Kingdom of Heaven Seeds

SERMON

Christ Church, St. Michaels Parish

July 3, 2016

On June 15, 2016 – just a couple of weeks ago – my grandson Nathaniel Goodyear, age 13, graduated from the Brooklyn Community Montessori School. This, as all you parents and grandparents well know, was a big event.

Invitations were sent out several months in advance by my daughter Sarah. She was tireless in ensuring that everyone who should be there would, in fact, be there. On the big day my ex-husband Dick Goodyear; Carmen, his third wife; Dick’s youngest son by his second marriage, Sam and his wife Adair; Dick’s brother Sam; my daughter Sarah and her partner Laura; Nathaniel; and little old me, were front and center in the school’s auditorium for the late afternoon ceremony.

You got it a great many Goodyears and one lone Garrity.

Before going further with my story, I should let you know that the Goodyears, although Episcopalian by baptism, are not church goers. As Dick Goodyear has said many times, “I am not in favor of organized religion.” Much to my chagrin, both Sarah and Nathaniel have come to feel the same way. What their falling away from the church is all about is good food for another sermon. But for today, the important point is that I, as a firm believer and participant in what our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry calls the Jesus Movement, was alone amidst a family who are most definitely not “believers.” Otherwise known as the Nones.

After the graduation ceremony came to a close, we all trekked a fair distance to a very little restaurant for what turned out to be a very big and very long dinner. I was seated across from Dick and his son Sam who were literally the only people I could hear amidst the chatter of the other dinner guests, some very loud Brazilian music and the bustle of the wait staff.

Young Sam (whom I had never met), Dick (whom I have not seen for at least 15 years) and I started off by talking about, what else, but the upcoming presidential election. That conversation led us to the Wall Street take on Donald Trump - Sam works on Wall Street, and so has the “inside scoop” on things. I was soon being regaled with the various financial escapades of some very prominent Wall Street traders and their impact on world events. As the conversation progressed I felt that we had wandered well out of my usual conversation milieu. To put it in the context of this morning’s gospel reading from Luke I felt a little like a lamb in the midst of wolves.

But then, out of nowhere Sam, with a truly worried look on his face, leaned across the table and said, quite passionately, to me, “It’s very hard being in the Wall Street business – so much corruption and dishonestly. It’s very hard – really very hard not to get caught up in the dishonesty.” I was totally surprised by this appeal for support. I put my hand on his and said, a bit timidly, “I will pray for you.” Not sure how this interjection of spirituality would go over, I smiled at him and leaned back in my chair.

No bombs exploded. In fact, not even the slightest acknowledgement of my offer of prayer was made. The discussion revolving around Hillary and Donald and the Wall Street trading business continued, as before – and, no I will not go into who is voting for whom.

After what seemed like a very long and incredibly noisy two hours, dinner was finally over. We exited the restaurant and gathered outside the front door for goodbye hugs and kisses. As people drifted off in various directions, I found myself standing alone, still very close to the restaurant entrance. Sam, who had already started to walk off, turned and came over to me. He took both my hands in his, leaned over and said, quite passionately, “Please pray for me, I really need it.” Wow.

At that moment I thought of today’s gospel reading in which Jesus sends the seventy ahead of him as he travels the road to Jerusalem. He tells the seventy that the ‘harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few.’ In other words, Jesus says to his followers, I want you to be my point people. Go - scout out the territory. There are only a few of you, but there are many people out there in need of salvation. Gather around you those who will listen – teach them what I have taught you - prepare the way for my presence in their hearts and minds, make ready the way for healing and salvation.

These initial seventy were Jesus’ first missionaries in the world. They were his emissaries and the embodiment of his love. They were heralds declaring God’s love for the world through their words and actions. They were the first brave souls to engage in the work of the mission of the Church – the mission of Christ.

Over the past two thousand years that mission has not changed. The seventy sent out in pairs by Jesus and the hundreds of thousands who have followed in the footsteps of the seventy have all been commissioned with the same mandate:

·        To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom

·        To teach, nurture and baptize new believers

·        To respond to human need by loving service

·        To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation

·        To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth

These five marks of mission perfectly describe Jesus’ charge for all missionaries. That was the work of the seventy then and that is our work now, to go out into the world as Jesus’ point people, preparing the way for his presence in the lives of those whom we encounter, all the while seeking to safeguard the integrity of God’s profoundly stunning creation.

But here’s the catch, this missionary work is not always easy, comfortable or without personal harm of some sort. Jesus warned the seventy, “See I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves;” and, on top of that he added “Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals.” Jesus didn’t mince words as he told the seventy that they were going to meet people who would be hostile to their message. Dangers in the form of rejection and ridicule would abound; in some cases, persecution and perhaps death would be a reality.  

Jesus then added a third crucial point of all mission work. He told the seventy, “greet no one on the road.” In other words, we must caution against getting distracted by the conversations and demands of life and work that take us away from the work that we have been given to do. We must not lose our missional focus.

And then, a fourth mandate - be humble, eat and drink whatever your hosts provide - don’t get caught up in looking for the best food, the most comfortable lodging, the people most like you. Stay focused on the work at hand – forget about greener pastures. Be present where God has put you. Creature comforts should be at the bottom of any packing list of items needed to heal a broken world.

Then, our gospel reading fast forwards to the seventy returning from their mission with joy, and declaring, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us.”

Although we are never given a laundry list of what the seventy actually accomplished on their various journeys, it would seem pretty clear from their comments, and their joy, that they had experienced some measure of success. For certain, they planted seeds – perhaps the smallest of seeds – but seeds, nevertheless.

The seventy planted “kingdom of heaven seeds.” Matthew in his gospel tells us, “Kingdom of heaven seeds are usually the smallest of seeds, but when they grow, they become the largest of garden plants and become a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32)

The seeds are small, easy to carry along with us but challenging to cast – to plant. The casting, or planting as the case may be, requires courage, passion, and a commitment to be at one with the original seventy. As Jesus said in last week’s gospel reading, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

How does all this relate to us?

At Nathaniel’s graduation party a seed was planted in young Sam’s heart. Who knows if it was cast on rock, if it will blow away in the wind, or if it was planted in fertile ground? Most probably I will never know. In fact, most of us will never know the outcome of our seed casting and seed planting. Most of us will never be lucky enough to shout out with joy to Jesus, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us.” But, that is not important. As one of Jesus’ missionaries in the world our call is simply to do the work that that has been given to us to do, and to love and to serve God as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord. To remember that:

Christ has no body on earth but ours; no hands but ours; no feet but ours.

Ours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ looks out into the world.

Ours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good.

Ours are the hands with which he is to bless others now.  (Mother Teresa)