Groans and sighs

Romans 8:26-39

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. God's Everlasting Love What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long;we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

I rarely watch television. Even on the odd nights I'm at home, I'd rather be doing other things. So most of my news comes via the internet and social media. And I think, now, more than ever before, that must be a good thing. To read about all the awful things happening across the globe, with perhaps the odd captioned picture is hard enough, without seeing those events - and their aftermath - in glorious, or inglorious technicolour.

I'm sure you'll agree that, for those of us of a praying persuasion, it's hard to know where to start, unless it is with a litany of grief.

For murdered children

For bereaved parents

For displaced and divided families

For discarded and broken lives

For planes shot down in acts of terrorism

Or falling from the skies through technical failure or mystery

For people denied freedom

and basic human rights

For those persecuted by oppressive governments

and religious regimes

For those who see violence

as a way to peace

For those who meet conflict

with destructive force.

We need the Spirit to intercede for us. To take our jumbled thoughts and emotions and our lack of understanding, to take our grief and sorrow that's beyond words and set up the line of communication between our hearts and the heart of God. The Spirit allows that heart connection, a connection unspoiled by the things we do not know or fail to understand, unsullied by our inability to feel the depth of pain and sorrow contained in news headlines and in stories of human suffering that have long since been forgotten or never even been told. The Spirit bridges the gap between our hearts and the heart of God, not only giving us a way to connect with what is human and divine but also holding our hearts and preventing them from breaking with the weight of sorrow.

Prayer that makes a difference in our world today is not a beautifully composed and assembled form of words.

It's a sigh that connects right to the heart of God.

A sigh, that in its depth conveys the hope and the promise contained in the rest of this passage from Romans 8.

The promise that we read:

For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to God's purpose.

I've often heard offered this promise offered in times of trial.

In fact, at times, I too have used these words to comfort others.

Words that seem like such a bold and improbable promise in the light of the world's suffering today.

What can possibly be the purpose of God in Israel or Palestine, in Algeria or Afghanistan, in Malaysia or the Netherlands? Or all those other places that flit in and out of our news, so quickly replaced by the next horror story of human degradation and deprivation?

The God in whom I believe does not allow creation to suffer just so that some divine purpose can be realised.

But this God, present where there is suffering of any kind, is able to conceive of a new way, a different world, a world in which suffering is redeemed.

A God who holds out hope and promise for a suffering world.

A God who knows and who is even now fashioning a world beyond our imagining, a world that connects with those Spirit groans, built on the very heart of a God who is love.

That is the promise.

And that promise is sustained by this hope:

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Nothing can separate us from the love of God.

It is to that hope that we cling.

So, even when we despair at all that is happening in the world, when we see no justice, no peace, still we can see the love of God at work.

In all the myriad ways that folk reach out to help one another, to spread the love in every circumstance.

Our daily news bulletins, however we receive them, often catapult us into a pit of despair or, even worse, indifference, because we think that we cannot change the suffering of the world.

And we cannot find the words even to pray.

But - Ours is a call not to eloquence.

But to groans of prayer.

A call to connect with the heart of God.

A call to claim the promise of God.

And a call to embrace the hope that NOTHING can separate us from the love of God.

And, responding to that call, we will know God's purposes fulfilled for the good of all creation.

Thanks be to God.

Growing together

Matthew 13:24-30

The Parable of the Weeds 

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

Who are we to judge

who’s in and who’s out,

who fits and who doesn't?

How can we tell 

what belongs and what doesn't?

The God of the harvest

encourages us simply

to do what we can,

to grow together,

to influence the other,

knowing that in the end

no matter how it looks on the outside,

how much it may seem like

we all fit together,

those who deny life to others

will not survive

but will be removed,

allowing space to grow

the kingdom of God.

It's not about us?

Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23

The Parable of the Sower

 That same day 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!”

The Purpose of the Parables

 

The Parable of the Sower Explained

 “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.”

The parable we read this morning - of the sower and the seed is,perhaps, one that is familiar.

A parable that we've heard a few times and think that we know what it means.

After telling this story, Jesus said: "Let anyone with ears, listen!"

I wonder what we hear when we listen to this story today? 

And I suspect that many of us hear, in this story words of judgment. 

We hear Jesus telling us that we don't measure up.

We see ourselves as the wrong type of soil, like those in Jesus' story.

Some of us might think of ourselves as the path on which the seed landed, a hard ground, trampled on, walked over. Any fleeting joy is snatched up and taken away, like the seed snatched up by the birds from the path.

Or maybe you feel like that rocky ground.

You want to believe but there is too much that distracts you,that causes you to question.

The state of our world, the suffering some people have to endure, the injustice,the inequality, the lack of evidence of a God of love.

