Looking Forward to July 16, 2023 -- 7th Sunday After Pentecost, Proper 10A

 The Scripture Reading this week is Matthew 13:1-23

The Sermon title is Spread the Seed

Source

Early Thoughts: Can we be intentionally wasteful? Can we scatter seed willy nilly or do we have to be careful and prudent, only sowing seeds we are assured will grow well?

The farmer in this parable always fascinates me. Seed is a valuable commodity. Often in human history it was grain saved from the food bin so that it can be planted the next year. An experimental farmer may have carefully cross-bred plants and saved the seeds to continue the experiment next year. In the modern era seed is something that has to be purchased, particularly the bio-engineered seeds for plants that are resistant to specific pests or herbicides. 

With such a valuable commodity one might think it most prudent to plant pretty carefully, to make sure the seed goes evenly into ground that has been well-prepared. That way one has a better chance of a good harvest, food to eat, money to spend, come the end of the season. This is not the picture we get from Jesus' story.

This farmer, it appears, scatters the seed and lets it fall where it will. Not just in the carefully tilled ground but on the path, on rocky ground where the soil is thin, where there are already weeds growing. At first glance this seems wasteful, careless, possibly even profligate. But is there something that calls us to pay attention?

Normally when we talk about this parable we follow the Gospel writers and talk about the seeds and ask ourselves where we are growing. Or sometimes we might think of ourselves as the soil and ask what kind of growing conditions we provide. Both are very useful lines of inquiry. However parables are tools that allow a great variety of interpretive choices. There is never only one way to understand these stories. So this year I find myself asking how we are (or are not) or could be or maybe even should be like the farmer.

Maybe we are too careful. Maybe we try to hard to plan down to the last detail, to ensure success, to only try something when we are sure it will be like seed landing on the good rich soil. Are we prepared to try something, to invest energy and resources on something when it might be seed eaten by birds, or choked out by weeds, or grow quickly then die because it is not sustainable?

It does seem like a waste of resources to take that risk. When we think our resources and our time are limited we want to invest them wisely, to try our best to get a good return on investment. Surely anyone will tell you that is wise and prudent.

But Jesus never says a word about this farmer. Jesus never comments on the apparent wastefulness and carelessness. Maybe the farmer was in an area where good and bad soil were so interwoven there was no way to avoid the waste. Maybe the farmer wasn't paying close attention. Or maybe the farmer was sowing based on faith and trust. Jesus says nothing to condemn or commend the farmer. But the story would not exist without the farmer, the story is as much about the farmer as it is about the seeds.

In 1 Corinthians Paul says "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth" (1 Cor 3:6-7). Now indeed in this passage Paul is talking more about the need for unity over tribalism but I think it holds here too. We are not called to make all the growth happen, God is in charge of that. We are called to sow seeds and let them fall where they may. Maybe we need to be less careful. Maybe we need to act more and plan less.

Many church congregations are at or approaching the point where a new way forward has to be found, just to remain sustainable. We can not know exactly which new way forward is the best, that is usually something we only see in hindsight. We may not even know where the good soil is. So perhaps we can toss seeds around profligately, carelessly and rely on faith and trust that growth will occur?  Peter Pan taught me that if we add a bit of dust we may even be able to fly -- 2nd star to the right and straight on til morning.
--Gord

Deepening our Spirituality... (Newsletter Piece)

You are having a conversation with a friend. Part way through they ask “why do you go to church?”. How do you respond? Does the answer include something about having your soul/spirit fed? Is that part of what the church offers to you?

I sincerely hope so.

Bold Discipleship. Daring Justice. Deep Spirituality. Those are three things the General Council has chosen as guideposts for our life together as a denomination, and have encouraged local congregations to take those guideposts for their own lives together. It is my belief and hope that all three interact and feed each other in a positive feedback loop. Some people are energized more by an encouragement to be bold as they grow in disciples. Some people like the challenge of being daring as they seek a new, more just world. And sometimes what we truly need is to go deep into our spiritual sides (and yes I believe we all have a spiritual side) and sense the presence of the Holy in our lives.

The witness of many saints and Saints over the centuries has been that deep spirituality feeds how we live out our faith. Deep spirituality helps us draw from a well of strength and hope beyond ourselves. It reminds us that there is a bigger picture than the one in front of us. So how do we go deeper into our spiritual selves? How do we tap into the deep well of God’s presence?

There are, of course, a multitude of answers to that question. And what works for me will not necessarily what works for you. So if we are to be a community that encourages deep spirituality how do we do that?

I’ll come back to that question. But first I want to tell you about one of my favourite courses in seminary. In my final year there was a course offered by one of the professors at the Anglican College of Emmanuel and St. Chad called “Spiritual Formation”. As I read the descriptor I realized that it was indeed a course I really should take. I found that I had not had much formal or intentional exposure to practices that would deepen my spirituality as I was growing up. Certainly I had found things that worked for me (often involving being by myself outside by a body of water) but I had never had a chance to really explore spiritual practices. So I took the course. And I was so glad for having done it.

