2 Corinthians 8:7-15
2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27
4th Sunday after Pentecost
Year B
What do you have to Give?
The more things change, human nature does not change. The story of humanity is always the same story.
The headlines remind us that the fights in the holy land continue – character have changed, but the conflict stays the same.
David uses the words
The mighty have fallen – David uses those words about Saul and Jonathon. But it describes the events of today – death of many mighty. Ed Mcmahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson.
All who made great contributions to the culture, all very human. Have had their ups and downs in life, and their ups and downs in the media. And yet, no matter how great their contributions to life - the day will always come when they wil fall, and their life will end.
Many will grow tired of the stories that we will hear about Michael Jackson in the coming weeks to come. The autopsy results will not come out for six weeks. And we will go through this media attention for just as long. But It is the worlds way of mourning such a huge loss to the world. The only person in the world who has touched the entire world. No matter what we might have thought of him, we have to remember his contribution to us. That is the message David was giving to the world as he wrote this dirge acknowledging his former enemy, with the song of the bow.
I am struck with the way we remember people in death, different than what we hold against them in life. In life it would have been very difficult for Jackson to be portrayed in a positive light. Everything thing he did was wrong. But in death, we have put that all aside, and choose to remember the good things that he gave us.
David had a very rough time with Saul in reality. Jonathon his best friend, but Saul his worst enemy. Trying to kill him and is attacked and in exile.
Messenger thought bringing good news – but you killed the Lord’s anointed.
The story of David, is the story of his anointing. How he becomes King. Asked if it is really true – that events would pit them against one another, and David would win. David would rise and fall, make mistakes and become a hero.
But he remembers Saul and orders others to remember the greatness of Saul also
What does it mean to be anointed?
As we remember Michael Jackson, remember what he did for our culture and out time, and acknowledge that in his humanness he was called to be special. His presence made a difference to us all. Truly anointed – called himself the king of pop. Events of his death – a reminder that death comes to us all.
Reminder that life is a paradox – take the good with the bad. Paul talks about a thorn in his side – and we never know how it affects him, or how far he has to overcome it to do what he is called to do.
Important message on stewardhip – what it means to give. New testament concept of giving – is there is no amount of money that you have to give. But in how you give it.
Give out of what you have and not of what you don’t have. Giving is not intended to be a sacrifice – but a gift.
In spite of Paul’s suffering, he has a mission very close to his heart. He travels throughout the world – asking for money for widows in Jerusalem
A way to united the gentile Christians the jewish Christians. Show that we are in solidarity.
But he reminds those that the day will come that one day those in need will be able to give in return.
As he teaches churches the lessons of Christianity – his most important lesson is how they respond to giving.
Macadonians a small church like cornerstone – who did not have much money – but had a heart of gold and able to give to help.
Corinthian church a much larger church – an active dynamic church. You excel in everything you do – excel in this request. Excel in giving.
Reminded that what you have, intended to be used. The use of manna – everyone had enough for the day. Paul says that those who had much never had too much, and those who had little never had too little. They resources were just for the day and were balanced out and shared.
Our faith determined in the way we give to others.
Two brothers – There were two brothers who shared a room with each other. In the early years they shared everything. Each of them had free reign of everything that was there. They played with each other’s toys and got along perfectly. Until the day one of them got a play station for Christmas. And the brother decided that he didn’t want to share – it was his for his benefit. This started each of them as defining their property. And putting stipulations on using their stuff. At one time they got along, but this caused them to distrust one another and to constantly bicker. One day, they agreed to put a line down the middle of the room. And each were instructed to stay on their side of the room. Soon these two brothers became enamies, who not only refused to share, who not only fought constantly, but who eventually stopped speaking, and lived separate lives, even though they lived in the same room. They each were forced to fend for themselves, and faced life all alone. Both lost sight of what it meant to give and to help others.
The Christian faith means to be able to share what we have – so that we all can have just enough to live.
Pride as a church always judged by what we are able to give to others, not by anything else that we have accomplished. As a church, if we have not given to others, there is nothing that we have really accomplished.
There is a saying that we each have Two hands – one to give and one to receive. Like the two brothers, the Two are never intended to be independent of one another. Faith is one of balance – in this case Paul says to balance your abundance with those in need.
Read that Michael was one of the most altruistic stars of all times. Supported as many as 39 charities at one time. He went into the Guiness book of World Records as the star who has given more than any one else. Even in times of financial troubles, he still gave to others.
Teaches us it really doesn’t matter how much of how little you give. There is no set formula of how much to help others. Don’t have to go into bankrucpty to help others. Don’t have to go without, in order so that others will have. Give out of your heart.
Sharing with others changes the world, and is what we are called to do. If you can afford to share do so.
