Let us pray: Come Holy Spirit, enliven these words and help us to plant the seeds of your kingdom. Amen.
In this section of Mark’s Gospel Jesus is teaching by way of parables, specifically parables about the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is as if…With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like… Parables are designed to get us thinking. They don’t offer straightforward explanations or definitions. They can be shocking, by design, intended to free us from our normal way of thinking about our world and God. They offer us images, similes and metaphors to help us make sense of the divine. Parables can have many different meanings. They speak to deeper messages and understandings about how God relates to humankind. Parables are a part of Jesus’ Jewish culture and a means by which he seeks to engage and relate to those who seek to know him better, and those who are afraid of his popularity and radical ways. The Kingdom of God is one of the things that Jesus talks about the most. The kingdom of God is not the “usual” type of Kingdom. Yes, we can use kingdom words and images to describe God as we attribute human qualities to the Divine. But it’s important to draw a difference between the kind of kingdoms, kings and lords that we know about, and the type of power that God wields, the type of rule that Jesus proclaims. This is where parables come in.
Jesus is saying, you know one way of thinking, the ways things have always been, the way they are, the way you expect them to always be, but wait just a second, what if…how about this type of power and rule? What Jesus has come to proclaim is a new way of interacting with each other and ourselves and with creation. A force that is pervasive, and as our parables would suggest today, even invasive. A type of rule and kingdom that is stronger than all of the terrible, awful, hateful things in our world. The power of love.
“The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, one does not know how” (Mark 3: 26-7). How does this dream that God has for humanity and creation come about? How does it unfold? It’s like so many seeds spread all over the ground, tossed here and there, so many different types of seed sown on so many different soils by so many different sowers, and then after a good night’s sleep, we awake to find sprouts pushing their way up in our lives and the lives of others and in our world, here and there, we know not how.
As a kid, did you ever have that little dixie cup of soil and seeds and then you water it and put it in the windowsill and wait, and wait, and then…all of the sudden, overnight, like magic, tiny, tender shoots appear? Wow! New life!
What was once hidden, seemingly nothing, has revealed itself. Little green life just popping up. This is what God’s dream is like for us and for our world. We don’t know quite how or quite where or from whom God’s love, grace, and mercy will push into our lives, but they do! And if you haven’t experienced any tender shoots in your life lately, don’t despair, sleep and keep watch, God’s love WILL push its way into the soil of your life.
We are to be sowers, all of us, scattering the seeds that come from our experience of God’s love for us. I love this image of us just going all around, here and there a seed, a kind word, a smile, a compassionate conversation, a very real help in a time of trouble, a shared experience of the divine, a powerful moment together. Here a seed, there a seed, everywhere a seed. And then we just wait. SO much potential energy. SO many possibilities for planting the loving kindness God intends for us all! Imagine the harvest! Imagine reaping bundles and bundles of care, inclusion and compassion. What an amazing time for humanity. What an amazing place our world will be!
With what can we compare the Kingdom of God? It is like the bright fields of tulips, daffodils, lavender. Beautiful to behold, fragrant, offering joy, color, and life. It’s like everyone, EVERYONE having what they need to prosper.
Affordable housing with wrap around care to meet the physical, mental, and spiritual health needs that we have. A place for everyone to belong, to feel valuable, to know that they are loved unconditionally. Yes, it is a dream, a different kind of kingdom, a different way of seeking, thinking and being. This kind of kingdom, this inbreaking of God’s love spread all over our world, is at the same time already here and not yet here. Already present AND not yet fully realized. With our help, with our work scattering seed, it WILL begin to slowly push up out of the soil, to unfurl, grow and spread. Even though we may plant miniscule mustard seeds, they can and will grow and grow and grow and become giant trees of shelter, welcome, and community, sending forth God’s love into our world, working to bring about God’s dream for us. God’s way of love to rule throughout our lives and our world. Get to work! Start sowing! Amen.
