “sighs too deep for words”, Paul says.

When we despair, the Spirit will remind us that we belong to Christ Jesus and are thus children of God and heirs to his promises, not because of our accomplishments, but because of his grace.

When we attempt to turn away from the weeds in our lives, which Paul calls “the deeds of the body”, it is the Spirit that is accomplishing that in us.

 

So it is not just the youth that need catechetical camp; all of us need a spiritual “boot camp”  to be ready to withstand the weeds that are always sprouting around us.

Take the time to talk with your fellow believers before heading out the door today.

Take time to greet your neighbor on the way to the garage.

Take time to listen to the kids, your own or whoever is handy.

Someone needs the gift of a listening ear that you can provide.

Someone needs the gift of hope that the Spirit has stirred up in you.

Someone this week needs the insight that you have learned from a scripture story.

Someone needs whatever clarity you have about the faith as they wrestle with issues as you have.

Someone needs to see you here at worship in order to be convinced that it is a worthwhile activity and an important use of time.

And so on....

 

Church was never meant to be a place to relax and get soft.

From its earliest days, it was designed to be a community of challenge, encouragement, and spiritual fitness.

We have worship and education to get us in shape as individuals and as community.

We have fellowship and mission projects that develop the body of Christ in this place.

 

Weeds?  Oh yes, there are weeds.

And there will always be weeds to bedevil us,

but the word and power of the Spirit is stronger.

So we sing of the Spirit:

   Around and in us brightly shine,

   Your strength in us upwelling.

   In your radiance, Life from heaven

   Now is given, overflowing;

   Gift of gifts beyond all knowing.

Amen.