Matthew 13: 17
June 13, 2014
Peg Papsch
When Elizabeth first sent out this summer's preaching
schedule during her absence, I went straight to the lectionary to see the
suggested texts for with dismay I saw this parable and I didn't want to preach on
something so simple and easy to understand. I looked at alternative texts,
prayed, and continued to fight with myself until I joined others from Peace
Church at Montreat. I signed up for an art workshop led by an old friend
I hadn't seen in several years. As I walked into her classroom, I noticed
this stole hanging on a bulletin board along with several others. Brenda,
who also made several of the other stoles Elizabeth wears, had made it to address
the theme, "Food for the world." I knew that this was the text God
wanted me to study and share with you.
Let's pray, Prepare our hearts, Oh Lord, to hear you
Word. Silence in us any voice but your own, so the hearing we may
understand, and understanding, may be led to serve. Amen
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by
the lake.2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he
got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then
he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow
his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some
fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some
fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly,
because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun
came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other
seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still
other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or
thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let
them hear.” 10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why
do you speak to the people in parables?” 11 He replied, “Because
the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to
you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be
given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what
they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I
speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing,
they do not hear or understand. 14 In
them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “You will be ever hearing but
never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” 15 For
this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and
they have closed their eyes. Otherwise
they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their
hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’[a]16 But blessed are your eyes
because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For
truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but
did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
It was the last week of summer camp at Kirkwood,
Philadelphia Presbytery’s version of Cedarkirk, located in the heart of the
Penna. Pocono Mountains – a green and wonderfully wild wilderness some 120
miles north of the teeming city of Philadelphia. The college aged
counselors were tired after 11 weeks of chasing down hundreds of active
children some of them had already returned to school, and the rest were
distracted with their upcoming plans. So, this week was dubbed MAD Camp
– music, Art, and drama, and an experienced team of us had been recruited to
come and lead the group of 5th through 8th graders in various art experiences
which had been added to the regular schedule of outdoor adventures. That
would give the counselors some down time each day About 100 kids had come
with musical instruments, cameras, notebooks full of poems and stories, liturgical
dance or step team routines, and a variety of other talents and abilities.
That year, however, the schedule coincided with the end of the day camp
program at Chester East Side Ministries, our Presbytery’s inner City mission in
Chester City – regularly ranked as 1st, 2nd, or 3rd poorest city in the U.S.
So, add to the mix another 2 dozen youngsters with little or no art experience
or interests, and lacking in social skills.
I was Pastor in residence that week charged with planning
daily worship services using as many of the children as wanted to be involved
each day. On Wed. morning the volunteers and I were meeting in the outdoor
chapel in the woods, on a hill that overlooked the main camp area. All
was going well, until I realized that everyone’s attention had shifted away
from planning, and toward the field below. Turning to look down the hill
I saw one counselor walking and talking with a small, obviously reluctant youngster.
“Oh, no,” gasped one sweet youngster, “Is that PJ?” peeped up another.
I knew about PJ. He was notorious for misbehavior in the dining hall.
As they grew closer, we could begin to hear their ongoing argument. “Don’t
wanna be in no worship service!” “Sure you do, it’ll be fun. “Din’t sign
up for this. I wanna play soccer. “ “No, see you signed up, there’s your
name.” “No, I din’” They arrived at the clearing, and Tim, the
counselor quickly disappeared, leaving me with an angry, defiant little 10 year
old. Ain’t gonna be in no worship service” he declared loudly.
“ell, ok, you don’t have to, but you do have to stay here until we
finish.” I counted on the truth that I had heard that inner city kids were
afraid of the wilderness. “You know it’s too dangerous to walk around
out here by yourself.” It worked, he took a seat off to one side,
still grumbling under his breath.
The service was planned around Jesus’ two passages where he
says, first “I am the light of the world.” And then, later, “You
are the light of the world.” Busily passing parts to the eager
youngsters, I almost missed the soft voice coming from the side. “’ll do
the Scripture” said PJ. It was a challenge more than an offer., but I
ignored the eager waving hands, and trying to sound encouraging, I asked,
“Which one do you want to do?”
“Don’t want to do neither of them. I’ll do the 27th
Psalm.” I will remember that day for the rest of my life, although, for
the life of me I couldn’t thin of a single word from that Psalm. Calling
on the old teacher’s trick, I asked “Say some of it for me.” This
scrawny little, angry faced, hunch shouldered child was transformed.
Standing erect, his head held high, he announced loudly and definitively
“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear.” The Lord is
the stronghold of of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? ” and he
continued flawlessly through all 14 verses of the 27th Psalm, which concludes
“I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the
living. Wait for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart take courage.
