Sowing the seed

Sunday 12^th – Trinity 5 – Proper 10

Isaiah 55: 10-13. Isaiah’s prophesy of the active word of God coming to fruition employs wonderful symbolism taken from the natural world. The specific world event being foretold is the return of the Jews in exile in Babylon, and the joy that return elicits is beautifully expressed. This return from exile happened in 539BC after an edict issued by the Persian King Cyrus the Great

Romans 8: 1-11. This most famous of the chapters of Romans is spread over three Sundays. He starts by recollecting that there is “now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus” and then introduces the theme of living either according to the “flesh” or the “Spirit.” These are two different mindsets, rather than two separate moral choices. It means either living your life according to the values and standards of the world in rebellion against God or living your life with your mind set on the Spirit of God which is life and peace. The Spirit is God’s not ours and he is given as a gift which we can choose to unwrap or leave in a cupboard on a shelf. But the Spirit of God will raise us just as it raised Jesus from the dead.

Matthew 13: 1-9, 18-23. This parable and explanation of this extraordinarily incompetent Farmer’s efforts mirrors closely the experience of the church both then and now. Flat rejection by some, short-lived enthusiasm from others which melts away quickly when trials and the pressures of life weigh them down, but also success, when people believe with joy, understand the message and let it flourish in their lives.

Last Sunday was marvellous because it was like returning from exile after having been banished from the church.

Returning from exile, coming home after being lost in the wilderness, are the central motifs of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

The two central motifs that have moulded the Jewish character and history are the returning home after slavery in Egypt, and returning home after exile in Babylon are the historical reference points but the Spiritual message is the same.

God in Christ is calling us all to come home to Him after all humanity was banished from the Garden of Eden. Jesus is the new Adam calling us all home. We started to explore that last week and how we enact our coming home in the Eucharist. In receiving the body and blood of Jesus we actively demonstrate physically what we feel spiritually.

This week we start to unwrap the spiritual underpinning of our sacramental devotion.

The glorious starting sentence of Romans 8 “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” should lead us to straighten our backs, strengthen us and give us resilience, assurance and resolve. These are words of real spiritual nourishment.

Those words rest on the conviction that Jesus died “for the life of the world” as it says in John’s gospel.

We have eternal life as a permanent possession because He not only died for us, he was raised for us also. So spiritually we die to an old way of life and start living for God in the power of God’s Spirit.  

The gospel message I’ve just outlined is the “seed” that is sown by the church, and the church is all of us here.

And the gospel is the seed being sown in the parable

What happens to that spiritual seed mirrors closely the experience of the church both then and now. Flat rejection by some, short-lived enthusiasm from others which melts away quickly when trials and the pressures of life weigh them down, but also success, when people believe with joy, understand the message and let it flourish in their lives.

And this flourishing in our lives, is what the church is about. Flourishing people is the best advertisement for the gospel that we have.

When people see the difference the gospel message has made in our attitude to life and the values that guide our living and the decisions we make, and that difference is attractive, we are walking billboards for the gospel.

It was Francis of Assisi that said, “Preach the gospel at all times, use words if you have to.” Meaning that a changed life is worth a thousand words and arguments

Of course the parable pre-supposes that all manner of people will hear the gospel when preached and we can’t know how it will be received.

Not knowing how it will be received is not a reason not to preach the gospel of Grace because what we are doing is offering people a gift.

The gift of God, forgiveness, a moral compass, wholeness, assurance and peace. The gift of God means being able to perceive the glorious mysterious depth of creation.

It is like changing from seeing the world in black and white to seeing in glorious technicolour. We are offering in fact a free up-grade to people’s lives.

How they respond is not in our control. But first the gospel must be made known in order to make any response at all.

We are the privileged ones, who have responded to God’s call made through Christ to follow him. Because of that we gain the right to call ourselves children of God and make sure that others hear the same call.