Today's Gospel lesson is from Matthew 13:1-9,18-23 ----- Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!" ------ "Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."

Pentecost 9A, 2008 Proper 10

If you would prefer to listen, click here. (14 minutes including Gospel reading.)

A Waste of Time?

You visit the earth and water it abundantly, you make it very plenteous; the river of God is full of water.”
One of the most frequent criticisms of clergy, which I hear from lay people, is that we pastors waste a lot of time.   We are known to be unorganized (although I know what is in each stack of mess around my desk), we are  thought of as being procrastinators (but I would claim that I like to pray about a decision before I jump into something), and we have a whole lot of un-accounted for time in a day.  I wish I had a penny for every time somebody has said to me: “Well, you only  work one day a week!” "You visit the earth and water it abundantly, you make it very plenteous; the river of God is full of water."

One of the most frequent criticisms of clergy, which I hear from lay people, is that we pastors waste a lot of time. We are known to be unorganized (although I know what is in each stack of mess around my desk), we are thought of as being procrastinators (but I would claim that I like to pray about a decision before I jump into something), and we have a whole lot of un-accounted for time in a day. I wish I had a penny for every time somebody has said to me: "Well, you only work one day a week!" How long do you think it takes to write a 15 minute sermon?

I must admit, that we do have a lot of wasted time in our schedule. I may take one hour to drive to Birmingham, for a 15 minute visit at the hospital to pray with someone, then take an hour for the drive back home. I spent two hours last week listening to a troubled teen...with nothing substantial to show for that two hours. I spent more than an hour going to Hanceville to the nursing home, for a short visit with a parishoner. Is this wasted time, or the essence of my job? What about when I come down to the church every day, and spend about 20 minutes walking around each pew, praying for each of you, where you usually sit, and what your needs or concerns may be? Is that wasted time?

In our parable for today, there seems to be a great deal of "waste" as the sower in the parable is scattering seed all over the place.... a little bit of seed hits the good soil, but there is seed on paths, in the briars, on the rocky ground. What did he think he was doing?...wasting seed on those places? Despite being a clergy, I really do hate waste.

I like to make sure the air conditioners are turned off, if nobody is in the buildings. I always check the lights to make sure they are off. I run my sermons, on the back side of paper that has already been used, just not to waste any paper. I always "clean my plate", so that no food goes to waste. I don’t like waste. But the bible seems to be full of stories about extravagance and waste. Our parable seems to suggest, that in God’s kingdom there is much waste.

When Jesus was born, cruel king Herod’s troops came and massacred hundreds of baby boys, because of the threat he felt from this new born king. Do you think it would have been better if not so much had been made of Jesus being a "king", so that Herod would not have felt so threatened? Perhaps the good news of Jesus’ birth could have been toned down a bit.

But that is not what the gospel is about! So in Matthew’s gospel, the magi show up at the manger with the costliest of gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. And they lay these extravagant gifts at the feet of Mary and her poor baby. This exuberant extravagance continues throughout the gospel. How many times did the disciples almost break their nets, when fishing where Jesus said to fish? How much food was left over, after Jesus fed the 5000? And the 4000? What about the woman who wasted the expensive ointment by pouring it on Jesus’ feet? It could have been sold to feed the poor for months. And think about how many of Jesus’ parables had to do with waste: There was the shepherd who left his 99 sheep to go find the one who was lost. There was the Samaritan who gave all that he had to help a wounded man on the side of the road, and left word for the innkeeper to run a tab for anything the man may need. There was a man who gave an extravagant banquet, but all those who were invited rudely refused to come. There was the prodical son who wasted all of his inheritance on fine food and fast women... or was it fast food and fine women? But still his father kills the fatted calf for him.

Are not all these parables about extravagance, recklessness, and waste?

And what could have been more wasteful, than for Jesus to lay down his life for people like us?

The poor farmer in today’s parable had a lot working against him: poor soil, rocks and weeds. We’ve got a great deal working against us, in the church today. And this is what this parable is really about, I believe, the work of the church. We must be careful not to think that this is a story to help us, personally, be better soil... it just doesn’t work that way. The gospel is not about us being better people, but it is about the extravagance of God. And it is about us, as the church, being sowers of the word of God. On this bright Sunday morning, there are probably more people at the beach or in the mountains than there are in any church. The lures of summer take their toll on church attendance. We’ve got more church building here, than we need on most any Sunday of the year... I’ve got more sermon here, than most of you want to hear... (How many of you ever listen to the prelude and postlude that the organist has worked on all week?)...there is a lot of waste in what we do here.

But that is only half of the parable. In the parable of the sower, Jesus not only speaks of the wasted seed, but also of an amazingly gracious harvest. Even tho most of the seed is wasted, some of the seed took root and grew, and brought forth a harvest of 30, 60, even a 100 fold. If you’ve got ears, listen!

The parable ends in joy, and celebration of a great harvest. I’ve been around the church long enough to know that there will be disappointment, even failure. We all experience that in our own lives. But the good news of the gospel, yes, even in our lesson from Isaiah and the psalm, is that we have an extravagant creator, we have a generous Lord, who showers us with everything we need, and more. And as his church, as his children, as his hands in the world, we can be just as extravagant and generous. There is no such thing as a wasted sermon. (There is never a wasted prelude).

When you take a little extra time to listen to someone, or say a prayer, or cook a meal, or share your story...in the name of Christ,... you don’t have to worry about wasting your resources...what you give to the church, or a friend, or a stranger in need, will return to you multiplied greatly. We can be extravagant because we know that God has been, and will be, extravagant with us...there is not shortage with our creator.

But I am not expecting there to be a great increase in attendance next Sunday because of this sermon. I hope you don’t expect the news crew from Dateline to be outside your door to run a heartwarming story on your generosity and careing... and don’t expect to be named "employee of the year" by your boss because of your good deeds. Not all of your extravagance will bear a crop or even come to harvest. But it is not wasted, because some of it will fall on good soil. It’s about being the church, not being better soil. It is about being better sowers, not better soil. The creator of the harvest knows this, and so he continues with his extravagance, ...and so must we continue to be generous in the deeds and words we share.

May we rejoice in His grace, enjoy his abundance, and live as his children...sharing the love of our Father with the world. AMEN.