| Sermon, May 23, 2004 |
| "A place to call home." |
| "The Lamp & The Seed" Parables of the Kingdom, Part 2 [1] Mark 4: 21-20 Rev. Matthew M. Fry |
As we continue to experience The Word of The Lord together, Let us Pray. Almighty God, you
have already secured salvation for us all, not for those of us who are good, but for all. Help us
to accept it, and you, so that we might be truly righteous. If these words are not Your Word,
may they be forgotten and come to naught. But if they be Thy Word, may they adhere to our
hearts, forever transforming us from glory into glory, into the creatures you would have us be,
Thou who art our Rock and our Redeemer, Amen.
have already secured salvation for us all, not for those of us who are good, but for all. Help us
to accept it, and you, so that we might be truly righteous. If these words are not Your Word,
may they be forgotten and come to naught. But if they be Thy Word, may they adhere to our
hearts, forever transforming us from glory into glory, into the creatures you would have us be,
Thou who art our Rock and our Redeemer, Amen.
As the title of this sermon suggests, this is a part of a series on the Parables of the Kingdom. As
we get to these parables, I think it is important to take note of the peculiar discontinuity with
which they are presented in the Gospels. The writers, instead of running through them one after
another, interrupt the natural sequence of the parables in a way that seems at first illogical. And
the interruptions occur with a frequency that is surprising. [2]
we get to these parables, I think it is important to take note of the peculiar discontinuity with
which they are presented in the Gospels. The writers, instead of running through them one after
another, interrupt the natural sequence of the parables in a way that seems at first illogical. And
the interruptions occur with a frequency that is surprising. [2]
Jesus’ interpretations of both the Sower and thew Weeds are not given, as one might expect,
right at the end of the original parables. Instead, they come only after other material has
intervened. We’ll look at that closer when we look at the Weeds, which will be separated from
the sermon on the interpretation of the Weeds by another sermon, just to make that exact point.
All I want to do here is point out that I assume that either Jesus or the Gospel writers felt it
necessary to the argument these parables make for the kingdom that there be explanations, and
that the explanations not immediately follow the parable itself. There is a patter, and I can and do
note said pattern.[3] Parable, other material, then interpretation. Interesting.
right at the end of the original parables. Instead, they come only after other material has
intervened. We’ll look at that closer when we look at the Weeds, which will be separated from
the sermon on the interpretation of the Weeds by another sermon, just to make that exact point.
All I want to do here is point out that I assume that either Jesus or the Gospel writers felt it
necessary to the argument these parables make for the kingdom that there be explanations, and
that the explanations not immediately follow the parable itself. There is a patter, and I can and do
note said pattern.[3] Parable, other material, then interpretation. Interesting.
What do I make of this particular pattern? Coming in Mark as it does immediately after his
explanation of the Sower, I feel it is a bridge, tying together these Parables of the Kingdom, again
under the categories that the Kingdom is (1) all-embracing, (2) mysterious, (3) already present in
our midst, and (4) aggressively demanding our response.
explanation of the Sower, I feel it is a bridge, tying together these Parables of the Kingdom, again
under the categories that the Kingdom is (1) all-embracing, (2) mysterious, (3) already present in
our midst, and (4) aggressively demanding our response.
So, hear now The Word of The Lord as it comes to us in the Gospel of Mark. Listen. Read
Mark 4.21-29. The grass withers, the flower falls, but the Word of The Lord endures
forever...Thanks be to God.
Mark 4.21-29. The grass withers, the flower falls, but the Word of The Lord endures
forever...Thanks be to God.
I’m going to ask you a question here, but I want you not to audibly say the answer. Cause if
you are like me, you’ll say something aloud, and then find out you were perfectly wrong, and
then what do you do. So, here’s the question, just think in your head the answer. Who is the
Lamp? \\ Maybe this question will shed some light on it. Who called himself the light of the
world? That one you can answer aloud. Who called himself the light of the world? So now,
who is the Lamp? That’s right. The incarnate Word is the Light that, coming into the world,
lightens every human being. So there is category one, the Kingdom of God is all-embracing.
The irony is that the Light cannot be recognized as the Light of the World except on the
lampstand of a properly paradoxical, left handed interpretation [4] of his person and work. Stand
him on anything else, and you have no saving light at all.[5]
you are like me, you’ll say something aloud, and then find out you were perfectly wrong, and
then what do you do. So, here’s the question, just think in your head the answer. Who is the
Lamp? \\ Maybe this question will shed some light on it. Who called himself the light of the
world? That one you can answer aloud. Who called himself the light of the world? So now,
who is the Lamp? That’s right. The incarnate Word is the Light that, coming into the world,
lightens every human being. So there is category one, the Kingdom of God is all-embracing.
