Planting Seeds

*This post is taken from my Sunday sermon on June 14, 2015 at Good Shepherd, Asheboro*

"Jesus said, 'With what can we compare the kingdom of god, or what parable will we use for it?  It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.'"

--Mark 4: 30-32

I was a pretty loud kid and could be pretty annoying (just ask my sister).  Somehow I got As and Bs consistently in most subjects, but I would routinely get Cs in conduct, usually for talking too much.  I was the kid constantly quoting movies and tv shows in school and never shutting up.  Not much has changed, actually.

I know I could be a nuisance to many of my teachers, especially my fourth grade teacher Ms. Bailey.  I drove her nuts!  But Ms. Bailey managed to do something that none of my previous teachers could do.  Rather than seeing my need to talk all the time as a flaw, she saw it as a gift.  So she invited me to be in a play for an academic and arts competition called Odyssey of the Mind.  I played a cockroach, and while we came up a little short in our competition, I received an award for my performance.  It was all because Ms. Bailey saw something in me and invited me to share my gift. She planted a seed in me that began a love affair with theatre that has lasted to this day.  It started out as something small, something rather insignificant, but I can tell you I would not be the priest I am today had it not been for Ms. Bailey encouraging me to share my gift for public speaking.  

Most everything has a small beginning. Yet through encouragement, diligence, hope, and love, the small beginnings become huge.  That is the gospel Truth for us today.  When someone asks Jesus to describe the Kingdom of God, or rather what the coming of the Kingdom of God will look like, he tells them the famous parable of the mustard seed.  Understand that the mustard seed is not literally the smallest of all seeds—orchid seeds, for example, are smaller than mustard seeds.  But Jesus’ audience understood the meaning anyway.  The mustard seed begins life small, rather insignificant, and yet it grows lush and strong; its branches stretch out, and birds flock from all over to rest in them. This image would have made plenty of sense to Jesus’ audience because trees were often used as allegories for strong empires—Ezekiel equates God’s kingdom with a noble cedar, under which every kind of bird will live. The tree is the empire, the branches the nations and kingdoms of the empire, and the birds the people from all over who find a home in the empire.  And what empire is greater than the kingdom of God?  It all starts, though, with a seed.

If we think about the history of the Church, we find rather small, insignificant people planting seeds that sprout beyond measure, showing us the glory of the Kingdom of God.  A nomad and his barren wife coming from Ur of the Chaldeans are told they will the parents of many generations and become the ancestors of not one, not two, but three of the world's great religions.  A Palestinian carpenter and rabbi, seen by many as a nobody, changes the way the world experiences God.  That rabbi’s followers, scared that their religious authorities will kill them, step out on a spring day and speak with power about God’s mighty acts and give birth to the Church.  And down through the years the names of Julian, Luther, Wesley, Cranmer, and today with Borg and Merton, all showing us new ways to connect with the Living God.  In all of these cases, God began with a small seed, with someone that, at the time, likely seemed insignificant.  And yet from them sprouted new understandings about God, and the world was changed.

Still, sharing the Good News, planting that first seed, can be scary.  Anytime we try something new, anytime we step outside of our comfort zones, it is scary.  And yet, when we take a risk for the Kingdom, when we dare to plant that seed and let the Holy Spirit nurture it, some pretty amazing things can happen. We begin to matter in ways we never thought possible.

Brothers and sisters, understand this:  what you do matters!  Every little gesture, every kind word, every action that you take, especially when it is on behalf of the Lord Jesus, matters.  You came to church.  You showed up.  You could've stayed home or played golf, but you came, maybe to experience God in some way.  That action, just getting up and showing up, matters. Those of you who serve—ushers, lectors, eucharistic ministers, choir, acolytes, organist, altar guild—it matters. All of you who share your gifts in church and enhance our worship of God and help us grow in our common life in Christ, what you do matters. Or maybe you invited someone to church, someone who has been disenchanted with the Church, so you said, 'Come and see what we're all about.'  That matters.  Maybe you enoucraged someone to offer their gifts in service to God here in this place.  That matters.  Furthermore, every little action you take out there, beyond the walls of the church, matters.  Reminding someone that God loves them.  Sitting with a brother or sister in prison, in a nursing home, or a hospice house, just so they know they’re not alone.  Simply listening to someone tell their story.  Your actions, no matter how inane you may think they are, those actions matter.  Because those actions are planting the seeds of the kingdom. 

Our goal, brothers and sisters, is not just to plant a few seeds in our churches or even our local communities.  Our goal is nothing short of God’s will being done perfectly on earth as it is in heaven, borrowing words from a prayer that I think y'all know.  That is the goal for the entire universe, that the Kingdom of God become a reality here.  It begins with a seed.  It begins with something as small as Ms. Bailey suggesting I be in a play.  Now, how is that planting a seed for the kingdom?  Because, as Irenaeus said, the glory of God is a human being fully alive. So when you do that which gives you joy, that which makes you feel so alive, you are glorifying God.  And when you encourage someone to do that which they love, when you see a gift in someone and invite them to share it, you ARE planting seeds for the kingdom, which will grow beyond your wildest imagination.  Ms. Bailey planted a seed for the kingdom in me.

The last play I was in—thank you, Ms. Bailey— was called Tick…Tick…Boom!, by Jonathan Larson, who did Rent.  The closing number for that show is called "Louder than Words."  And one of the lines is:  "why should we blaze a trail when the well-worn path seems safe and so inviting."  It’s easy to just sit back, to say ‘it is what it is’, to believe we have nothing to offer, to think that our seed is small and insignificant, to think that we don’t have the ability to change the world.  We do.  YOU do!  With every action you take.  Imagine if we all planted just one seed of encouragement, of change, of hope, of love.  Imagine what those seeds could grow into, and how far they could stretch. Imagine every person, finding rest in the branches and finding sustenance from the fruit. Plant your seeds for the kingdom, brothers and sisters.  Do not be discouraged, thinking that your seed is too small.  Everything has as small beginning.  But it all starts with one seed.  It all starts with you. Plant your seed and see what happens.  See what happens when you let the Spirit nurture those seeds.  Watch the world be transformed.  And watch the kingdom become a reality. 

With the cast of the Aiken Community Playhouse's performance of Tick…Tick…Boom!, performing the closing number, "Louder Than Words."