June 16, 2024, The Gardener, Mark 4:26-32 – Mtr. Kathryn Boswell

saintphilipsnorwood ♦ June 16, 2024 ♦ Leave a comment

To listen to the sermon, click the link above. An outline is given below.

Springtime trips to Agway and Graber’s greenhouse – instant gardens

But that’s not the kind of gardening Jesus is talking about.

One of the first things about gardening is that it begins in the hands of the gardener. Imagine the Creator and Father of the Universe at the beginning of all things – before the beginning of all things – and in his hand is a packet of seeds. On the outside of the packet, as it always is, is the artist’s rendering of what is going to grow, perfect in form and beauty, right there in full, glorious technicolor. That’s all very exciting, it’s easy to get all breathless with hope just looking at it. But then we see God tear off the top of the packet. And he pours the contents of the packet out into his hand. He gives it a shake, so as not to lose a single seed. And now we see that little pile of seeds in his cupped palm. And we are filled with – disappointment.

The seeds are so small we have to hold our breath as we lean in close to look, or we might accidentally blow them away. They aren’t beautifully colored like the pictures on the packet, not in the slightest; they are pretty much no color at all: brownish or blackish or greyish or maybe an unimpressive blend of all three. They are dry. And they are shrivelly. They are homely. And they are insubstantial; they have as little heft as you can imagine a physical object having. They are just so small.

They are us. What is God growing in his kingdom? He’s growing righteousness. He’s growing peace. He’s growing compassion. But mostly, he’s growing us. The kingdom of God is growing in the midst of us, in all our smallness and weakness and unimpressiveness. But the kingdom of God is a kingdom that grows – we know not how – until it spreads its branches to welcome every creature.

Potential – Only the true gardener sees that tiny mustard seed and knows that it will grow up to be virtually a tree, with room for birds and nests – sonogram pictures – Ps. 139:14-15 – God knew us before we were born, formed us in secret, called us by name in our mother’s womb Is. 49:1 – when we learn to look at another person and see the face of God, we are seeing with the eyes of the gardener

Patience – Gardening takes a lot of patience – the story of parsley – it’s hard to be patient with our own growth, with each other, and with God. Moses 40 years herding sheep – David spending 15 years living as an outlaw after being anointed king

Process – If you love to garden it can’t be only about those vine-ripe tomatoes and fresh green beans – you have to love the process – growing up in God’s kingdom is all about feeding and watering, tending and caring for God’s garden – we’re all in the midst of becoming, none of us is fully grown — Jesus told Peter “feed my sheep” Jn. 21:15-17 Life in this world is all about process, not perfection. – C.S. Lewis in the Weight of Glory – no ordinary people – the people you see in the pew beside you or walking down the street are becoming creatures so glorious that if you saw them right now you’d be tempted to fall down and worship them. But we’re not there yet.

How can I describe the kingdom of God? Jesus said. Well, he said, you could say the kingdom of God is something like gardening – not like a garden, per se, more like the whole process of gardening. It starts small – the kingdom of the almighty God, unexpectedly, is a kingdom of humble beginnings. For another thing, it is a kingdom of mystery – who can explain what brings those seeds from the ground, and when and why and how? Who could predict that the teeny-tiniest of all the seeds would grow into the greatest of all the plants in the garden?

We don’t look like the picture on the seed packet yet – but we will. Phil. 1:6 because we are only seedlings and shoots in God’s pleasant planting. Our job is to tend and nurture one another, patiently, lovingly, but God is the Master Gardener, and he will make us all ready for the harvest.