All in your attitude about what you have. About your attitude about your possessions. Did you earn them, or were they a gift from God. Was it given to you for your beneft, or was it given to you to empower you to benefit others.
Share with others, think of others, love others, serve others, help others, heal others.
That is the work of the Lord’s anointed – to make a difference in the world.
In the ends, it all goes back in the box. Even the anointed are human- and will experience the human fate. Only that in which we have given to others will outlive us.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Big Daddy: Big problems, a big solution
June 21, 2009
Father’s Day
Bid Daddy: Big Solutions for a Big Problems
Year B
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Mark 4:34-43
Story of brave boy
Norman Ollestad grew up with a father
whom most of us would describe as unconventional at best,
maybe crazy at the worst.
Norman’s dad had involved him, as a little child,
in what we would now call “extreme sports.”
He surfed before he could walk,
and learned to downhill ski on slopes with names like “Avalanche.”
In 1979, Norman, who was 11 years old,
was a passenger in a private plane,
traveling with his father and his father’s girlfriend.
The pilot, unused to flying in the San Gabriel mountains,
and not rated for instrument flight,
crashed the plane into the side of a mountain.
Norman’s father and the pilot died instantly.
Sandra had a dislocated shoulder and was in extreme shock.
Norman coaxed Sandra into attempting to walk down the icy slope with him.
Sandra didn’t make it, but Norman did.
With only his wits and courage to hold on to,
Norman faced what may have been the biggest challenge of his life.
If he stayed on the mountain, he reasoned, he would die.
So he began to make his way down.
After hours spent inching down the slope,
around frozen waterfalls,
using toeholds in the rock face,
skirting icy chutes that would send him sliding to his death,
Norman made it down off the mountain, alone.
Norman’s memoir of his father is called Crazy for the Storm:
He says: “My father had cultivated this idea of trusting my instincts,
going through the exercise of being afraid,
fighting through the fear,
and then realizing that it worked –
you were better off than you thought.
It gave me a lot of self-confidence…
it wasn’t my first time facing fear and [a] seemingly indomitable situation.”
What troubles me about the story of Norman Ollestad, Jr.
is not that he was able to overcome his situation
because his father had repeatedly put him in challenging situations.
That is uplifting.
What troubles me is that he was there alone in the mountains
because of his dad’s failure to research or plan,
and because of his dad’s failure to learn
that the pilot was inexperienced and not instrument rated.
Norman Ollestad had to climb down off that mountain alone
because his father didn’t try to protect him in the first place.
A loving father doesn’t keep every challenge from a child,
but a loving father also does not put his children in danger.
I saw this story I think on Good Morning America. And was fascinated as the now adult held on to the lessons that his father taught him. His father was not perfect, their relationship was not perfect. And yet he used his story to shape his relationship with his son. He did not need to be so daring, but he needed to be present with his son to show him the lessons that he needed to learn, so that he did not have to learn them alone.
Story of Bill Hybels
Bill Hybels is the pastor of Willow Creek. He too fondly remembers the challenges of his dad. And credits who he is today to who his dad was. Even today, one of Rev. Hybels favorite pastimes is to go sailing. When he was a child, he had a sailboat and he would go out on the lake, his dad would always tell him to be careful and to never go out alone. Whenever he went out on the lake with a teenage friend, the lake was very rocky and scary. He would be nervous and glad to get back dry land. But when he went out with his dad, there was always a calm assurance that everything would be okay. His dad had survived, and could handle anything that would happen to him.
Lake Michigan is a very big lake. Fun to visit the beach on a calm day, but wouldn’t want to be in a sailboat in a storm. Especially if I could not see dry land.
We have the Great Lakes, Disciples had the see of Galliee. More like Lake Geneva at Wesley woods. But susceptible to great storms.
Disciples had Jesus with them
Jesus had encouraged the disciples to go out on the lake. Who knows, maybe it started out as a pretty mild day. Several boats started out on the lake. But soon there was a bad storm and they were no where near the shore.
Jesus was asleep and apparently unconcerned when all of this came to be. And even though the small boat tossed to and fro – he did not wake up. The poor disciples must have been fighting for their lives, and Jesus did nothing. They had to wake him up and let him know how bad things were.
I don’t know about you, but there are lot of times in my life where I feel that Jesus would be reacting to my problems, and I feel that I have to wake Jesus up and remind him of how bad things really are. And I have to remind Jesus that anytime he wants to step in and make things better that he certainly can do that.
Present with us – but not in our worry
The thing is, just like Jesus was there with the disciples. It was his idea that they take this trip in the first place. He was there all along. Which proves that Jesus is always with us wherever we are and whatever we do. Jesus is with us in our struggles, our suffering, our pain, our difficulties, our unanswered questions. But one place Jesus does not go with us is in our worrying. When has worrying about a problem ever given us any solutions. When had complaining about how bad things are made it any better. It didn’t help the disciples on the night of the storm and it doesn’t help us either. Fretting over the storm did not make it go away – so maybe there was a reason Jesus was able to sleep.
