June 17th, 2018 The Seeds We Sow Mark 4: 26-34

I love my little dog Iggy, but I have to admit that one of first features that enamoured me to him is that he is so small. I am so much bigger, so much stronger. After years of being the owner of large rambunctious dogs that pulled me down the side walk at their speed, I have welcomed my new found power. Nowadays when we walk, it’s at my speed and more or less my direction. The second feature that I love about Iggy is that when I am in the house, he follows me around from room to room, always wanting to be close by. Although at first surprised, my ego has gotten quite used to all this devotion. My ego has even come to consider this all very normal. Power is such an addictive quality. The more we get, the more we take it for granted and how we use it can make all the difference.

I thought of that as I read the Gospel passage today. Someone scatters seed on the ground and then goes off to tend to other business. I planted grass seed a few weeks ago. I did not go out every morning to see how it was doing. I did not even remember to water it every day. The earth below and the sky above nurtured those seeds and gave them exactly what they needed to sprout up and begin to transform my barren patch of land. The miracle of why seeds transform remains a mystery. All we can do is testify to what happens when the proper growing conditions are provided. Likewise the tiniest of seeds, like the mustard seed can grow up become surprisingly tall, and sturdy, large enough to offer shelter and shade for creatures seeking its protection. These familiar parables about the mystery and power of seeds are concrete examples of the mystery of our lives and the power we have.

How we think and act and are in the world, can have a profound impact on our family, our friends, our neighbours and ultimately on this whole planet. Jesus tells us that the kingdom of god is like this, spreading rather mysteriously and eventually becoming a haven and a shelter for the weary soles of this world. But first I would like to talk about the seeds we see being planted these days that are not of the kingdom of god. I hear a lot of rage, a lot of violent and rude words being bandied about. I hear a lot of hatred. When the public discourse resorts to scapegoating and smear campaigns against migrant workers, Muslim refugees and Prime Ministers who simply don’t agree with you, we see how quickly those seeds encourage more rage, more violence and more hatred. When our major corporations and our politicians alike begin to define the citizens of the world as simply consumers, we see how rapidly we buy into the notion that true happiness, fulfillment and success in life can be ours with the purchase of the latest iPhone and flat screen TV, the blue tooth speakers and the designer jeans. The seeds of hatred, fear, overconsumption and greed get planted in the hearts of those of us who are hurting and crying out for some kind of shelter from the trials and tribulations of this world. We all suffer from the uncertainties of life. And if all we hear is public vitriol and condemnation where do we find hope? Where do we find true shelter and a measure of peace in our souls?

You know what Jesus would say. He would tell us we find these things in the kingdom of god, where the seeds that are planted are very different from the ones we have been talking about today. The human heart is fertile ground for many kinds of seeds. As easily planted as hatred, rage and violence, the seeds of compassion, forgiveness and generosity find a welcome home, if and only if we have prepared the ground properly. In order for these seeds to grow we have to let go of our grip on certainty, on self-righteousness and on the fear that prevents us from trusting one another. We have to trust that God is somehow calling out the very best in each of us and that when we open our hearts to God’s transformational power God will grow God’s seeds in our hearts and bring us the peace we all seek.

I recently was listening to Franciscan priest and spiritual writer Richard Rohr who believes that the most striking transformations come to us through experiences of either extraordinary love or extraordinary suffering. So if you have known extreme suffering, if you have been abused, or have lost all hope of finding what you are looking for or are feeling powerless before a bad situation or have come to see yourself as less than a good person, the good news that Jesus brings us is that you don’t have to listen to the false voices, the false seeds of blame and shame. You don’t have to listen to the false prophets that offer you hundreds of Facebook friends, but leave you lonely at the end of the day. You don’t have to be swayed by displays of power used in a coercive, abusive way. Look into the eyes of the nearest baby you can find and know, deeply, that we are all built in the image of our creator. We are all due the respect of our humanity. At our core is something holy and divine. The more we trust that this is so, the more we prepare our ground to receive God’s seeds, : the stronger we get, the better we are able to defend ourselves from the voices of the false prophets, until one day we too find ourselves scattering Gods seed’s and waiting for God to bring the increase. Amen.