When You Can't Find a Unicorn, Ride a Horse.
Summer 2018 (year B) • Sermon • Submitted
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Call to Worship: ,
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It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
:
Witnessing God at Work: Be a Tree
Witnessing God at Work: Be a Tree
Apple seeds are not very large.
Apple trees, under the right conditions, can produce up to 800 or more apples PER SEASON
That’s alot of apples from one tiny seed.
Sometimes we compare ourselves to the seeds in the sorts of parables we’re about to read today, but healthy, mature Christians are really the tree, producing fruit that will make more seeds that will grow more trees.
It can take up to 4 or 5 years for a fruit tree to begin producing fruit. It doesn’t happen right away.
Trees grow where they are planted. They don’t get to choose where they grow. The sower does. We’re not the sower, we’re the seed that grows, flowers, and produces more seeds to be sown!
This week, we’re going to be trees, not seeds.
Show mustard seeds and/or pass around.
Today’s passages don’t all talk about grand trees. There is a great deal of tree imagery in the Bible, but in our gospel lesson today, Jesus talks about another sort of
Yoga centering: tree pose
Sometimes the way we hold our body can impact the way we set out into our day or what we are about to do.
In solemn prayer, we bow our heads and close our eyes to show reverence.
Sometimes, we need to show strength or celebration.
Centering Prayer: tree pose
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
Sit or stand tall and still, flat back, shoulders back and down. Think of your body as one of the trunks of those sturdy cedars of Lebanon the Bible talks about or as a tall fruit tree. Bring your hands together at your heart in a “prayer hand” way. Bow your head if you like. This is just a strong, active version of the traditional head bowed and hands together pose most people pray with at church.
Psalm 92:
With your eyes open or closed (either way), bring your face to the front so the back of your neck is in a straight line with your back - or as straight as you can get it.
If you’re able, you can “grow your branches” as you pray, reaching your hands toward the heavens and thanking God for all the talents and passions that you have been given. Pray that God will remind you throughout the day that you are not alone, that you are a powerful part of creation, and that you have fruit to bear. Pray that God will give you opportunities to “drop seeds” by telling other people the story of God’s love in your life.
Thus says the Lord God: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”
So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Mark 4:26-34
Mark 4:26-34
And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
Even mustard has a purpose
Even mustard has a purpose
Everyone grows up with slightly different set of camp fire or youth group or summer camp songs. I learned to play the guitar as a teenager by playing songs like “They will Know We Are Christians” and “I’ve Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy”.
Mustard is everywhere, even though it’s not flashy like the giant cedars
One of my favorites was always:
It only takes a spark
To get a fire going
And soon all those around
Can warm up in the glowing
That’s how it is with God’s love
Once you’ve experienced it
You’ll spread His love
To everyone
You’ll want to pass it on
It’s a great song because it encourages us that it’s just the smallest bit of love that can get a raging fire of the Kingdom blazing.
We often see Jesus offering this idea that small things can become big things. The things we tend to just walk past in our day to day lives are the very things that Jesus cares about. The little things matter to God. Jesus says things like “Let the little children come unto me.”
and “The last shall be first.”
and “
and “The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed.”
We see the imagery of trees frequently in Scripture. 303 times that I found in the English Standard Version. But here, Jesus talks about seeds. Little, tiny seeds. And the seeds growing up in this passage are turning into grain and mustard bushes, not the giant cedars of Lebanon or fruit bearing trees of any sort. Nothing big or flashy.
Even the humble mustard bush has a place in the imagery of heaven.
Trouble in the Text
Trouble in the Text
It’s not exciting like the giant cedars, but mustard is everywhere . It chokes out weeds and offers rest for the birds. It provides protection, safety, home. Sounds pretty heavenly to me.
Seeds grow. That’s what seeds do.
Seeds grow. That’s what seeds do.
Many people know the mustard seed parable. and both mention it as well. And that’s common. Most Gospel scholars believe that Mark is the earliest written gospel and that Matthew and Luke each had it handy when they wote their own - copying much of it word for word. The ideas of “authorship” and “creative property” were different back then and it was common practice to do that sort of thing.
But this little parable about the seed growing - the one right before the story of the mustard seed - it doesn’t make it into Matthew or Luke, unlike the rest of Mark. You can see why: It’s sort of boring.
The newspaper headline would read, “Man plants seed. Seed grows.” Whoopie. Who’s flipping through (or clicking through) to read that article?
It doesn’t even say what kind of seed it is. It seems to be some sort of grain, but that’s all we’re given.
We try to jump in and make it grow better. But that’s what seeds do. They grow. Doesn’t matter if we’re there.
“Seeds grow.” End of parable.
And yet. . . this is interesting next to the mustard seed.
We want to plant the fancy seeds. We forget that mustard seeds are just as important as apple seeds or acorns or all the other cool seeds. We forget that all seeds grow into important things and that the point is the growth, not the prestige. We forget that God created all seeds and wants all seeds to be given water and sunlight so they can grow.
There are no Unicorns Here
There are no Unicorns Here
When I was a kid, I remember being sent on a “snipe hunt”.
Sometimes, I think if I hear one more church say their plan for revitalization is to reach out to “young families”, I will scream.
I know. I probably just raised a few eyebrows. But I’m serious. Sure, on paper, it looks like a good idea. Let’s get young people in here because they have energy and they can carry out the vision for the future when we’re gone.