The irony is that the Light cannot be recognized as the Light of the World except on the
lampstand of a properly paradoxical, left handed interpretation [4] of his person and work. Stand
him on anything else, and you have no saving light at all.[5]
And, as if to reassure us that the paradox by which the hard and almost hidden interpretation is
worth the patience it takes to understand it, Jesus insists that his hiding of the truth in parables is
not an end, but the means. “For there is nothing hidden”, he says in verse 22, “except to be
disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.” The Kingdom is in the works, and it
will settle for nothing less than full manifestation. We are not waiting for its power to come; we
believe that it is already here {#3, already present in our world} and that it will inevitably have its
perfect and utterly triumphant work.
worth the patience it takes to understand it, Jesus insists that his hiding of the truth in parables is
not an end, but the means. “For there is nothing hidden”, he says in verse 22, “except to be
disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.” The Kingdom is in the works, and it
will settle for nothing less than full manifestation. We are not waiting for its power to come; we
believe that it is already here {#3, already present in our world} and that it will inevitably have its
perfect and utterly triumphant work.
Now, the parable of the Seed, or the Growing Seed, appears only in Mark. It uses the same
images in the Parable of the Sower, as you can find in the beginning of the 4th chapter of Mark.
“The kingdom of God,” Jesus says, “is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground.” Note
once again, like the Sower last week, the kingdom of God is a seed that is sewn. Again, the
kingdom is presented as something that is already present, in all its power, right from the start.
All a seed needs to grow once planted is time. Yes, I know, it needs water. Does God not take
care of that with rain? Yes, I know, it needs sunlight. Does God not take care of that as well?
Yes, I know, it needs to be in good ground. But that is the work of the sower, to take care of
the ground. Does God not take care of us, the ground in this case, as well?
images in the Parable of the Sower, as you can find in the beginning of the 4th chapter of Mark.
“The kingdom of God,” Jesus says, “is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground.” Note
once again, like the Sower last week, the kingdom of God is a seed that is sewn. Again, the
kingdom is presented as something that is already present, in all its power, right from the start.
All a seed needs to grow once planted is time. Yes, I know, it needs water. Does God not take
care of that with rain? Yes, I know, it needs sunlight. Does God not take care of that as well?
Yes, I know, it needs to be in good ground. But that is the work of the sower, to take care of
the ground. Does God not take care of us, the ground in this case, as well?
Again, the kingdom of heaven is present in this world, here and now. And thank goodness, God
is the one making sure that all the details are taken care of. If that were up to you and me, the
world would be in terrible shape. But it’s not. And, since this is something that God wants, the
world to be loved, it will happen. Again, this is not mission impossible, it is mission inevitable. It
is so because God is the one in charge.
is the one making sure that all the details are taken care of. If that were up to you and me, the
world would be in terrible shape. But it’s not. And, since this is something that God wants, the
world to be loved, it will happen. Again, this is not mission impossible, it is mission inevitable. It
is so because God is the one in charge.
This is not a new concept folks. It dates back well before Christ. In the Old Testament the
principal difference between the gods of the heathen, like Ba’al, and the God who, as Yahweh,
manifested himself to Israel was this; while the pagan gods occupied themselves “up there” in
the “council of the gods”, or like the story in I Kings 18 we had read, when Ba’al was called
upon, he might have been out on a walk, or, as one translation reads, out relieving himself,
Yahweh showed his power and presence principally “down here”, on the stage of history.[6]
The difference between the pagan gods and Yahweh God is where their kingdom and presence
lies. With the pagan gods, its out or up there. With Yahweh God, its right here, right now.
principal difference between the gods of the heathen, like Ba’al, and the God who, as Yahweh,
manifested himself to Israel was this; while the pagan gods occupied themselves “up there” in
the “council of the gods”, or like the story in I Kings 18 we had read, when Ba’al was called
upon, he might have been out on a walk, or, as one translation reads, out relieving himself,
Yahweh showed his power and presence principally “down here”, on the stage of history.[6]
The difference between the pagan gods and Yahweh God is where their kingdom and presence
lies. With the pagan gods, its out or up there. With Yahweh God, its right here, right now.
So naturally, when Jesus describes this kingdom and presence, he proclaims it as “at hand”,
planted here, at work in this world. The Word sown is none other than God himself incarnate.
By his death and resurrection at Jerusalem in A.D. 29, he reconciles everything, everywhere, to
himself.[7] And the crazy thing, and really sick thing, is this; we take that as bad news. We
want to separate folks into two groups; the good, those who think or act like us and hold
themselves up to the same moral code we report to hold dear, and the bad, those who don’t. We
don’t want a grace that is for all. We don’t want Christ to reconcile all. Every last one of us is
an eschatological junkie. We are so consumed with the idea that wrongs must be set right and
that evildoers must be run out of the New Jerusalem that we convince ourselves the Holy City
can actually be brought into being by means of cops-and-robbers games.[8] We do it in this
society. Bad people must be caught, and punished. They must be put away, or put to death.
