Dear Sisters and Brothers,
This next Sunday we will hear the parable of the sower who went out to sow his seed looking for a harvest. As he walked along, he cast seed all about him, unconcerned about where it fell. In our modern-day America, unless perhaps we are spreading grass seed, we certainly would not be so nonchalant about our work, but in the days Jesus walked the earth, this was not an uncommon practice. But as we hear in the second part of our reading, Jesus says the seed is like the word of the kingdom. The message is clear, God’s word is spread everywhere. It is offered to everyone. In some cases, it is immediately taken away, but how? Last fall, I misquoted Mahatma Ghandhi. What he actually said was “I like your Christ, I just do not like your Christians.” The point he was making was that so many who call themselves Christian, proclaim Christ and his teaching, they just do not practice it. Jesus taught that we as his followers were to love everyone, to care for everyone, that our neighbors were even those whom society looked down on, and yet, how many who profess to be Christian spew hate at those whom they see as sinners? In many cases these people see themselves as more righteous than others, and yet as Jesus taught in the story about the woman caught in adultery, none of us are without sin. We all need to drop our rocks of hate. He did not approve of what she had done, he did not deny it, he did not condemn her, but told her to go and sin no more. A second chance. Surely, she understood that Jesus forgave her and wanted her to make a new start. It was as if he took the seed within her and moved it to the good soil, where she had a new chance to grow and flourish. What if instead of casting stones we were like the gardener and the fig tree. What if we were willing to take that which was not producing fruit, dig around it, fertilize it, water it so that the next season it would be ripe with fruit? Over my ministry, I have met so many people who have had the bible preached at them. What many have never heard though is the gospel preached. What I mean is, they have not heard the good news of Jesus. They have had the vengeful God, but not the loving and forgiving God. As recently heard, “the harvest in plentiful, but the workers are few.” If we could prove Ghandhi wrong, if we would put into practice what Jesus teaches us, might we be the seed, the word of the kingdom to those around us who have been hurt by the proclamation too many make? Might we be the light of the word Jesus calls us to be so that others might see our good works, us loving our neighbors, that all may give glory to our Father in heaven?
Peace,
Bryant+
