And God is responsible for the result

This week’s Gospel is a turning point in the ministry of Jesus and the movement towards the City of Jerusalem and to the cross. This is the third speech of the five speeches that Jesus makes in Matthew showing him to be the new Moses. (Matthew 13.1-9, 18-23). Often called the Parable of the Sower, I would think of it more like the parable of the soil and the seed. The Parable is a part of a “Day of Parables that Jesus speaks to the people as he shifts his focus from teaching everyone who comes to concentrating on those who he has called, namely the Twelve.

Parables are important because they teach us about God, what God is like and what God does and maybe what God does not do. In the case of the Gospel this week, one might think God to be a bit of a careless farmer, not watching where he is putting the seed. Broadcasting seed, like ministry, is an art not a science. The modern world likes its best seed in the best ground for the best yield. And yet, for all the technology that we can devise there are things about farming that still remind us of our dependence upon God for the good crops, the good yields of fruit, vegetables, seeds for the next year’s harvest which leads to the food that is to come from them next year.

It is a reminder that God loves to be there to be the good provider for his children. I can understand that as a husband and a father, as a son and a brother, as an uncle, and as a priest because I take pride in looking after my family and my congregation. Ministry and farming have a lot in common. It is more than hard work, though it is that. It is an art. Farmers practice their art and clergy practice ministry. Doctors and nurses practice medicine. Mechanics diagnose problems and fix cars based on training and experience, not just what the computers can tell them. Carpenters, welders, fishermen all have knowledge and experience that they draw on. People in their various professions look to provide for their family, their community and themselves. It is a good and even godly thing.

The thing about practicing an art is not a like proofing in science, with demonstrative, repetitive and similar outcomes every time. What works in one place may not, or even will not work in another place, thought the conditions are similar. The good news this week is that the word and the kingdom, when they are planted and watered, grow often despite the conditions in which they are planted. The word and the kingdom can grow but the soil, the people in which they grow, need preparation. As the Scriptures say, “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. (1^st Corinthians 3.5-9) The message grows where it is planted and it needs cultivation if it is to grow the way it needs to. Thrones need to be removed, rocks need to be picked, fields need irrigation and to be harvested at the right time.

When it comes to preaching the gospel, life is no different. I minister in a society that has become tone deaf to the Gospel and what it means because they have been deafened by the noise of the world and the teaching and preaching of an easy gospel of cheap grace. This has led to the Church in North America to being shallow and its members weak. The Church has been blinded by its own idolatries. The Church has forgotten what the Scriptures say, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. (2^nd Chronicles 7: 12b-15).

There is a need in the life of those who witness and preach, to keep short accounts where both God and neighbour are concerned. This is why I have said to parishioners from time to time, “I am not here to be popular, I’m here to serve. If I am popular, that is helpful but being popular is not essential.” I have also said, “I am the most talked about man in town and not all of it is good.” It is essential that we offer and share with those around us the truth about what God has done and is doing. We need to make sure that we talk about today and about that Day – St. Paul’s two day calendar – it was all he ever needed. We need to be ready to explain ourselves and give reason for the hope that is within us. God will draw people from every walk of life as we are faithful o participate with him in the drawing. Heaven is more than a haven from life’s destruction and disasters great and small. It is more than the absence of evil. The coming of the kingdom is an opportunity to have mercy and show grace to enable people’s lives to transform towards what God is calling them to be.

Evangelism, that is the drawing people into the kingdom and into the Church, is a process and God himself, is responsible for the result. We are God’s field, God’s planting and he will enable us to bear his fruit, his crop to his glory. Now let’s get to work.

Jason+