How Does Your Garden Grow?

Psalm 97

I’m a city boy. I know very little about farming. But I do know this: when you plant a seed, don’t expect it to sprout right away. That boy named Jack may have grown a beanstalk overnight, but those were magic seeds he planted. When you and I plant seeds we have to wait a while to see any results.

The reason I mention the growth rate of plants is because of what we read in Psalm 97. “Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart” (Psalm 97:11). At least that’s how some English translations read. In Hebrew the same verse begins, “Light is sown for the righteous….” So while the Psalm celebrates the reign of God and the vindication of the faithful, in verse 11 we get an idea of how God’s justice will effect humanity. The light of God will dawn or be sown for the righteous, which tells me that God’s people are not necessarily going to see results quickly.

Planting and growing crops are activities not know for their swiftness. You do not farm in a hurry. It is the sort of work that requires diligence and patience. Much of the same can be said about faithful living. We who profess faith in God through Jesus Christ must live our lives with diligence and patience because the reign of God does not come quickly, does not reach its fullest expression in a hurry, and it certainly does not work on our schedules. But the growth is certain for this is what God does, and in God’s time all will come to fruition.

“The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!” (v. 1), says the psalmist. We may add our voices to the chorus of praise because we know that the Lord rules, and that the reign of God is drawing ever nearer. It may not be moving as quickly as we’d like, but it is certain. And certainty is a very rare crop indeed.

Prayer: Lord of dawn and God of growth, give us the patience we need to live as your people, faithfully awaiting the arrival of your reign in its fullness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Two Roads

Luke 24:13-35

I like to describe my call to the ministry as more an Emmaus Road experience and less a Damascus Road one. Our reading from Luke for today helps me to explain what I mean. As they walked along the road of Emmaus on the day of Easter, two of Jesus' followers were joined by a stranger who continued on the way with them and explained the scriptures to them so that they would see the truth more clearly (Luke 24:25-27). It was only when this stranger shared a meal with them that they realized it was Jesus (vs. 32). Contrast this story with the one from Acts 9:1-9 (also written by Luke) where Saul is knocked off of his horse by the presence of Jesus Christ. This happened on the road to Damascus.

For some the call to ministry (or to the faith for that matter) is a sudden, life-jarring experience that knocks them down before showing them the way they should go. But others like me have a slow, gradual sense of growing purpose that is sometimes best understood in hindsight. ("Were not our hearts burning within us?" [Luke 24:32].) As I look back on my life I can see the hand of God at work guiding me along the path through my parents, Sunday school teachers, mentors, fellow clergy, and many, many others. There are times I wish I could point to a sudden, life-jarring experience, but I also treasure the thought that God has allowed me to grow in faith and understanding in ways that sustain my ministry today and which I hope are of service to others.

Though the roads to Damascus and Emmaus themselves run in different directions, they each arrive at a place where we may know God to be a real presence in our lives and a source of strength for the living of these days.

Prayer: God of Emmaus and of Damascus, of the gradual dawning of faith and of the sudden jolt of understanding, of the journey and of the destination, of the believer and of the one who wrestles, of the community and of the individual, we come to you in different ways bringing with us different needs, different questions, different circumstances. But you await us in all our diversity because you have never been far from us. For this we offer our thanks and praise, this and all days. Amen.

Playing Freeze Tag With God?

Jeremiah 7:1-15

There are games that I remember from my childhood with great fondness. At Freeman family reunions the cousins would often play kick the can in the back yard. With my mother's kin we would all play charades, kids and adults. One game that we often played in the schoolyard back home was some variation of freeze tag. If you were tagged by the person who was "it" you had to remain frozen until another player touched you. Of course there was always a "base" where a player would be safe from being tagged.

I thought of childhood games when I read the passage from Jeremiah for today. God is warning the people against their false assumptions. "Do not trust in these deceptive words: 'This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord...'. Here you are, trusting in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, 'We are safe!'" (Jeremiah 7:4, 8-9). It sounds very much like a childish game, with a singsong refrain and even a "base" where the people believe they will be safe from judgment.

But it doesn't work that way, does it? We may make all the assumptions we want, but God's will is not a game. God seeks justice and righteousness and does not accept insincere actions designed to "get God off of our back." So here is a question to ponder today: do we have faith mature enough to do what God intends, or is ours an immature faith that is happy just playing at justice? Yes, we are children of God. And yes, God wants us to live in joy and peace. But that does not give us license to ignore the claims that God makes on us or to make assumptions about God based on our own desires. Freeze tag is fun, but faith is hard work that requires us to pay attention.

Prayer: Gracious God, help us to develop mature faith and to live according to your will all the days of our lives. Amen.

Getting Nowhere Fast

Mark 9:30-41

The disciples may have been traveling with Jesus, but when it came to growing in faith they might as well have been standing still. According to Mark, Jesus was busy teaching this followers that, “’The Son of may is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed he will rise again.’ But [the disciples] did not understand what he was saying and where afraid to ask him” (Mark 9:31-32). Instead of considering what Jesus had to say, the disciples had other matters on their minds. “…On the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest” (v. 34). Talk about dense! Jesus is laying out the future, describing his purpose to those whom he has called to follow, and all they can do is fret about who gets to be in charge when Jesus isn’t around.

We’d like to think that given the chance we’d have understood exactly what Jesus was talking about, or at least we’d have known to ask questions. But in truth, how often do we get allow meaningless arguments to distract us from the important matters of faith? And how often do we find ways of taking issue with one another instead of embracing the unity that we find in Jesus? The fact is that we are no better than the disciples. Oh, we may be in motion, but are we getting anywhere? Is our faith growing, or do we simply tread the same ground over and over again?

The answer is that by God’s grace we do find ourselves taking a step forward from time to time, we do grow in our understanding and our insight, we do realize that our faith has developed and that we are not the same people we once were. The Christian faith is a journey, very much like the one the disciples walked with Jesus. Sometimes it takes us places we may not be comfortable going, and other times is may seem to lead us in circles. But is it a journey very much worth taking, because eventually it leads us past the cross, past the empty tomb, right up to the light of eternity. And when we get there we realize we are in very good company.

Prayer: Lord, help us to hear your word and to trust in you, so that we may avoid the angry words and divisive actions that so often tear us apart. In Jesus’ name. Amen.