Offer words of wisdom – When he wakes up – all he says is Peace be still. Was he talking to the storm or was he talking to the disciples?
Story of struggling 2 year old - A father looked out the window at his 3 year old son playing in his sandbox. Playing for a while – but there was a huge rock in the middle of the sandbox, and the little boy wanted to get it out. He tugged and he pulled and exerted all of his energy, and the rock wouldn’t bulge. After more tugging, the boy sat down on the edge of the sandbox exhausted and frustrated. The father came out to talk with him, you tried everything you could the father said. You look pretty tired, did you use all of your energy to do all that you could. Frustrated –the boy confessed yes I did all that I could. I tried as hard as could to life that rock, and nothing seemed to work. Once again, the father asked if he had done all that he could. Yes the boy replied. Did you come and ask me for help?
Don’t tell God your problems, tell your problems about God.
A word of wisdom that I heard this week. Don’t waste your time telling God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big your God is. When we look at the world, when we look at our lives, even when we look at our church- we all know that we have some big problems. What makes them so big, is that we look at them and see that they are bigger then our solutions. Problems are not a bad thing as long as we have the means to deal with them. It is when we are overwhelmed, when we feel that there is nothing that we can do, when we feel that the problem is going to get the best of us – that it becomes a big problem. And we sit at the edge of the sandbox, and put our heads in our hands and declare that there is nothing that we can do, and we start to do nothing. We stop responding - That the problem becomes big.
Word of wisdom for us – we get caught up in our problems start to think there is no solution, no one cares. When we stop responding. The ultimate atheism – is that God does not care about me. Our first response Don’t you care?
The next step to not responding to the problem is to assume that God does not care about us or about the world. Obviously if there was something that God could do, it would have been done. Or like the disciples, we start to assume that we are not important enough for God to care. We stop praying to God, we stop expecting God to act in our lives. That is the true definition of an atheist. Not someone who doesn’t believe in God. But someone who believes that it does not matter whether there is a God or not – because it does not change the situation. When in reality – God is always there, God is always present, God always cares. But sometimes we have to wake God up. We have to wake God up within our own souls – to know God is with us, but God does not join us in worrying about the big problems of the world. Worrying does not change a thing. But faith does.
Question back to you – where is your faith
The disciples asked Jesus don’t you care about us. Jesus asked the disciples why are you afraid? Have you still no faith? What about you? Where is your faith? Stuck in big problems, or imbedded in an even bigger God?
Questions in response – who is this that even the wind and the elements obey? In the end, the disciples saw the power of God at work. The storm ended, and they asked who is this that even the wind and the rain obey? A pretty big God.
A very big God – able to care and handle it all. Look for the signs and look for the words of Peace. When Jesus says, Peace be still was he talking to the storm, or to the hearts of the disciples? When Jesus says those words of wisdom to us, is he talking to our big problems, or our big faith, or both? Listen to those words of wisdom in your life this week. Let us Pray….
Father’s Day
Bid Daddy: Big Solutions for a Big Problems
Year B
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Mark 4:34-43
Story of brave boy
Norman Ollestad grew up with a father
whom most of us would describe as unconventional at best,
maybe crazy at the worst.
Norman’s dad had involved him, as a little child,
in what we would now call “extreme sports.”
He surfed before he could walk,
and learned to downhill ski on slopes with names like “Avalanche.”
In 1979, Norman, who was 11 years old,
was a passenger in a private plane,
traveling with his father and his father’s girlfriend.
The pilot, unused to flying in the San Gabriel mountains,
and not rated for instrument flight,
crashed the plane into the side of a mountain.
Norman’s father and the pilot died instantly.
Sandra had a dislocated shoulder and was in extreme shock.
Norman coaxed Sandra into attempting to walk down the icy slope with him.
Sandra didn’t make it, but Norman did.
With only his wits and courage to hold on to,
Norman faced what may have been the biggest challenge of his life.
If he stayed on the mountain, he reasoned, he would die.
So he began to make his way down.
After hours spent inching down the slope,
around frozen waterfalls,
using toeholds in the rock face,
skirting icy chutes that would send him sliding to his death,
Norman made it down off the mountain, alone.
Norman’s memoir of his father is called Crazy for the Storm:
He says: “My father had cultivated this idea of trusting my instincts,
going through the exercise of being afraid,
fighting through the fear,
and then realizing that it worked –
you were better off than you thought.
It gave me a lot of self-confidence…
it wasn’t my first time facing fear and [a] seemingly indomitable situation.”
