I will start this morning by making the observation that faith is a funny thing. Even the most angry atheist typically has faith in the laws of physics. When it comes right down to it, many of us don’t really understand what is happening when we flip a light switch. We have every expectation though that the lights will come on, and don’t have to appreciate the details of electrons and the design of light bulbs. We don’t give it much thought, but most of us have faith in many things.
In a motorcycling magazine once the tech editor said in an article that “Electrons are not ham sandwiches.” I have often laughed about this because we believe in electrons, and we rely on them in a variety of ways, but we can’t hold them or turn them over to see where they are made. This does not mean that electrons do not exist. We BELIEVE in electrons. It just so happens that it is not so fashionable these days to have faith in God, but faith is faith.
This is the time of year when there are a lot of graduations and weddings. Those of you who have been attending these events yourself understand that it can be a very powerful experience.
These are people who are teetering on the edges of the rest of their lives. Things are about to change for them in big ways. They are capable and bright. Most of them are fairly charming, and they have enormous potential for growth and leadership.
Teachers, parents, and grandparents all have a tremendous impact on the lives of people getting diplomas and getting married. We see potential, but we are adults and know there is potential for bad as well as good. We have a concern for the future and an adult awareness of all the hazards out there. There are plenty of reasons we cry sometimes at events like graduations and weddings.
As I read today’s Scripture, I can really identify with Jesus the teacher speaking in parables. He says things the disciples don’t really understand or appreciate. I was a high school teacher who spent a majority of his career teaching Algebra 1. I have said plenty of things which did not seem to sink in or be appreciated.
I can just imagine the blank looks as the disciples are thinking “Oh please, why can’t He just tell us what we need to know?” St. Peter has his hand up to ask “Is this going to be on the test?” I can just see Jesus thinking to Himself, “OK, I have to use another example to drive this home. Maybe the image of a tree will make more sense. It is too bad that I don’t have a chalkboard here. A picture always helps.”
Jesus of course draws a verbal picture for the disciples in today’s Gospel, and the mustard seed image is an appropriate one for this message of potential. We see these students and couples just as they are about to step into the unknown. It is a huge leap of faith. I love the image of the mustard seed and the tree it becomes.
It does not take much of a seed to produce a giant tree.
A hazard for us in all this is that we often can’t trust our instincts. Samuel in today’s reading was not inclined to pick David to replace Saul, and the Lord has to remind the prophet “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
I am on Facebook, and I have reconnected with many of my students from the 1980’s when I was teaching in Tennessee. This is one of these things where I was teaching these students 30 years ago when they were 14. Now these former students are in their 40’s and have had 14 year old children of their own.
I am truly blessed by the chances I have had to work with these students. I am doubly blessed by reconnecting with students I taught in the 1980’s. I get to see how well they have all turned out.
I said I could identify with Jesus the teacher today. I can also identify with the prophet in today’s reading from 1 Samuel, because I am not always good at predicting who will succeed and who won’t. In all honesty, I think I am better than most in my assessment of long range prospects. “Better than most” still may not be very good.
Now you may be thinking that the only kids who track down former teachers are the ones who have done well. There is some truth to this observation. The point is though that none of us are very good at looking into the crystal ball and seeing the future. We predict mediocrity for the person who is successful. We also predict success for those who don’t seem to do much.
You want to be scared? Look in a high school annual and see who was “Most Likely to Succeed.” That person may not be so successful today. Someone completely off the radar will be the one who is healthy, happy and successful in other ways too.
The next observation I want to make is that the things we think are important now may not be very important down the road. People can be absolutely obsessed with something. Even if it is not an obsession, the things we think are important at the time sometimes become less important with time. Some stupid detail can be very important on your wedding day. The world depends on the shoes the best man is wearing. Give it 20 years, and no one really cares. GPA is probably another one of these examples. We can get worked up about a few decimal points at the time, but I was in the academic world for 32 years and I don’t think anyone ever asked me my GPA.
The reading from Corinthians reminds us that things change. We are not static, and we grow as individuals. We grow in relationships. We grow in the faith. Paul writes “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” Our perspective changes, and we see the old things in a new way. As Christians we have a new perspective.
There is nothing like going back to your alma mater after a few years to have fresh eyes for everything. Suddenly we see forest and not trees. We appreciate people we may not have appreciated so much when we were 20. So how does this work? That is a great question, and suddenly we are back to today’s Gospel.
Now there is a mysterious quality in all this. Electrons are not ham sandwiches after all.
Faith really is a funny thing. The Gospel tells us “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.” We don’t have to understand how it works. We have to know that it does, do our part and get out of the way.
Today’s Gospel has some insight for each of us who has ever been a parent or a teacher. We do the best we know how and then “sleep and rise night and day.” The work we have done will take root, and sprout/grow. Not only do we not need to know how it all works, the Gospel tells us we won’t. The seed grows and we do not “know how.”
So where do we go with all this? We are poor judges of potential. We don’t know how it all works. The things we think are important are often inconsequential as we look back.
The takeaways are these. First we are called to spread the Gospel. We are the sowers who spread the seeds. We spread the Gospel through our witness to God’s grace and power in transforming our lives. We don’t need to understand how it works, and we are not called to understand it. We are called to do it.
Second, if left to our own devices, we would probably not make good decisions. We have to have faith in God’s plan. This is a huge step for some people, and it is a challenge for most of us. We want to know where we are headed, and we want to be the masters of our own destiny. This idea that we are in control is important to American culture, and I am telling you to be counter-cultural here.
Finally we may never understand the impact we have now, and our actions may have a huge influence in the lives of others. This is a burden in some ways, and it is a grace. This is a responsibility we need to be mindful of.
We have a duty and we answer God’s call in our dealings with people. To make it tough, we can’t always see the consequences of our actions. We make an impact either way. For sure we can’t let ourselves be discouraged by what may seem like a lack of progress.
So how do we respond to all this? What are we called to do? We need to practice our faith. We need to be kind to people. We do what we know is right. We invite people to church and talk to them about our faith. That is it. It is easier to say than it is to do, and I will own the fact that it is pretty easy to stand up here and make it sound simple. The details can be messy, and God knows we won’t be perfect.
We have an awesome responsibility. We are walking witnesses to God’s love, and small things now can have a huge impact later.
The mission fields for us start just outside the door of St. Thomas. We are called to sow the seed of the Gospel in those fields.
I have said these words in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sermon preached by Fr. Tom at St. Thomas, Plymouth
June 14, 2015; Third Sunday after Pentecost – Year B
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13
Psalm 20
2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17
Mark 4:26-34