A Season of Growth and Celebration

I think many of us are like little Billy. It was cold and snowy outside.

Billy said, "Won't spring ever come? I am so sick of winter."

His mother replied, "Spring is on the way."

"But I want to see the flowers and the birds and the grass," said Billy.

Well, God is at work in nature all of the time and the flowers would not ever be seen except for the growing which takes place under the soil during the winter months. Whatever season is here the next season is already on the way.

The anticipation of Easter makes Lent a more holy season. The knowledge of a risen Christ for Christians gives meaning to the crucifixion. Those who have a dramatic religious experience often consider their previous religious training of little importance; but it is the training and the longing for religious certainty which prepare the way for recognizing the event when it comes.

Without the cross and resurrection Christianity loses its dramatic experience.

Without the teachings which Jesus gave His disciples, Christianity would lose its meaning. Yet, those teachings were not understood or accepted until they believed in a risen Christ.

"Spring is coming," said the mother.

We often view the season of Lent with sorrowful eyes. It makes sense because it is a season of sacrifice, something we don't like to do and find difficult in numerous ways. It is also a season when we reflect with intention on our own mortality, our sin, and Christ's death.

But, there is, or there should be, joy and celebration during the season of Lent as well because it is also a season of growth.

If you have ever planted a garden, you know that growth generally doesn't happen without some kind of struggle. Plants don't do well unless they are forced to push through the earth.

Potatoes are a great example of this because, as the potato plant grows, the gardener puts more soil on top of the plant, encouraging it to push even higher through the dirt in order to produce more yield.

Some plants-cranberries, for example-need to be harvested after a good frost in order to produce better fruit. Going through the stress of the cold actually creates better-tasting fruit. The hardship, the struggle, makes for something better.

Lent should be viewed in much the same way. There is hardship in the planting, in the growing, in the weeding, even sometimes in the harvesting, but there is celebration too. There is celebration in the grace of good earth, in watching seedlings grow, in seeing your own hands produce something that sustains life. There is celebration in the harvest feast.

The parable of the sower is an appropriate one for this season of hardship, sacrifice, and growth. We might not think of this passage right away when we think of Lenten scriptures, but it is a reminder for us that our season of sacrifice should also be a season of growth and celebration as we reflect on the grace of God in the midst of it all.

The Kingdom of God was the main emphasis of Jesus' ministry and this is accepted by most. But defining precisely what the Kingdom was is a bit more difficult. Indeed, even Jesus himself was often illusive about it. He did not speak in absolutes; rather, he spoke in parables. Such is our scripture text for this morning. Jesus compared the Kingdom to a sower going out and spreading seed. Some of it falls upon hard ground and is unable to take root. Some of it falls on shallow ground, and although it initially sprouts it later withers away. But some seed falls upon good earth and comes to fruition and produces a harvest.

We are to understand, of course, that the sower is God, the seed is the Kingdom, and the various types of soil represent us you and me. On the surface of it, of course, it doesn't sound as though God is a very frugal farmer. After all, most of the seed that is strewn about never takes root. But this is not really a story about the sower or the seed. It is a story about different types of soil, or to put it another way, the responses of different types of people to the Kingdom.

There are four thoughts that I want to point out to you as we look at this parable that Jesus told.

Much of the usual focus on this parable is on the cultivation of good soil.

Soil cultivation is a significant part of growing. Farmers and gardeners spend a lot of time on soil development.

One way to develop soil is by removing rocks. Many plants don't grow well in rocky soil. Carrots will actually split in order to grow around stones in the soil, or they'll just stay small.

Another way to develop soil is by creating compost. Compost is made by taking plant refuse and allowing it to decompose, forming a nutrient-rich soil.

This process can take a long time, and some gardeners prefer compost that has been created over two or three years. Composting is a careful, intentional process that involves striking a balance between keeping it too dry or too wet.

One can also cultivate soil by adding appropriate nutrients to it. Different types of plants require different things. Tomatoes like extra calcium, so gardeners often add milk or egg shells to the soil where they're growing tomatoes. Many fruit trees prefer a more acidic soil, whereas still other plants prefer more nitrogen-dense soil.

A fourth way to cultivate your soil is by rotating crops. Putting the same type of plants in the same location year after year leaves the crop susceptible to pests and the soil depleted of nutrients.

Soil cultivation does create good soil. However, we often assume after reading this parable that the takeaway should be that our primary job as Christians is to cultivate good soil in our lives and in the lives around us. This interpretation can lead to us trying to work harder and make more effort to be "better" Christians.

