Cultivating Soil

Matthew 13:18-23, “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.  But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.  The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.  But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

The vast majority of people do not remember what their pastors preach from week to week, but if something is going to find its way into our long term memory; it will probably be a story.  The parables of Jesus tend to be well known anecdotes.

Although the parable of the sower is one I have read and/or heard many times, something fresh came to mind as I studied it this week.  We often talk about the different kinds of soil… the different kinds of people… and at the end of the day we encourage others to ‘just’ plant seeds, because it is not our job to make them grow.  That’s actually biblically sound (see I Cor. 3:6).  But the thing that stood out to me, this time around, is that we could likely make an enormous difference in the lives of hearers if we would only take the time to cultivate the soil.  Who’s to say we can’t affect change for the outcome if we will help people to understand… to grow deep… to eradicate the weeds?

I am not a gardener, although I wish I was.  My grandparents were great at growing things.  I cannot begin to recount how many childhood hours I spent snapping beans with my Mammaw and Paw in their urban backyard (probably ½ or which was a garden) or picking strawberries with my Nana.  These people put a ton of time into cultivating the ground, planting the seeds, caring for the crops as they grew, and then harvesting.

My own (adult) gardening experience was short lived and looked something like this: 

I didn’t have the right tools; I bought several packages of seeds of different varieties off a Walmart shelf; about fifteen minutes into trying to prepare an absurdly small patch of earth, I dug a few holes and threw the seeds in and left them in hopes that beautiful vegetables might appear.  It was something like the path, the rocky ground, and the thorns and weeds all wrapped up in one messy package!  Miraculously, I produced two or three zucchinis, a couple of baby carrots (we didn’t eat those), and four pumpkins (which was exactly how many I needed, because I only had four kids at the time).  I haven’t planted anything since.

I will probably never be a gardener (of crops… of flowers…), but I think we all have a responsibility to not only sow seed in humanity but to tend to it in such a way that our people have the best possible chance to grow.

Later today I will post a podcast about discipleship and confirmation, related to this passage of Scripture.  I hope you’ll tune in!

 
L.

Responsibility

Sin requires penance, but I’m trying to decide whether or not penance requires sin.  I think the answer is no, and you can hear more on this at FGT – The Podcast (linked here).

In the quintessential, tongue twisting, Pauline treatise on sin; we find Paul lamenting this sin that he keeps committing when he doesn’t even want to:

Romans 7:15-25a:

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (NIV).

This might throw a wrench in our usual definition of sin.  Does it have to be willful?  How does this relate to sins of omission?  May we take responsibility even if we’re not directly culpable?  What are the benefits and disadvantages of such accountability?  Is it worth it?

Go ahead and count the cost, but I think the answer is tucked away with the perception and response of suffering people.  If we honestly care about the other; I think we have to be willing to embody restorative practices, even if the ‘fault’ cannot be traced directly to us.  This is the way of Jesus.  This is the way of the cross.

 
L.

They are Us and We are Them

I would encourage you to listen to FGT - The Podcast for thoughts on today's lectionary readings as well as the importance of putting our own safety, comfort, and preferences aside in an attempt to stop worrying about 'taking care of our own first' and to, instead, recognize that, as Mother Teresa put it so aptly, "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."

FGT - The Podcast Episode #004 "Dichotomous"

Also, my commentary on the alternate reading, Jeremiah 20:7-13, can be found here at A Plain Account.

L.

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/mothertere107032.html

From the Start

The creation story has become the linchpin of many different strains of theology.  I have some concerns about this, because I think it limits the understanding of the vastness of our great God to what may very well be just the first ‘cycle’ of things God ever did.  I think it lends itself to a lazy god who snapped his invisible fingers six times and then sat down to watch the history of the world unfold.  Personally, I care deeply about what happened on the 8^th day… and the 9^th… and this morning… and every day in-between.  These are important things to consider… to discuss… but I admit that we cannot begin without a beginning.  So… 

Genesis 1:1-2, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (NIV).

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (NIV).

The creation narrative is important, but I think we sometimes get so caught up in the phrase “God created” that we miss the Spirit, “hovering over the waters.”

Scripture is important, but I think we sometimes get so caught up in words that we miss the Word… Jesus… present at the beginning.

It’s Trinity Sunday, friends, and God, Spirit, and Jesus have all existed in community from the start.  We need to grasp that in order to understand the importance of community, overall, as we seek to more fully be and become the people of God.  To be created Imago Dei is to be created in and for community.  And to be created Imago Dei is also to be co-creators… to work with God.

For more thoughts on Trinity Sunday, please enjoy this podcast with special guest Craig Drurey, author of Relational Discipleship:

FGT - The Podcast Episode #002 - "Scrambled Eggs" 

Also, if you would like to follow “Flip Flops, Glitter, and Theology – The Podcast” on Podbean, you can get connected here:

Flip Flops, Glitter, and Theology on Podbean

L.