Wait for the Lord.” It seemed as if even the birds and crickets kept
silent. It took some time for all of us to compose ourselves.
Children in Chester face many challenges, poverty, gangs,
drugs abuse, you name it/ As the planning time ended, I asked PJ to stay
behind. "Tell me, did your father teach you that?" The
small resistant, scowling child was back. "Don't have no
father." How about your mom?" "She in jail. My
Gran taught me." "Oh, that's great, will she be here on
Saturday for the closing?" "She dead." It was barely
a whisper So, how did this Word of God sprout in this example of hard
between down, rocky, thorn infested life? "I be in a foster
home." he ventured. "How is that?" PJ shrugged,
"Ok, he be tough but they nice enough and I have my own bed." With
that we had come to the main campgrounds and he scampered away to play soccer.
I watched him the rest of the week, but our eyes never met again, and on
Saturday he was gone.
I wondered about him from time to time, and checked each
time I heard or saw in the news about another youth killing in Chester I
had learned that his name was Walter, PJ had been given him at camp because he
wouldn't eat any of the healthy food we served, just peanut butter and
jelly sandwiches. I never found him in the news, thank God. Fast
forward six years. The Presbytery youth council was planning a spring
retreat at the Atlantic coast. As staff support, I was checking in the
councilmembers. Into the room strode a tallish, well- groomed, self-assured
African American teen with a broad smile. After greeting all his
friends, his gaze fell on me. His grin was even more broad as he came
toward me. "Remember me?" I gasped, PJ! Now I was not a hugger at that point in my life,
and anyway, old, grey-haired white women didn't go around hugging African
American teen aged boys, but I hugged him that afternoon. He had, once
again been transformed. The foster parents with whom he had been placed
were a couple from the only Presbyterian Church in Chester. Charlie Warren was
clerk of Session, and his wife was volunteer secretary two days a week.
When PJ's mother had signed over her parental rights, they had adopted
him right away, and brought him up to know and love God The parable of the
sower took on flesh and blood. The sermon could probably end right here,
you all get the point.
Gardening in Jesus' day was a far cry from agriculture
today. The gardener in fact did scatter seed indiscriminately across the
land, and then rake it around to cover it with soil. How wasteful But,
you know, God is just like that - no tidy, straight rows in carefully prepared
beds for God. The gardener God just tosses the Word, His love, around
everywhere, for anyone at all to grow up there - open hearts, closed heart,
enriched hearts, grief stricken hearts, oppressed hearts and oppressing hearts
struggling poverty stricken hearts, even middle class and wealthy hearts.
God isn't partial, God wants to bless everyone It certainly isn't
the way of our culture today. Where did this idea of caring for every
living being come from? Well, it got its roots in the early history
of the Hebrew people, and by extension into Jesus' time all the way into our
thoughts today. In the midst of Leviticus - the Law Book of the Hebrews.
Right in the middle of the Torah the Sacred text comes the Holiness Code
- the moral imperative of the people God identified as a holy people .came this
imperative. Do not harvest your crops to the ends of your field. Do
not pick up produce that falls to the ground; leave it for the poor, It
also made it's way into the story of Ruth, and also into 21st century Peace
Church, where I understand you have participated in gathering the gleanings
from gardens to give to the Manatee Food Cupboard.
Jesus' disciples asked why he talked in parables. He
told them, "To you has been given to understand the secret of the Kingdom
of God. The parables as parables are simply to show how God's extravagant love
is poured out Those of us who have received that love are called upon to
do the rest - cultivate, harvest and share Even as we have worked here at Peace
Church to beautiful the wonderful garden of Peace, pulling weeds, cutting down
invasive plants and trees, emending soil, clearing rocks, so we have also
welcomed strangers into the midst, shared the faith with others,
helped the needy, making our lives and this community witnesses of what God can
do. With just a day's notice, a week or two ago, a group of folks from
Peace gathered at Beth-El, and in a few hour had filled about 200 bags of
groceries for farmworker - those folks who harvest the fresh foods we eat, and
a paid meager wages. 200 families had meals for a week because Peace
shared God's love in a tangible way. That is the secret we know and live here
whether it is packing food, giving of our means, beautifying this place so that
it becomes more and more appealing to others who need to receive a measure of
God's love to be added to their lives; however we continue this age old faith
driven , plowing, sowing, cultivating, harvesting and sharing, we keep this
parable alive and growing. It can be a word of encouragement to someone
in the office where we work, a hand across the shoulder of a sorrowing
acquaintance, even a quick prayer uttered on behalf of another just as we are
falling asleep, we are building up the Kingdom of God this Sunday.
No comments:
Post a Comment