You started out believing but too many weeds have sprung up to squeeze the life out of that faith you once had.

Or what about those thorns.

Do you feel as though your faith is doomed before it begins, thwarted by the pain you endure just to get out of bed every day? Pain that is physical or emotional,maybe even both - chronic illness, the ache for a loved one...

So you hear this parable as a parable of judgment but you look around this morning and see folk whom you gauge to be the good soil of which Jesus speaks - folk who have got it together, who know the drill, who understand faith much better than you do and so are providing that good soil that measures up.

This morning, I want to read this parable to you again.

And I want you to listen.

I'm going to read it from The Message version of the Bible and I invite you to listen, really listen.

Listen without your judgment hat on just for a moment:

Mat 13:1-9

A Harvest Story ​ 

At about that same time Jesus left the house and sat on the beach. In no time at all a crowd gathered along the shoreline, forcing him to get into a boat. Using the boat as a pulpit, he addressed his congregation, telling stories. "What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams. "Are you listening to this? Really listening?" 

The Parable of the Sower Explained

 “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.”

What if this story Jesus told was not so much about what type of soil we are.

Not so much about how we don't measure up.

What is this story was more about the sower- the one who took seed and just threw it anywhere, the one who didn't carefully dig a hole and place in it a seed but who scooped up a handful of seed and threw it willy nilly, so that it landed anywhere and everywhere.

Focussing on the sower of the seed, allows us to see this parable completely differently.

To be as scandalised by this parable as were the disciples and all the folk who heard it.

For the sower was indiscriminate.

The sower allowed the seed to fall anywhere, the sower took all kinds of chances.

The folk around Jesus did not see that kind of extravagance in the farming practices around them or in the purposes of The God they worshipped.

Gods love was meant for a chosen few.

It was inconceivable that Jesus was suggesting that seed could be scattered far and wide, without limit, without boundary.

And still today, we have trouble grasping that.

We want to limit the bounds of  Gods love.

We want to place some people and some places out of reach, beyond the pale.

God never deems any cause not worthy of effort.

God never gives up on potential.

If we look at this parable and think of all the different types of soil.

If we think about when and where we have been a particular type of soil, most of us have been all of these at sometime, perhaps all at once.

If we think about the types of soil, of course we won't measure up.

But if we look instead at the sower as God.

A God who doesn't reserve love for just the right type of soil.

A God who keeps on throwing love in all directions, never giving up hope, always offering more love.

If we look at this example that God the sower sets us, the parable takes on a whole different meaning.

It's a call to us to be extravagant.To keep on throwing out seeds. To keep on hoping that some of them will find rich soil in which to grow.

But, even when we don't see results, this parable is a call for us to keep on making the effort - and leave the rest to God.

It may not be good economics.

But it is faithful discipleship.

Continuing to sow even when the harvest seems lost - it's to that kind of faithfulness that our extravagant God calls us.

So,let's not get all tied up in trying to work out which kind of soil we are.

Let's respond, instead, to God's call to keep on throwing out seeds of love, never giving up as God never gives up.

The gospel reading this morning missed out a chunk in the middle of the passage, the bit where Jesus explains why he uses parables.

I'd like to share that with you this morning - those missed out verses, 10-17:

Why Tell Stories? (10-17)

The disciples came up and asked, "Why do you tell stories?" He replied, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn't been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That's why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they're blue in the face and not get it. I don't want Isaiah's forecast repeated all over again: Your ears are open but you don't hear a thing. Your eyes are awake but you don't see a thing. The people are blockheads! They stick their fingers in their ears so they won't have to listen; They screw their eyes shut so they won't have to look, so they won't have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them. "But you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance.

Today, we have God-blessed eyes and God-blessed ears.

Let's be ready to use them.

Let's be ready to be nudged by God into action.

Sowing seeds in seemingly hopeless situations.

Living in extravagant love with a God who never gives up.

For the glory of God.

Thanks be to God.

Extravagance

Matthew 13:18-23

The Parable of the Sower Explained

 “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.”

How awful

How obscenely extravagant

How indiscriminate of God

To throw open the gates of the kingdom

So that anyone might find a way in

No standards

No safeguards

But a generosity

That is sure to be abused

And just as scandalous today

As was this message

To those who listened to Jesus

Still there are those

Who do not want to believe

Who want to rewrite

The story of God’s unconditional welcome

Who want to maintain standards

And conditions

And limit the sphere

Of the impossible kingdom of God

Thankfully the God of the Universe

Knows no bounds

And cannot be subdued

But carries on regardless

Sowing and reaping

Shuffling and  shoogling, 

Making space for all

Throwing wide the doors

And gathering us in.