Thomas J Parlette
“Seeds, Seeds, and More Seeds”
Mark 4: 26-34
6/16/24
The kingdom of God is like the eruption of a massive solar storm, causing the collapse of modern civilization. Computers stop working, phones go dead, machinery grinds to a halt and airplanes fall out of the sky. About the only people who have the resources to survive are the Amish, who do not rely on modern technology.
No, this frightening story was not a parable told by Jesus. It sounds more like the plot of a summer block-buster movie, coming to your favorite streaming platform soon. No, it’s actually the plot of a novel, written by a Presbyterian pastor named David Williams, called When the English Fall. Of course the Amish call all non-Amish people, “the English.” The English really suffer when their technology fails. The premise sounds kinda interesting – I might add When the English Fall to my summer reading list.
The novel is a parable – a story that holds up a mirror for us, helping to see ourselves in a new way. Based on reviews, the tension in the book increases when the English become desperate and start to go after the Amish and their food supplies. Facing the threat of invasion, the non-violent Amish must decide how to respond as Christians. How much are they obligated to share their resources? And, they wonder, when is violence an appropriate response to aggression? (1)
These are questions not just for the Amish, but for all of us. They give us a mirror, which helps us discover how we should respond as followers of Christ. This parable invites us to wonder about the nature of the kingdom of God.
As you know, Jesus loved parables, he told them throughout his ministry. In the fourth chapter of Mary, Jesus tells a trio of parables that revolve around seeds – the parable of the sower, the parable of the growing seed and the parable of the mustard seed. All of them are stories that help us see ourselves more clearly, but for today, we are just dealing with the growing seed and the mustard seed – we’ll leave the sower for another day.
In the parable of the growing seed, Jesus says, “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.
In this story, we see the growth of the kingdom as something automatic, something that is not dependent on our efforts. In fact, in verse 28, it says, “The earth produces of itself.” The Greek for the phrase “Of itself”, is automate. We are invited to scatter seed, go to sleep, and when we rise, we will see the seeds of the kingdom sprouting and growing. We do not know how the emergence happened, except that Jesus says it happens on its own, automatically.
Then Jesus tells the parable of the mustard seed. He begins with a question. You can almost see him looking around rubbing his chin and wonders out loud, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, what parable can we use for it – hmmm let’s see? I know, it’s like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all 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.”
Jesus tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like one of the smallest of seeds. It is not impressive to look at, but once it is sown it becomes a shrub large enough to put forth large branches. These branches become places of safety and hospitality, where the birds of the air can make their homes.
These parables help us see ourselves and the kingdom of God in a new way. Mark tells us that Jesus did not speak the word to the crowds of people “except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.
So, what do these parables teach us?
First, the emergence of God kingdom will happen on its own if we plant the right seeds and trust good things will happen.
Second, the seed of the kingdom is often small and unimpressive when you first see it, but it grows into something large that can be a much-needed place of safety and hospitality.
We need the growth of the Kingdom now, more than ever. In the past 25 years, about 40 million Americans have stopped going to church. That’s about 12% of the population. Writing in the Atlantic, Isabel Fattal says, “Contemporary America simply isn’t set up to promote mutuality, care or common life. Rather, it is designed to maximize individual accomplishment as defined by professional and financial success. (2)
In America today, large numbers of people simply aren’t that interested in mutuality, care or common life. They have left the church because they don’t they need it – they don’t see the point. They are like birds of the air who fly away from the branches of the mustard shrub, not taking the time to make nests in its shade.
Our culture has told people that the priority is individual accomplishment, defined by professional and financial success. Get a good education, work long hours and make it on your own. Many people are finding their identity more in individual accomplishment than in community participation.
On this Father’s Day, we are certainly grateful to all the “father figures” in our lives who have been good role models for us. But we also know that many of them have fallen into the trap of defining their worth in terms of professional accomplishments and financial success. And it’s not just the men, either – lots of women fall into this trap as well. This can lead to some great and satisfying highs, but there is also a risk of a deep sense of despair as well if we define ourselves in terms of professional accomplishments and financial position.
Writer Derek Thompson coined the term workism in 2019. He uses the term to describe how work has morphed into a kind of religion, promising identity, transcendence, and community.” (3) People think that work will provide them with a sense of identity, an opportunity to go beyond normal human experiences, and a deep sense of connection with people around them.
But I’m not sure about that. Workism doesn’t really deliver on those promises. The problem with workism is that there is no automatic growth provided by God. Workism looks down on things that are small and unimpressive, like a mustard seed. And workism does not provide a safe and hospitable environment, one in which people can nest in safety and security. Workism is, at its core, kind of a selfish concept – everything revolves around us and our efforts.
What people need to hear today is a new story- the parable of the growing church. This is a 21st century story of how the Christian community might better serve its members and its neighbors. When we look in this mirror, we gain a new understanding of Christian identity, transcendence and community. Like the parables of Jesus, it reveals to us the kingdom of God.
The story begins with identity. Picture this – In a growing church, people see themselves as followers of Jesus, not as workers in a global economy. They consider themselves to be disciples of Christ, trying to love as Jesus loved and serve as Jesus served. They see themselves and others as precious children of God, valuable for who they are, not for what they do. In a growing church, members identify themselves as being made in the image and likeness of God.
Next comes transcendence. A growing church provides opportunities for transcendence in worship, bible study and spiritual growth activities. This means that people go beyond normal human experience and gain a sense of God’s nature and power. “A vibrant, life-giving church,” writes Jake Meador, “asks people to prioritize one another over career, to prioritize prayer and time reading Scripture over achievement.” (4) When we do these things, we go beyond workism and have an opportunity to grow closer to God. We discover that the kingdom of God really does grow automatically, on its own, without any effort from us, if we let it do so.
Finally, the parable includes community. The tragedy of contemporary American life is that it does not support care, mutuality or common life. Isolation is on the rise in the United States today, and loneliness is a big problem. I’ve referenced it before, that the Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy calls it an epidemic. But he also says that churches can combat isolation and build neighborly bonds. He writes, “Religious or faith-based groups can be a source for regular social contact, serving as a community of support, providing meaning and purpose and creating a sense of belonging around shared values and beliefs.” (5)
In growing churches, congregations focus on providing people with a safe and welcoming community of faith. Like the mustard shrub that provides branches and shade for the making of nests, churches offer their members and neighbors a place of security and comfort. Churches can be better, truer sorts of communities, says Jake Meador, “ones in which the hungry are fed, the weak lifted up, and the proud cast down.” (6) Like the Amish in the novel, When the English Fall, we are challenged to respond as Christians to the needs of the world around us.
Stories can change our perspective, and the parable of the growing church helps us to see ourselves in the kingdom of God. Each of us can help provide much needed identity, transcendence and community, for ourselves and for our neighbors. We don’t have to be a part of a megachurch – remember, the small mustard seed becomes the greatest of shrubs. And we don’t have to do it all on our own – remember, the seed of the kingdom grows automatically, through the power of God.
The challenge for each of us is to put our trust in the work of God’s kingdom, not in the workism of the world. The parable of the growing church is a story that we can bring to life. Together, we can provide identity, transcendence and community, but only if we let the seeds of God’s kingdom grow among us.
May God be praised. Amen.
1. Homileticsonline, retrieved 5/23/24.
2. Ibid…
3. Ibid…
4. Ibid…
5. Ibid…
6. Ibid…