That’s been the church’s model for outreach for way too long. And that’s not because families don’t matter. Families totally matter. We should absolutely be worried about the faith upbringing of children. We should very much cherish the children we have in our midst and we should praise their parents and offer to watch the kids while the parents go have a cup of coffee and we should always embrace the joyful noises of little ones in the pews. But families just aren’t as abundant as they once were. They don’t make up the same percentage of the population of our country that they did 30 or 40 or 50 years ago.
It’s not because of any alleged tear in the moral fabric of our country. It’s not because of abortion or teenage pregnancy or divorce or any other unpopular word like that. It’s just a culture shift. Populations ebb and flow like that.
If we look at the trends in our country, we see that salaries have not, on the whole, kept up with cost of living. One of the best ways to reduce your household’s cost of living? Have fewer people in your household.
Higher education has become oppressively expensive, leaving young college grads with unbelievable amounts of debt right off the bat. So many people are waiting longer to get married and have kids - they are trying to get out from under that debt.
Very few households can afford to have only one income anymore, but American employers are not providing adequate parental leave for new parents, meaning it’s a huge financial hit just to have or adopt a baby in the first place, let alone the estimated $233,000 it costs to raise just one child to the age of 18. (That’s about $13,000 per year).
Birth rates in the United States are at a 30-year low and it’s not hard to see why.
In fact, according to some of the sources I found this week, Generation X - my generation, the one that is solidly in the kid-having age range - is the smallest of the three major generations running things these days. So not only is it expensive to have kids, there are few of us around to even consider it. And the youngest of the three generations running things these days - the Millennial generation, most of whom are technically old enough to have kids - is, for all the reasons above, holding off on having kids.
Birth rates in the United States are at a 30-year low and it’s not hard to see why.
The largest growing population in the United States in the 2010 census was those 65 and older. This was not a little jump, either. It was huge.
You know why it feels like the church population is getting older? Because the entire country is getting older!
Having “Lots of young families” has becoming a unicorn hunt. It distracts us from our real mission of spreading the love and the light of Christ to all those around us, no matter what sort of seed they are.
We should be saying to everyone, regardless of who they are:
I wish for you my friend
This happiness that I’ve found
You can depend on Him
It matters not where you’re bound
I’ll shout it from the mountain top
I want the world to know
The Lord of Love
Has come to me
I want to pass it on
And yet we say either in our word there are some people who are more special or more important than others.
Don’t Ignore the Mustard
Don’t Ignore the Mustard
The mustard seed is so tiny, it’s easy to miss. It’s not like an acorn. If you step on an acorn, you know it. If you step on a mustard seed, you probably won’t notice. If you walk past a huge oak tree, you’ll probably think to yourself something along the lines of, “Wow! That’s a huge tree!” But if you walk past a mustard bush, you’ll probably just keep walking. In fact, several of us did that in Galilee last month. Our guide pointed one out to us and said, “remember the parable of the mustard seed?” And we all said, “oooooooooo! They aren’t very interesting to look at.” They get pretty big, but they aren’t as glamorous as a giant tree.
But trees take a very long time to grow. A forest or orchard takes a long time to develop. Mustard? You plant a few mustard seeds and before you know it, there is mustard everywhere! There is shade, there is spice, there is greenery, the weeds are choked out, and birds have a new place of shade and respite.
So why not think about people we often walk right past? The people there are so many of, we don't’ even notice? How many dog-walkers did you pass this morning on your way to church? Runners? Who is all over the place and you didn’t even notice? People in their 60’s and 70’s?
What sorts of spring and summer festivals happen around here? What are people doing at the Three Rivers Arts Festival? Food festivals? Ethnic celebrations? Car cruises? What are the community events that are screwing up your drive time when you’re going somewhere?
WE try to jump in and make it grow better. But that’s what seeds do. THey grow. Doesn’t matter if we’re there.
Go on google maps or flip through the yellow pages this week. What businesses are booming that you hadn’t noticed? How many yoga studios are in the area? What sort of restaurants are booming? What new businesses have moved in within the last few years? These things tell us a great deal about who is around us and what they care about.
Seeds grow. End of parable. Spreading the Gospel is not us making seeds grow. It’s not us continuing the legacy of one particular church by keeping the rolls young and full. It’s us being good and fruitful plants right where God planted us. Some of us are giant cedars, some of us are mustard bushes.
This parable about the seed growing doesn’t make it into MAtthew or Luke, unlike the rest of MArk. It’s sort of boring.
What about reaching out to groups of people who are unexpected? What about the people all the other churches are forgetting about or just walking right past because they aren’t the kinds of seeds they are looking for? What about the mustard seeds?
What a wondrous time is spring
When all the trees are budding
The birds begin to sing
The flowers start their blooming
That’s how it is with God’s love
Once you’ve experienced it
You’ll want to sing
It’s fresh like spring
You’ll want to pass it on
Pass It On
Pass It On
It only takes a spark
To get a fire going
And soon all those around
Can warm up in the glowing
That’s how it is with God’s love
Once you’ve experienced it
You’ll spread His love
To everyone
You’ll want to pass it on
What a wondrous time is spring
When all the trees are budding
The birds begin to sing
The flowers start their blooming
That’s how it is with God’s love
Once you’ve experienced it
You’ll want to sing
It’s fresh like spring
You’ll want to pass it on
I wish for you my friend
This happiness that I’ve found
You can depend on Him
It matters not where you’re bound
I’ll shout it from the mountain top
I want the world to know
The Lord of Love
Has come to me
I want to pass it on
I’ll shout it from the mountain top
I want the world to know
The Lord of Love
Has come to me
I want to pass it on