In that course given a chance to try a variety of forms of prayer and reflect on them. We discussed other practices like fasting or creating a “rule of life”. It was there that I was first introduced to walking the labyrinth. In a school setting with a lot of heavy thinking it was a place that gave us the tools to spend time with God, because we need to do that to recharge ourselves and be able to take on the other tasks of life.

Some of what we did in that course touched me deeply. Some of it didn’t. But the important thing was that it helped me learn more clearly what works for me, and gave me other things to try from time to time. I think that is one of the roles the church can play in our lives. Not to tell us what we must do to deepen our walk with God, but to help us explore what works for us, to give us options and experiences that help us sort out what touches our soul. (Which partially answers the question I asked above.)

There are other things we can do as a community to help each other develop a deeper spirituality. We can give each other permission to share what works for us – and what doesn’t – in a place where we won’t be judged. One of the things about spiritual practices or spiritual disciplines is that often they look very ‘unproductive’, some might even accuse us of wasting time. As a community that believes these things to be important we can give each other permission to ‘waste time’ in such ways. We can offer space. We have a labyrinth that people can walk. We have a sanctuary where people can come and sit and think/reflect/pray (or ponder the stained glass windows). There are many ways we, as a community, can help each other feed our spirits.

To be a faith community is to be a place where spiritsare nourished. Some people do that by working on tasks. Some do it by walking the labyrinth or experiencing a sound bath. Some do it in quiet reflection, some do it out loud and talking. Sometimes we do any of the above at different times. There is no one right way to feed our spiritual side. What works best for you?
Gord

PS: As I was writing this I pulled out the folder from my old Spiritual Formation course. Looking over it I wondered if there might be interest in the fall for a group of us to get together and talk about/try on different spiritual practices. Let me know.

Looking Ahead to July 9, 2023 --6th Sunday After Pentecost, Proper 9A

The Scripture Reading this week is Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

The Sermon title is What Yoke Do You Wear?

Early Thoughts: We all carry a yoke (or two or three). We all have burdens. Some of them are physical, some are emotional, some are real, some are created by our imaginations. What do we do when they become too much to bear? How intentional are we in choosing which burdens or yokes we will continue to carry and which ones we will get rid of (or not even pick up in the first place)?

Life is a series of choices. Sometimes we need to say yes. Sometimes we need to say no. Those choices might lead us to feel overwhelmed, they may lead to more relaxation. They might make us exhausted, they might help us feel refreshed.

What choices does Jesus encourage us to make?

There are two distinct sections to this week's readings, and yet I think they are linked together.  First we have what is really the end of a story about John the Baptist. In these verses Jesus points out that some people will always find a reason to complain. John was too ascetic, Jesus is not ascetic enough. But really both made the choices they made as a way to lead people to a new understanding of God and God's relationship to the world. Do we need to follow John's asceticism, to deny ourselves things we enjoy? Sometimes. Do we need to follow Jesus' example and risk being accused of being gluttons (or maybe even accused of straying into hedonism)? Sometimes.  Maybe both in moderation and at the right time? How do we make the choices?

(Actually the Scripture reference should be 11:28)

The second section (skipping over some challenging words about woes to the unrepentant -- Matthew's gospel has some difficult images of judgement and punishment at times) includes a very well known passage about heavy burdens and easy yokes. Indeed, when we dedicated the bench which sits in front of St. Paul's we used these words and dedicated the bench to those seeking comfort and refreshment.

At first glance it seems the two sections are wholly unrelated. But I think they are all about choices.

Jesus does not say that following his path would always be restful. Indeed it would sometimes be very challenging. Sometimes it would feel like a heavy burden to be going against so much 'common sense' and lifting up a new way of being in the world. Jesus does say that we can come to Jesus and find a resting place, a time we can set the burden down.

Among other meanings, a yoke is a tool used to help two animals (often oxen) work together to share the load. Together the oxen can pull a heavier load. Jesus encourages us to pick up his yoke. I think he is encouraging us to take up the second side of a yoke with Jesus placing the other side on his own neck. We find rest in Jesus because Jesus is sharing the load -- if we choose to let him.

Jesus does ask us to take up a yoke, to take up some burdens. But not all the burdens we carry (literally or metaphorically) are ones that Jesus asks us to pick up. Jesus also invites us to pay down the burdens we do not need to carry, to see the wisdom revealed by God (in a variety of ways) and know when to be ascetic and when to be a glutton. 

But we do not do it alone. We do not need to use our strength alone. Sometimes we can put our burdens down, have a rest, and then decide which ones we are supposed to pick back up and continue the journey.

What weighs you down? What burdens can you drop? What are you being invited to pick up and share the load?
--Gord