And we do it eschatologically. Bad people must straighten up and fly right, or they won’t get
reconciled. And so when Jesus gives the parable of the Seed, he addresses this exact thing by
ignoring it. He avoids it, I think, to make a point. He does not talk about how to make it grow,
how we can help it along. He just talks about how it does grow, with a sense of the inevitability
of just such a thing. The kingdom grows, he says, because the kingdom is already planted. It
grows of itself and in its own good time. Mostly, it grows, as Jesus says in verse 27 that the
sower, “knows not how.” Any bright ideas we might have about knowing what will happen to
make the kingdom grow, or signs that it is growing, will always and everytime be the wrong
idea. Actually, our wrongness will be proved by our simply having ideas of knowing just what
is; because if the kingdom could have been made to grow in this world by our doing or knowing,
it would have spouted up all over the place six times per day since Adam.[9] But it hasn’t
worked like that yet, and it never will except in the manner of the mystery that remains beyond
our moralizing or our comprehension. The kingdom is a mystery, not of our control, is
inevitable, is all-encompasing, and demands for us our embracing it. Sounds easy, but it sure
isn’t easy to do. {} And that’s what makes it good. Amen.
planted here, at work in this world. The Word sown is none other than God himself incarnate.
By his death and resurrection at Jerusalem in A.D. 29, he reconciles everything, everywhere, to
himself.[7] And the crazy thing, and really sick thing, is this; we take that as bad news. We
want to separate folks into two groups; the good, those who think or act like us and hold
themselves up to the same moral code we report to hold dear, and the bad, those who don’t. We
don’t want a grace that is for all. We don’t want Christ to reconcile all. Every last one of us is
an eschatological junkie. We are so consumed with the idea that wrongs must be set right and
that evildoers must be run out of the New Jerusalem that we convince ourselves the Holy City
can actually be brought into being by means of cops-and-robbers games.[8] We do it in this
society. Bad people must be caught, and punished. They must be put away, or put to death.
And we do it eschatologically. Bad people must straighten up and fly right, or they won’t get
reconciled. And so when Jesus gives the parable of the Seed, he addresses this exact thing by
ignoring it. He avoids it, I think, to make a point. He does not talk about how to make it grow,
how we can help it along. He just talks about how it does grow, with a sense of the inevitability
of just such a thing. The kingdom grows, he says, because the kingdom is already planted. It
grows of itself and in its own good time. Mostly, it grows, as Jesus says in verse 27 that the
sower, “knows not how.” Any bright ideas we might have about knowing what will happen to
make the kingdom grow, or signs that it is growing, will always and everytime be the wrong
idea. Actually, our wrongness will be proved by our simply having ideas of knowing just what
is; because if the kingdom could have been made to grow in this world by our doing or knowing,
it would have spouted up all over the place six times per day since Adam.[9] But it hasn’t
worked like that yet, and it never will except in the manner of the mystery that remains beyond
our moralizing or our comprehension. The kingdom is a mystery, not of our control, is
inevitable, is all-encompasing, and demands for us our embracing it. Sounds easy, but it sure
isn’t easy to do. {} And that’s what makes it good. Amen.
Let us pray. Almighty God, you give us dual citizenship, in this world and in your kingdom, both
at the same time. Help us to accept it, to respond with love, and to live in it, so that we might do
as you would have us do. In the name of your Son, the Light of the World, Amen.
at the same time. Help us to accept it, to respond with love, and to live in it, so that we might do
as you would have us do. In the name of your Son, the Light of the World, Amen.
[1] This Sermon, and this series is based largely on the book by Robert Farrar Capon, The Parables of the
Kingdom. Awesome book, part of an awesome 3 part series, which includes The Parables of Grace and The Parables
of Judgment. Read them. The particulars of the book follow in this endnotes.
[2] Capon, Robert Farrar The Parables of the Kingdom, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids
Michigan, 1985, p. 87.
Kingdom. Awesome book, part of an awesome 3 part series, which includes The Parables of Grace and The Parables
of Judgment. Read them. The particulars of the book follow in this endnotes.
[2] Capon, Robert Farrar The Parables of the Kingdom, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids
Michigan, 1985, p. 87.
[3] ibid.
[4] See the Sermon from 2 May 2004 for further explanation of Right-Handed and Left-Handed types of power.
[5] Capon, p. 89.
[6] Capon, p.91.
[7] ibid.
[8] Capon, pp. 94-95.
[9] Capon, p.95.
[4] See the Sermon from 2 May 2004 for further explanation of Right-Handed and Left-Handed types of power.
[5] Capon, p. 89.
[6] Capon, p.91.
[7] ibid.
[8] Capon, pp. 94-95.
[9] Capon, p.95.
| IMPORTANT After reading the translation: Click on the [X] in the box in the upper right corner of the translation window. That will close it. You will then return to the English version. |
| Posted May 25, 2004 |
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