Seedy Living

Jesus often used stories about growing plants to teach his disciples about the Kingdom of God. This morning we heard the story of a farmer sowing seed.

The farmer is a typical farmer. He is going for maximum return, for the minimum of effort. It’s not laziness. It’s efficiency.

He scatters the seed across the field. Some of it falls on the path, some of it on the rocky ground, and some of it falls amongst the weeds.

It would be a more efficient use of the seed if all the seed went into the good soil, and none of it went onto the path, the stony bit, or amongst the weeds.

But the farmer has plenty of seed, and he doesn’t have time to be that careful with the seed when he is near the path, the stones, and the weeds. He just flings it out anyway. You never know, some of it might be fruitful.

It’s a great story. You can just visualise the scene. The field, the farmer, the seeds, and the four different outcomes.

Jesus has to explain it to his disciples. The seeds represent people who have heard about the Kingdom of God.

Jesus explains that the seeds on the path don’t really ‘get’ the Kingdom, and the message doesn’t grow in them at all.

The seeds on the rocky ground, grow for a while, and then die because their roots are shallow. The message grows in them, but because it stays shallow, it does not satisfy them, and the message dies.

The seeds amongst the weeds, get crowded out, and although the message doesn’t die, there isn’t any fruit.

You can read Jesus’ explanations yourself in Matthew chapter 13 at verses 1 to 23.

Paul also talked about planting and growing seeds. He was enouraging the Corinthians to respect the different gifts and styles of their different teachers, rather than falling out over which one was the best. Jesus is the foundation we should all be building our lives upon.

Instead of arguing about difference, let us recognise common purpose, common goals.

Paul and Apollos were both teachers, helping the Corinthians to know God better, to serve God more powerfully, to bring others to follow Jesus.

Some folk have a gift for bringing in new people. Some folk have a gift for teaching children. Some folk have a gift for prayer and helping others to pray. Some folk have a gift of helping those who are needing help. Some folk have a gift of visiting the sick and bring the healing of Jesus.

Paul had another example, of building a building.

Paul was the architect, finding a site, pulling together the materials like bricks and cement, and then laying the foundations. He was building a Temple for God out of living people.

Apollos had built on the foundations that Paul had created.

Together they were constructing a building for God. Each of the parts had their own role to play. If they didn’t stick together, and do what they were called to do, then the building would fall down.

We have seen that in Haiti this week. Buildings that were perfectly OK in normal times, were unable to survive the shaking of the earthquake.

When the time of shaking came - many of the buildings collapsed.

In this country people have stopped reading the Bible for themselves, and they have stopped talking to God themselves. Instead of coming to church every week, now they only came to Church at Communions and special events, or maybe even only at Christmas-time.

Nowadays, when trouble comes, people blame God, instead of asking for his help. When they need God, they can’t find Him, they don’t recognise Him, and they are lost.

As society has become disillusioned with God, folk who come to church are ridiculed for wasting their time. Society stops seeing the church as an asset, and instead sees the church as a drain on resources, a waste of everybody’s time.

Soon the church will come to a time of shaking, unless society changes direction. Then people will see what we are made of. Indeed, then we will find out what we are made of.

Paul exhorts the Corinthians to be united.

He doesn’t expect them all to be the same, all doing the same thing, thinking the same things, feeling the same things.

But he encourages them all to stay together as they follow Jesus. To encourage each other. To help each other. To teach each other. To comfort each other when things go wrong.

The Corinthians learned their lesson.
We know they were still in existence at least 100 years later.

Paul says, “Surely you know you are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit lives in you!”

Therefore I say to you, “Build God’s Temple by working together. Don’t weaken it with disputes or disagreements.”

Spirituality

Last Sunday we continued reading Paul's letter to the Corinthians, at the second chapter. Paul reminded the Corinthians that he had not used clever debate or sophisticated argument to convince people of the Good News about Jesus.

No, Paul gave convincing proof of the power of God's Spirit.

Before Jesus was crucified, he told his followers that the Holy Spirit would come upon them too. He said,
“When the Spirit comes, who reveals the truth about God, he will lead you into all truth.” (John 16:13)

Genesis reminds us that “God is Spirit, and God is Truth.” These are two of his characteristics, although He is more than just these.

Indeed, “God is”, is an even more fundamental characteristic of God. That is his Name. He told Moses, “I am is who I am.”

Genesis also tells us that God put something of himself into every human person. Genesis describes that something as “God’s image”.

Just like a TV image is not the full reality, so that ‘image’ of God within each human is only a glimpse of God. But that ‘glimpse’ is what leads so many humans to look for God.

Jesus encouraged his disciples not to depend on their own understanding, or on their own strength. God’s wisdom, strength, and power, are far greater than any human power.

Jesus was a man. Although he was also God, he had set aside all his Godly abilities. He was a man. A real man. Not a super-man.

He couldn’t do God’s work unless He had the Holy Spirit in him. That’s why his ministry started when he was Baptised by John the Baptist, and the Holy Spirit came upon Him.

Jesus told his disciples a surprising thing, a bit earlier in these Farewell Discourses in John’s Gospel. At John 14:12, he says, “I am telling you the truth: whoever believes in me will do what I do - Yes, he will do even greater things, because I am going to the Father.”

It is an astonishing statement. That you, someone who believes in Jesus, will do what he did, and maybe even greater things than that.

When you look outside, you can’t tell how cold it is, unless you can see the signs.

When you look about you, you can’t see God, unless you can see the signs. The Holy Spirit shows us the activity of God. He ‘reveals the truth about God, and will lead you into all truth.’ (John 16:13)

Paul taught the Corinthian Christians to be open to the Holy Spirit, to allow Him to fill them full to overflowing, to be submerged in the Spirit, like being baptised in a running river of water.

The Spirit helps us to know God, to follow Jesus, and to help others to find God. It’s beyond and above our understanding.

Believe.

The Week That Was

On Thursday, I attended a Memorial service at my local church. My next-door neighbour had been ill for most of last year, and she died just before Christmas. She was a wonderful person. She and her husband were great neighbours and we will all miss them.

In the evening, my wife and I attended the Ordination of one of my training colleagues. He and I started at New College together in September 2005, and for most of the last 4 years, we have journeyed together, attending many of the same classes, and chatting most days. It was great to see him started in ministry at Stewarton: John Knox.

On Saturday, Liz and I went to visit one of the parishes I have applied for. We hadn't been able to see round one of the three church buildings on our previous visit, and it was nice to see the inside this time. As with the other two buildings, this one had some very attractive and distinctive features.

In the afternoon, we travelled through the snowy hills, for the ordination of another friend from New College. Although we did not know each other so well previously, during this past year, we have come a lot closer. He completed his training with the congregation where I had been on placement during the previous year. We share common experience, and it was nice to see some of my friends from that congregation who were also at his ordination.

The week seemed to whizz by so rapidly. It's been jam-packed, mostly with enjoyable and satisfying experiences, even although some them were to do with funerals.

God is good. He leads us through life from conception, through death, and beyond. Too often those ancient peoples of the Old Testament thought that God was an angry vengeful God. Jesus came to show us that God loves us. He cares for us and provides us with everything that we need, and far more than that.

God was there at the beginning of Time. He created Time. With Him there always enough time. Even until the End of Time, whenever that will be.