Dramatic Crops!

Sermon Mark 4:1-10; 14-20 April 22, 2018 Earth Day Dramatic Reading of the Sower and the Seed.

Dramatic Crops!

Please take a moment and thank the youth choir for bringing the Word of God to you through dramatic interpretation.

One thing that has always surprised me when I’ve read or listened to this parable from Jesus, is how entertaining it is. It is dramatic. It is understandable. It is always intriguing.

I’ve recently been wondering about the predicament the seed faces as it lands on a variety of soils, rocks, and harsh conditions. Perhaps, the variety of conditions that seed falls to are about the variety of circumstances all humans encounter in their journey of faith.  

Jesus is telling the listeners of this parable about the ways the Good News of God is received. Think about your faith journey for a moment. Is it possible to relate to each of these ‘soil’ situations?

I can guess that those wonderful seeds of good news have fallen on the path, the rocks, among the weeds and on fertile soil in the measure of one day of my life.

Jesus said the seed fallen on the path has no chance because evil snatched it up.

There are times when we hear God’s Word but it goes in one ear and out the other. We would rather get caught up in gossip, or name calling, than obey the voice of good news. We would rather steal joy from someone else by acting out or screaming or cursing or losing control of the faith God has put in us-in those moments-evil has snatched us up as a bird snatches seed from the path.  

No matter how mercy filled the Good News of God is as it comes to us, we are unable to open up to it, and we miss the blessing God has for us. Living in integrity that means so much to us has been stolen so quickly.

Betraying behavior, bullying, and dishonesty don’t just seep into our lives it enters so quickly we are almost unaware that who we are as a child of God in those moments is about to be stolen away. Evil has acted and we are taken by surprise.

Jesus said the seed that fell on rocky soil hears God’s Word is filled with joy but then shrivels under pressure.

There are times when we are filled with the joy and wonder and delight of the good news of God. But, disaster strikes us. Illness comes upon us. Friends die. Tornadoes destroy homes. We fail exams. We lose our jobs. We don’t have enough money. Divorce happens. School shootings happen. Factories shut down. Car accidents happen. It as if the bad things are beating down anything that could be good news and all the joy of God is shriveled up in us and we cannot find a way to respond with our faith.

It can be so hard to when we seek to share joy and all around us is dismal moments. These, I believe are the most challenging times. The troubles of the world and of our lives would crush our faith if we allow them to. We know however, the wonder and joy of the continuous presence of God is strong and powerful within us to create the resilience to endure and overcome. Faith expressing itself through love brings us through. The only thing that counts is faith working through love. Galatians 5:6

The seeds falling among the thorns is probably the easiest of our moments to recognize. The times our ambition took the front seat pushing aside any good will, or grace in relationships. When our desire for success caused us to drop our lifelong friends in order to be with the cool crowd. Even in retirement we can let the thorns take hold of our faith. We can become so obsessed with our earnings and our financial outcomes that we lose sight of the power of God to sustain us through all times. We find ourselves choked of any joy of good news of God because we miser our time and talents for fear of losing them. Yet. Jesus is the one who has offered us incredible promises of talents in abundance as long as we use them.

Finally, the seed that falls among fertile soil can only grow and be fruitful. When our lives are filled with the presence of God. When every breath we take is aware of the beautiful, the noble, and the sacred, we learn happiness and discover creativity and joy.

Do we take time to be aware of what surrounds us each day? Do we have time for any of these in the seconds of our days? 

How will you honor the Creation and the earth we have around  us? Take ten seconds, I’ll watch the time.

Go, with good news and scatter the seeds everywhere. Amen.

Resources: NIB Mark.