sermonboy.com

Proper 6

Mark 4:26-34
He also said, “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, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”
He also 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.”
With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.


The Kingdom of God is like a maple key. Dislodged from a tall maple, it whirrs and whirrs until it settles in a place within the garden. It germinates, and soon a tiny maple grows, with a miniature trunk and two adorable little leaves. You notice it one day, among the hosta and the columbine, and then you see several more, dozens in fact, and realize this simply cannot stand. You ruthlessly pluck these future giants, these proud symbols of our great land, and guilt overwhelms you. You begin to realize that you may be emotionally unprepared for gardening, so you head back in to watch television, and leave the gardening for someone else.

The Kingdom of God is like a homeowner, who sees a mouse in the kitchen and decides to practice the far more humane catch-and-release method of mitigation, over the less humane alternatives. A paint stirrer is procured, with a dab of peanut butter on the end, balanced very carefully on the edge of the counter with an open container below. Mr. Mouse falls in, and the clever homeowner walks with his new and grateful little friend all the way to the end of the driveway. Tipping the container, the grateful little guy hits the ground, looks over his shoulder, mutters something that sounds like ‘you fool,’ and runs back to the house.

The Kingdom of God is like the owner of a car, who goes in for a simple oil change only to discover that the car is filled with air filters of every kind, all of which need to be changed.

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

Or so says St. Mark. But I’m not sure. Yes, he frequently spoke to them in parables, but he also spoke in aphorisms, these pithy sayings that stick in the mind like “the last shall be first” or “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get to heaven.”

Some times he spoke in commands, like “go and sin no more” or “get behind me Satan.” And sometimes he simply prayed, mostly for his disciples, who seemed to have trouble understanding much of what he said.

This morning I gave you three examples of do-it-yourself parables. It’s a fun exercise, maybe a way to while away those long summer days, and also a way to better understand how parables work. I shared an ‘explosive growth’ parable, then a ‘world turned upside down parable,’ and then a common misfortune parable. Think of the last type as cheap therapy, writing yourself through your misfortune, and maybe even gaining some perspective.

And perspective is really the point of parables. Some argue that all of Jesus’ parables describe the Kingdom--a lively point of debate--and certainly the majority do. And why not? According to Jesus the Kingdom is coming, is already here, is within you, will come like a thief in the night, or is coming on the clouds with great power and glory. See the issue here?

Either Jesus doesn’t understand the Kingdom (impossible), or thinks we can’t understand the Kingdom (unlikely) or just wants to keep it intentionally vague (very possible). So why vague?

The first reason is that something vague is also something broad. If the Kingdom seems to be about explosive growth and I see explosive growth in the world around me, then I see the Kingdom of God all around me. Suddenly everything becomes a sign of God’s Kingdom: The cracking corn after a summer rain, the maple keys in my garden, the kid who appears a foot taller over the summer, even those little foam dinosaurs that become large foam dinosaurs when you drop them in a little water.

Okay, you’re thinking, the seeds sown and the mustard seed demonstrate explosive growth, but why did you share a ‘world turned upside down’ example when we didn’t hear one in the reading? And I’m thinking ‘wow, this is a tough crowd, maybe it’s time to wrap up.’ And it is.

I mention the ‘world turned upside down’ type of parable for two reasons, the first being that maybe ‘explosive growth’ and ‘world turned upside down’ are one and the same. Maybe the world of the farmer is turned upside down. Just when you come to fully appreciate the remarkable growth in your field, the sickle comes out, and all that growth is destroyed on it’s way to becoming food. Or the prodigal son, a story of a world turned upside down if ever there was one, but maybe a story about explosive growth, the explosive growth of grace.

The second reason I mention ‘world turned upside down‘ is that more often than not, our world is being turned upside down. We lose a dear friend. Another begins to disappear into a growing fog. Jobs are lost and meaning is lost and friendships fade and everything is always changing. And through it all, life functions like a parable. A world is created, which sours, then a new world is born.

The people are freed from bondage to Pharaoh only to starve and complain and wander and some 40 years later find the Promised Land.
The people are carried into exile and weep bitter tears only to discover that in the songs of Zion are the words of truth that bring comfort and help them discover who they truly are.
Jesus teaches and preaches and runs afoul of many and is nailed to a tree then buried and only then can truly show us new life.

We are parables and God is the author. Our world is made, then sours--always sours--and only then can be recast by God into some semblance of the Kingdom. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, O God, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

posted by michael jacob kooiman @ 5:42 AM