July 12 Sermon from Alanna Van Antwerpen

1 Liturgical Date/Readings: Proper 10 Year A- Genesis 25:19-34; Psalm 65; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 Date: July 12, 2020 Homilist: The Rev. Alanna M. Van Antwerpen Community Context: 9:30am Christ Church-Episcopal, Exeter, NH Sources: The Lectionary Page, WorkingPreacher.org, Film-Food, INC. Greetings Christ Church Exeter! Although not the reunion I was anticipating, it is wonderful to be with you all this Sunday morning. Be assured that over these months I’ve kept you close in prayerful vigil as you settle into life after Mark’s sabbatical. As we begin our time together, let us offer ourselves in service to the One, Holy and Living God. In years past, my mother-in-law has sent us packets of flower seed in the springtime. She’s an avid gardener and lover of nature—she whistles and chirps so much that we call her Birdmom. So, she’ll take the seed from her plants, dry them out, sending them in the mail. She always sends lots of seed, the envelopes are overflowing when you open them. Much like our parable today, all seed needs a home. What’s interesting in our Gospel story is that the seed is the same every time the sower throws it. We hear that the seed is the word of God and no matter where it lands it needs a home. What is remarkable about the Sower, is that he throws tons of seed, the Sower isn’t stingy with the seed, but it sounds like the seed is a steady rain coming down in need of a place to grow. The parable of the Sower is also one of the few times Jesus explains something so clearly. Usually parables challenge us because their meaning is not straightforward. In a way, this story challenges us because it is so clear…and like other things in life—just because it is clear, doesn’t mean it’s easy. Yet the trick is knowing what is ours…what is our responsibility and what is not. So here it is…the seed is God’s word. Now this isn’t some dusty old word in a book on a shelf that people haven’t seen for generations. No, we believe in a living word, we believe in God’s living word of love, forgiveness, care and strength made flesh in Jesus—then given to us as a community of faith. So, this seed, this seed is actually a living thing. It is a Word that lives in our experiences every time we see hope. Like when someone believes they can get out of bed after the worst tragedy of their life. It is a Word that says love is stronger than things that imprison us—like fear and death. This Word, this seed, lives from person to person, from age to age. It is given again and again to the community of faith. The seed is God’s gift to us. God is responsible for the seed, that’s clear. What we’re responsible for is the ground; that’s what’s ours, the ground…the dirt, the soil. When we look at dirt, we might tend to think it’s all the same…. I thought this for a long time…I know for you gardeners this is a no brainer. This reminds me of what a grass-fed beef farmer, Joel Salatain, said in the movie ‘Food Inc.’ a few years ago. He was talking about raising cattle. He said ‘I’m not a cattle farmer, I’m a grass farmer.’ What Joel meant was the cattle are the fruit of his labors, but he needs to pay attention to the grass so the animals get fed, so the food can support the life that it’s growing. He’s a grass farmer because he creates an environment that’s happy and health for live-stock. 2 So, for us as followers of Christ, we in partnership with God, are responsible for the ground for the seed—the dirt. And not just our little patch of ground, but for stewarding good soil in the world. In short, we are dirt farmers. With this in mind, let’s look again at the kinds of soil we find in our parable. The first seed was on the path and the birds came to snatch away. Any soil on a path is worn, compact, and has seen better days. Jesus is clear about why our dirt gets unhealthy. In our own lives sometimes we can feel worn, tried and beaten down by what we need to endure, thinking we don’t have room for God because we are barely hanging on ourselves. We might even feel abandoned by God resentful that we endure such suffering. Living through the last several months of the pandemic with social and political upheaval, it would be natural to feel this way. The second seed we hear about is on rocky soil. We can find ourselves living with these impenetrable rocks. What seem to be pebbles at first, become so numerous that they start to clutter our ability to hold God’s living word. Seeing the hope of new life is cluttered by cold stone and the seed is not able to go deeper…. then, when we face challenges—like being burned by the sun the pain of life—it’s hard to keep holding on because the rocks are too many and the sun is too hot. Next is the seed choked by the thorns. Instead of tending to God’s living word, we allow more space in our lives for the cares of the world and lure of wealth…instead of seeing what we do and what we have as a gift of blessing to share with the world, we mistakenly see what we have as an ends in itself. If I were to be honest, the choking of the seed is my preferred unhealthy soil. It’s when we let other priorities subtly grow up around us instead of keeping perspective living a present, intentional life. As a result, God’s seed can lay to waste when choking stress becomes the rule of life instead of the exception to the rule. We get choked by distraction, thinking about what we want for ourselves instead of focusing on the abundance that we already have. But that’s the thing about God’s living word…we are NEVER left abandoned… and just when all hope seems lost we hear about the good soil. Well, let’s think about the good soil, what does it have? How does it become good soil? Jesus says, “Let anyone with ears listen.’ This is the first step—listening to our surroundings, being aware of our environment, what’s going on for us inside and out. Then being honest about how it’s affecting our lives. What we know about soil is that it doesn’t get healthy on its own. It depends on water, it depends on the farmer turning it over, it depends on microorganisms to keep it healthy. And like us we need to exercise our faith, like anyone who tries to be healthy, we depend on worshipping on Sunday, partaking in small group formation offerings while building relationship with God and each other. Showing up in this way nurtures our soil, showing up this way collectively helps nurture soil in the world. So the question becomes, can we dig deeper? Can we get water and nutrients for ourselves if that’s what we need? Can we, by listening then asking for God’s grace and help, become transformed by showing up, letting the experience of God’s word transform our capacity for growth through love, and hope? Truthfully, we’re all a mixture of these types of soil at different times, but I think what God asks of us is that we turn to him with open hearts, with a genuine desire to become more good soil than not. It means that even though it does not happen all at once, we listen, then ask for God’s help to make our hearts fertile ground so together. Being a dirt farmer isn’t easy, it’s not about perfection. It is about living faithfully, with all of our imperfections, recognizing the abundant power of God’s Word to transform our lives and the world so we can make some good dirt.