Christ Episcopal Church
June 14, 2015
6 Proper B
Since we hear this morning about the call of David, the youngest and thus least likely of Jesse's sons to become King of Israel, I'd like to take a moment for some shameless bragging about some of our youngest parishioners. Saturday a week ago, three of our acolytes served at the Cathedral with the Bishop for the service where Jennifer and three others were ordained to the diaconate. The folks at the Cathedral were a bit surprised at the age of our acolytes and they were equally surprised at the very fine job they did, making all the Christ Church folk there quite proud. Last Sunday, four of our youth along with two adults, stood in front of this congregation and spoke eloquently about the their experience at Procter Camp has deepened their faith. Rob Konkol, the Director of Procter Camp and the counselors were quite moved by the testimony of our campers. Later that morning, I asked four of the youth if they would help serve lunch to the Procter Staff and they could not say "yes" fast enough, always willing to help. In a few minutes, we will recognize the accomplishments of our parishioners who have graduated from high school and college this year and hear about their plans for the future. And later this morning, the youth will gather for Pub Theology, which involves pizza, chocolate, and picking my brain dry with some seriously intense conversation about life, the church, and God. We have amazing youth at Christ Church, all with deep faith that plays out in a deep commitment to God and the church.
This morning, I imagine Jesse is equally proud of his young son David as David is chosen by God to be the King of Israel. God's choice is surprising, since David has done nothing to prepare for a career as King of Israel. David has been out tending sheep, not gaining military, administrative, or economic experience. The gardener in Jesus' parable is probably also proud of his harvest, even though the gardener apparently has no clue as to how the seed became a great harvest. Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God is like seed that is scattered and grows, almost magically and without any further effort on the part of the person who scattered the seed. I have tried gardening that way, and I can tell you, nothing magical happens in my garden! Jesus also tells us that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed-the tiniest of all seeds that grows into the greatest of all shrubs, and that growth seems to just happen.
From Jesus' parables, and the story of young David, we could easily think that our readings today tell us that the Kingdom of God will grow in our midst without any effort on our part at all. Jesus first words in the gospel according to Mark are "The Kingdom of God has arrived. Repent and believe in the Good News." The message seems to be that the Kingdom of God has already arrived, the seeds have been scattered, the leaders have been chosen, so all we need to do is sit back and watch the show.
However, I think that is a bit like thinking that our children will grow up to be faithful Christians without any effort on our part. Our children, who are already quite faithful Christians, did not come to that faith on their own, nor will their faith mature on its own. Our children and youth have parents, grandparents, teachers, Sunday School teachers, camp counselors, friends, and many other people in their lives who nurture them and help their faith develop. The seed in Jesus' parable did not actually grown on its own, either. Soil, rain, and sunshine nourished that seed so that the seed would sprout and grow, even if the farmer did not understand exactly how that happened. The farmer did not need to understand exactly how the seed became a great plant in order for the plant to grow. The farmer just needed to be willing to plant the tiny seed. And David would become a great king, but not without some help and a lot of learning along the way. We will hear more of those stories through out the Sundays this summer.
I wonder if the willingness to scatter the tiny seed, or to be anointed king of Israel, without really understanding what will happen is the heart of these parables. I wonder if the mystery of the Kingdom is in what happens when we are willing to offer what we have, even if what we have seems to be way too tiny or we think we are way too young, or too old for that matter, to do any good. Perhaps the mystery of the kingdom is how God does such incredible work with what we offer. The sower had faith that the seed would grow, he knew not how. David had faith that, despite his age and lack of experience, somehow he would become the king God called him to be. What would happen if, rather than say "I only have 30 minutes, which is not enough time," every one of us sowed our 30 minutes together. That's exactly what happens when we need to unload trucks carrying 3000 pounds of food for the Food Pantry. A whole bunch of people show up and offer their 30 minutes and an enormous task is accomplished in 30 minutes because a dozen or so people refused to believe their 30 minutes were too tiny to matter. Or what would happen if, rather than each person thinking that his or her one little voice won't make a difference, we all actually do offer our one little voice to speak out against injustice, not knowing what will happen, but trusting that God will take our voice and make a difference? Jesus' parables tell us that, in the economy of the Kingdom of God, when we all offer to God that which we have, even if what we have seems as tiny as one seed, God will do amazing work. In the economy of the Kingdom of God, no offering is too small for God to use.
Amen.
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