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Robin Kash
July 10, 2005
Seedy Disciples
Matthew 13:1-9, 19-23
I always hated word problems in algebra. "If two trains leave stations at opposite ends of a fifty mile long railroad track at the same time, and one is going 50 mph and the other is going 40 mph where will they meet?" Jesus gets us into word problems. If the seed equals the word, and if those who hear and understand equal good ground, what do you get when you plant seed in good ground? Of course, not all the seed fall on good ground.
All these different places where the seeds get sowed made me think of churches I know. By now, I know a lot of them.
I've known churches that were right in the center of things; everybody knew about them. Then things changed. Big housing developments got built all around the city; shopping centers went up; people moved into the cookie-cutter condos that mushroomed everywhere. The church got eaten up by the changes that swooped down upon them like so many hungry birds. Instead of being a by-word in the community, they got by-passed.
I know churches that have gone through rocky times. No matter what anybody does, nothing seems to work for them. I once knew a church that got remembered in someone's will. It wasn't a lot of money, but enough to seem like a lot. People in the church stopped giving because "they've got all that money, why should I give?" Pretty soon the money was nearly gone. Bills kept coming. They had to let their pastor go. People had forgotten how to give.
I've known churches that were pretty thorny, and seemed to like it that way. Makes me think of Uncle Remus' stories about B'rer Rabbit. I don't think we tell those much anymore. Too much racial stuff. Anyway, once when B'rer Rabbit was on the verge of being caught and having damage done to himself, he pleaded and pleaded not to be thrown into the briar patch. Of course, what the one who was on the edge of harming B'rer Rabbit didn't know was that rabbits do just fine in briars. So thorny churches are often inhabited by people who do just fine in thorns; the thorns keep out those who don't.
Churches that are like barren ground can be deceptive. They can be full of attractive, smiling, successful people. They may not know anything about the gospel, or discipleship, or sacrifice on behalf of others. Worse, they do not even know that they don't know. In a barren church, people live hoping not to be saved but seeking to be pleased (Cf. Philip Rieff, The Triumph of the Therapeutic).
One thing I like about this comparison with seeds and ground, is the good ground that Jesus points us to. We're not to dwell on the rocky, thorny, barren ground, but on the good ground. The other thing I like about Jesus' analogy is that he doesn't say that barren ground has to stay barren, or that rocky ground has to stay rocky, or that thorny ground has to stay thorny.
For some years now, Judy and I have lived in northeastern Kansas. Contrary to rumor, Kansas is not all flat; only some parts of it resemble western Iowa. Drive through the hills near Topeka and you'll see pastures bordered by stone fences. Each of those stones had to be pulled out of the ground, hauled to the edge of the field and made part of those fences. What was once very rocky ground has been turned into a very productive field. A church going through a rocky time can become a faithful congregation.
When I was a boy, I used to go stay weekends on a farm in southeastern Illinois owned by Donny Seifert's parents. In the fall and early winter, Mr. Seifert sent us out to clear briars that had crept up from the creek bed into a cornfield. I can tell you, we enjoyed burning the pile of thorny brush more than we liked making it into a pile. Thorny ground can be made productive. A thorny church can clear away the briars so people can come in.
Barren ground's a lot harder to deal with. Mr. Seifert's luck took a big turn in the mid-1950s. An oil company drilled several wells on this land. Around the wells, where oil had spilled and soaked into the ground, was a long time in coming back. But after a few years it did become productive again. Making it productive was a lot harder than pulling rocks and clearing thorns; but it can be done.
The main point Jesus makes about the seed on the good ground is the production. The seed, says Jesus, is God's word. Productive disciples are those who hear and understand God's word. Hear. Understand.
One of the things I've noticed about your ministry that could stand strengthening is adult education. Out of a 700+ membership congregation it appears to me you all have somewhere between 10-15% of adults are involved in any on-going Christian education. Much of the education I've seen is pretty passive. It requires little of participants except to show up, sit and listen to someone talk. I don't remember the figures, but my recollection is that we remember less of what we hear than through any other mode of learning. It's likely that most of you will leave this morning not remembering I just said any of this. But I hope you take the point.
We've baptized another child this morning. We promise to nurture each child we baptize. Ask yourselves this. What will we teach this baby and all the others we've baptized if we're not actively involved in seeking to understand God's word to us. How many people have you heard say: "I don't know much about the Bible; I just try to let my life say what I believe"? Example is a powerful way of teaching.
What would you think about our choir being the doo-wop section for a soloist singing Sam Cooke's "Wonderful World:"
Don't know much about history
Don't know much biology
Don't know much about a science book
Don't know much about the French I took
But I do know that I love you
And I know that if you love me too
What a wonderful world this would be
It's not too hard to imagine a worshiper singing this to the Lord, imagining things were wonderful. Sounds nice. Makes people feel good. What does it say about the way we live?
A book I've been delving into this summer is Jared Diamond's Collapse, sub-titled, How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. One of the reasons societies collapse is that they keep doing what they're good at even when doing it isn't useful or relevant any more. Similarly, businesses and churches collapse from keeping on doing what they're good at rather than learning how to come to terms with changes that come. We still have trains come through the middle of Cedar Rapids. But railroads are nothing compared to what they once were. Railroad people thought they were in the railroad business rather than thinking they were in the transportation business. They kept doing what they were good at, and missed what they needed to learn.
Many churches are good at pleasing people. But is that our business? Aren't we called to be productive disciples? Aren't we called to be people who hear and understand God's word? Aren't we called to be fruitful people? Aren't we called to offer up our yield to the Lord?
Malcolm Gladwell's book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference is about how things catch on. You know, why so many of us started wearing Hush Puppy shoes, or certain expressions become voguish. I wonder what it would take for education to catch on at First Presbyterian. Will more engagement in education help? Will more engagement in education make us more productive disciples? What have we got here? Rocky ground? Thorny ground? Barren ground? Good ground?
You all have gone to a lot of trouble to make this building lovely and useful. What have we got here? If the seed equals the word, and if those who hear and understand equal good ground, what do you get when you plant seed in good ground? Of course, not all the seed fall on good ground. The Lord sows the Word. In some places it catches on.
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First Presbyterian
Church of Cedar Rapids
310 Fifth Street SE Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
Phone: 319-364-6148
E-mail: church@fpccr.org
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