November Pub Church Message...by CJ At Pub Church yesterday we had a look at a passage of Scripture which I use regularly as a sort of self-diagnostic tool to check in with my spirit. In other words, is this Pilgrim indeed making Progress? (with attributions to John Bunyan and his classic, The Pilgrims Progress”). The passage I am referring to is the well-trod seed and sower passage. Some of us have read it hundreds of times and perhaps have heard a dozen or more sermons on it. Its familiarity makes it easy to overlook and, moreover, to take for granted. To do so is to risk shelving a tool that is meant to measure, to correct and to encourage our spiritual health. You know the basics. The teaching is found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8, and in it, Jesus gives a pretty straightforward account of a farmer walking along scattering seeds. Because seeds were so very precious in the day, the story was most likely received as quite humorous. What farmer in his right mind would be so careless as to scatter seed on the hard path, among rocks, and smack dab in the middle of a thorn bush? Was he a drunken farmer, a dullard? I can well imagine Jesus acting out the story and getting a few laughs. But finally, the sower makes purchase with some good soil and that seed does what a seed is supposed to do...it multiplies. Okay then, end of story - the people go home entertained. Yet, not so the disciples - Jesus “posse” as it were. While they enjoyed immensely the halo limelight of being with the man, they were nevertheless troubled by the fact that this comical story of a careless farmer might in fact have a point - a point that they were not seeing. So, they asked Jesus, Uh, what was the point of that story and why do you use parables? The answer Jesus gave was less than comforting. Here is the exchange: 10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” 11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.” Well…that answer sort of begs the question of where exactly the disciples stood in relation to understanding. They in fact did not understand the parable and that is very clear when we read all three accounts in the synoptic gospels. They were troubled before Jesus gave His answer. They were more troubled by the answer, which in effect said: “I use parables to raise the level of confusion and you boys seem confused. Mission accomplished!” The parables of Jesus do have a way of playing with our sense of decorum and our deep desire for tidiness and pat answers. What do we make of Jesus praising a man who was a dishonest accounts manager, ripped off his boss and then settled those accounts for fifty cents on the dollar to save his own hide? What do we make of the parable of the woman who nagged and annoyed the judge until finally, in exasperation, the judge granted her request. He uses that as an example of prayer? What does that parable say then about us, or more alarmingly - about God? Is He a cranky judge that only grants requests when we wake Him from a decent night’s sleep? Or how about the parable of the prodigal son? We all know we are supposed to identify with the compassionate father and rejoice that the naughty son has come home. But seriously, do not most of us secretly identify with the faithful son who stayed home and behaved? We want to hear more from that story, a second chapter perhaps. Jesus leaves us wanting, confused. The parable has done its work. Now, back to the parable of the seeds. The question Jesus wants each of us to ask is this: “Am I fruitful?” Is my life of such a quality that I am producing a legacy for the kingdom? Each soil represents a snapshot of where any of us could be at any given time. Some days, I am a hard path and God’s truth bounces off of me right into the beak of a willing “devil” bird. I simply don’t give a rip. On another day, I am emotionally swept up with a new enthusiasm for the kingdom but a rock leaches up and ruins the moment. And at other times, the seed gets obscured because all I can manage is to: fester, fester, fester. I fester about money. I fester about politics. I fester about the driving habits of others. I am full of self-pity, self-loathing and insecurities. The world has me choked to the ground like a toxic weed and I cannot seem to break through. But then…there are those days, even seasons, when I am fruitful. You see, I do not see any of these four different soils as lifelong sentences. I am not always a hard path, a rocky soil, or a thorn infested mess - sometimes, I actually flow in concert with God’s purposes. This parable reminds me to do just that. And, its troubling, “confusing” nature - Jesus’ purpose in using this method - has achieved its goal. Now, one word of warning. If we use anything other than the Scriptures’ metrics to take measure of our lives, we can be easily fooled. Sometimes, life can seem pretty peachy. We have money in the bank, a steady income, quiet evenings at home and all seems well. One can have all of those things and not be at all fruitful. Conversely, we can be broke, with no idea where our next meal is coming from and all around us is chaos and yet, be very fruitful. The key is understanding what Jesus means by fruit. That particular noun is used with abandon by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5 where he says this: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Again, here we have another passage that can be dismissed because of its familiarity. Don’t make that mistake. If you find yourself becoming isolated and rejecting of people and fellowship, there is a good chance that your seed is captive to one of the three toxic environments. There - you have been warned! However, if you find your heart making room for the most egregious of sinners (and saints!) and desiring to demonstrate this fruit of which Paul speaks, then you are tending a healthy orchard where the fruit will begin to multiply. Much Love, CJ
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 19:24:05 +0000
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