The problem with this thought is that our job is not to make “better” Christians. Jesus call to those first disciples and to us is not to make “better” Christians. That call is to make disciples.

When we focus on making “better” Christians, we are focusing on what we do. We come up with new programs and make grand plans. In all that planning, we forget about what we are supposed to be doing.

This brings us to the second thought to consider

Focusing on cultivating good soil as the only lesson of the text can cause us to focus on our own effort.

It isn't bad to focus on soil cultivation or even to encourage it (we might even say that fasting cultivates in us an openness to God)-but a sole focus on cultivating soil can push us into a "works" view of faith.

Spiritual disciplines and practices are good faith practices that can lead us into deeper relationship with Jesus, but spiritual disciplines are tools to help form us, not magic tickets we can brandish to earn favor with God. Focusing solely on our own effort is problematic.

Can we agree that soil is passive? Since when does soil actively receive seed and take actions to ensure that the seed flourishes? I mean, I have never observed a single piece of agonized soil, in despair over whether it will provide a good home for seed. Of course, that is absurd. It is nature, it is God that grows the seed. In other words, this parable is all about what God does, not what we do or must do. It's not about you and me; it's about God!

When we focus on our own effort, we may incorrectly conclude that, if God seems silent, we must not be working hard enough. Since many of us exist in a culture that values and rewards productivity, it is easy to transfer this mindset to our faith.

Sabbath is a great corrective practice to the idea that we should be producing more in all areas of our lives, at all times.

The Year of Jubilee - a Sabbath of Sabbaths - commands that even fields be left to rest. Something could be connected here to the idea of cultivating good soil. Rest is part of the cultivation of good soil. The opposite of productivity (rest, play, etc.) is also an incredibly important part of our faith.

Always working and striving for more communicates the message that God is not trustworthy to care for us, but that we must try harder. This could be true for our inner spiritual well-being too. Do we trust God to do a work in us, even if we aren't striving to force that work to happen?

When we try to work harder to earn love and grace, we will always be left wanting. These are not things given to us because of what we do; rather, they are given out of relationship.

Grace is a gift, not a reward for good behavior. Love is given freely to us, because we are the beloved of God. God is the one who loves first, always.

When we focus on our own effort, we may also incorrectly conclude that the reason our loved ones aren't accepting Christ is that we aren't doing enough.

At times there might be things we can do differently, but focusing too much on what we do discounts the free will of our loved ones and discounts the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Focusing on our own effort can and often does lead to legalism - the belief that we are honoring God if we do the right things the right way. Although faith and action must be intertwined, we cannot make the mistake of thinking we have earned God's grace, or else legalism may not be the only deficient-theology trap we fall into.

The health, wealth, and prosperity gospel is another mistaken theology that can stem from this thinking. If I work hard enough, in the right ways, God will bless me with material goods.

Another is the gospel of the cosmic Santa God - that the goodness of God upon us comes in direct correlation with being a good girl or boy. We will receive what we ask for if we are good. Bad things only happen to those who are bad.

It's all about God; it's not about you and me. That's a valuable lesson for living. The problem is that we don't quite believe it, or don't practice it. Too often in my life it's about me, and God comes in somewhere around second place or lower.

The key player in today's text is not the cultivator of the soil but the sower of the seeds.

The farmer is generous and gracious in the way he sows the seeds. He is not seeking out specific soil but is extravagantly scattering the seeds.

There is a measure of hope in this approach to sowing seeds. A farmer knows how to cultivate good soil, and a farmer knows the steps to seeing seeds grow - yet he throws the seeds everywhere, perhaps out of hope that even some of the rough places might somehow grow.

Sowing so many seeds is an action of extravagance. If there were a seed shortage, the farmer would probably be more vigilant to ensure that the seeds fall in places that are guaranteed to be fruitful. But the farmer is not afraid of a shortage, and even with seeds falling in places where they do not thrive, the farmer still sees a generous crop at the end of the parable.

There is a connection between the seeds being sown and the prevenient grace of the Holy Spirit. Prevenient grace is the grace that goes before, and it does not discriminate. It is extended toward everyone.

Even if people choose not to receive the grace of God, prevenient grace is still extended to them.

The Holy Spirit is continually at work in the world. Seeds of grace are always being sown. Some grow, and some do not.

God is generous and extravagant with the grace that is being extended out into the world.

There was a small community with a small community church shared by several of the denominations. The first Sunday was the Methodist service because they practiced open communion. The second Sunday was Baptist. The third Sunday was Presbyterian and the fourth Sunday was Disciples. On fifth Sunday's they just had Sunday School followed by a potluck and an old fashioned singing.

Each year, each denomination in this small community would hold a week revival. This meant there was revival every quarter. And in this small community, there was a man who wasn't very deep in his commitment to Christ. But he loved going to Revivals. Every time the doors opened or every time a traveling evangelist put up a tent on the outskirts of town, he was there. When the invitation was given, he was the first one to the altar.

Kneeling at the altar he'd spread out his arms and pray loud enough for everyone in the service to hear, "Fill me up, Lord Jesus, fill me up."

Every revival, he would follow this same ritual. He would be the first one to the altar and he would pray, "Fill me up, Lord Jesus, fill me up."

Finally, one of the women who knew this character quite well, couldn't stand it any longer. The next time he knelt praying that same empty prayer, "Fill me up, Lord Jesus, fill me up," she stood up and prayed loudly, "Don't do it, Lord. He leaks!"

That’s the soil of the soul and of the heart that is so shallow the seed really doesn't take root but is scorched in the light of every day living and the regular trials and tribulations of being faith. It's scorched and withers and dies quickly.

Seeds are an illustration of the kingdom of God in other texts as well.

We see that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed-starting out small but growing very large. Faith is also compared to a mustard seed-that a small amount of faith can move mountains.

In Matthew we see Jesus compare people to a ripe harvest that does not have enough workers. This text is often used to talk about how we need to raise up more church planters, evangelists, and pastors to guide people into the community of faith.

These continued examples of seeds and harvests help us to see the participatory nature of the kingdom of God. We co-labor with the Holy Spirit to do the work of the kingdom of God in the world, but it is never a work we do on our own. The Holy Spirit is always the key player-the initiator and sustainer of the work.

This brings us to the fourth thought.

We don't need to work more to earn God's love or grace. We need to trust-even in small, seedlike ways-that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives and in the world.

We can celebrate the growth that is taking place in our lives because we know that God is faithful. God is not faithful because we are trying harder or doing more. God is not faithful because of any work that we do. God is faithful because faithfulness is God's very nature.

We can celebrate and trust that God is at work in the world, even when it appears that God isn't. The harvest flourished, even though some seed fell on rocky soil, in brambles, or got eaten up. If we only look at the places where seeds are not growing, we will miss all the places where it is flourishing tenfold.

We do not need to be stingy with the ways we extend grace and love toward others. The farmer was extravagant in the way he sowed the seeds, so we should follow that example and do the same.

We don't need to be judgmental or guard love and grace from others. We should be extending it to everyone.

There is no limit to sharing the good news. We should share it with everyone. Some will flourish, and some won't, but still we should share.

Bruce Larson tells about a young African woman who came to the U.S. from Angola. Her name was Maria and she was always laughing. One day she went to a meeting on evangelism in her church where they were talking about pamphlets, missions, campaigns, and all the rest.

At one point someone turned to Maria and said, "What do they do in your church in Angola, Maria?"

"In my church," said Maria, after a moment's thought, "we don't give pamphlets to people or have missions. We just send one or two Christian families to live in a village. And when people see what Christians are like, then they want to be Christians themselves."

Somehow I believe that is the best way of all to sow the seed of the Gospel. It is the way of love. The best type of sower is the person who loves God and who loves others. The light of Christ shines though their lives. They are "good soil." They respond to the Gospel, then they share that Gospel with others. Of such is the kingdom of God.

This is a great example of the already/not-yet kingdom of God.

The kingdom is here-the seeds have been planted-but we still have yet to experience the complete glory of the harvest.

We trust that the harvest is coming.

CONCLUSION

We often focus so much in this season on what we are doing in order to grow in our relationship with Christ that sometimes we forget that the most important person in this relationship isn't us-it's Christ. We forget that the greatest work being done is through the grace of the Holy Spirit. The greatest growth happening is when we submit to whatever God may have for us, versus working to cause growth to happen.

Sadly, that can reflect in our relationships with others as well, as we try hard to get them to act and look a certain way before we are willing to love them extravagantly. We learn from this story that God is in the work of extravagantly bestowing grace upon all of us. We learn that there is enough for all of us, and we can trust that life is growing and will continue to grow if we have the eyes to see it and the trust to rest and celebrate the work that is happening.