What troubles me about the story of Norman Ollestad, Jr.
is not that he was able to overcome his situation
because his father had repeatedly put him in challenging situations.
That is uplifting.
What troubles me is that he was there alone in the mountains
because of his dad’s failure to research or plan,
and because of his dad’s failure to learn
that the pilot was inexperienced and not instrument rated.
Norman Ollestad had to climb down off that mountain alone
because his father didn’t try to protect him in the first place.
A loving father doesn’t keep every challenge from a child,
but a loving father also does not put his children in danger.
I saw this story I think on Good Morning America. And was fascinated as the now adult held on to the lessons that his father taught him. His father was not perfect, their relationship was not perfect. And yet he used his story to shape his relationship with his son. He did not need to be so daring, but he needed to be present with his son to show him the lessons that he needed to learn, so that he did not have to learn them alone.
Story of Bill Hybels
Bill Hybels is the pastor of Willow Creek. He too fondly remembers the challenges of his dad. And credits who he is today to who his dad was. Even today, one of Rev. Hybels favorite pastimes is to go sailing. When he was a child, he had a sailboat and he would go out on the lake, his dad would always tell him to be careful and to never go out alone. Whenever he went out on the lake with a teenage friend, the lake was very rocky and scary. He would be nervous and glad to get back dry land. But when he went out with his dad, there was always a calm assurance that everything would be okay. His dad had survived, and could handle anything that would happen to him.
Lake Michigan is a very big lake. Fun to visit the beach on a calm day, but wouldn’t want to be in a sailboat in a storm. Especially if I could not see dry land.
We have the Great Lakes, Disciples had the see of Galliee. More like Lake Geneva at Wesley woods. But susceptible to great storms.
Disciples had Jesus with them
Jesus had encouraged the disciples to go out on the lake. Who knows, maybe it started out as a pretty mild day. Several boats started out on the lake. But soon there was a bad storm and they were no where near the shore.
Jesus was asleep and apparently unconcerned when all of this came to be. And even though the small boat tossed to and fro – he did not wake up. The poor disciples must have been fighting for their lives, and Jesus did nothing. They had to wake him up and let him know how bad things were.
I don’t know about you, but there are lot of times in my life where I feel that Jesus would be reacting to my problems, and I feel that I have to wake Jesus up and remind him of how bad things really are. And I have to remind Jesus that anytime he wants to step in and make things better that he certainly can do that.
Present with us – but not in our worry
The thing is, just like Jesus was there with the disciples. It was his idea that they take this trip in the first place. He was there all along. Which proves that Jesus is always with us wherever we are and whatever we do. Jesus is with us in our struggles, our suffering, our pain, our difficulties, our unanswered questions. But one place Jesus does not go with us is in our worrying. When has worrying about a problem ever given us any solutions. When had complaining about how bad things are made it any better. It didn’t help the disciples on the night of the storm and it doesn’t help us either. Fretting over the storm did not make it go away – so maybe there was a reason Jesus was able to sleep.
Offer words of wisdom – When he wakes up – all he says is Peace be still. Was he talking to the storm or was he talking to the disciples?
Story of struggling 2 year old - A father looked out the window at his 3 year old son playing in his sandbox. Playing for a while – but there was a huge rock in the middle of the sandbox, and the little boy wanted to get it out. He tugged and he pulled and exerted all of his energy, and the rock wouldn’t bulge. After more tugging, the boy sat down on the edge of the sandbox exhausted and frustrated. The father came out to talk with him, you tried everything you could the father said. You look pretty tired, did you use all of your energy to do all that you could. Frustrated –the boy confessed yes I did all that I could. I tried as hard as could to life that rock, and nothing seemed to work. Once again, the father asked if he had done all that he could. Yes the boy replied. Did you come and ask me for help?
Don’t tell God your problems, tell your problems about God.
A word of wisdom that I heard this week. Don’t waste your time telling God how big your problems are, tell your problems how big your God is. When we look at the world, when we look at our lives, even when we look at our church- we all know that we have some big problems. What makes them so big, is that we look at them and see that they are bigger then our solutions. Problems are not a bad thing as long as we have the means to deal with them. It is when we are overwhelmed, when we feel that there is nothing that we can do, when we feel that the problem is going to get the best of us – that it becomes a big problem. And we sit at the edge of the sandbox, and put our heads in our hands and declare that there is nothing that we can do, and we start to do nothing. We stop responding - That the problem becomes big.
Word of wisdom for us – we get caught up in our problems start to think there is no solution, no one cares. When we stop responding. The ultimate atheism – is that God does not care about me. Our first response Don’t you care?
The next step to not responding to the problem is to assume that God does not care about us or about the world. Obviously if there was something that God could do, it would have been done. Or like the disciples, we start to assume that we are not important enough for God to care. We stop praying to God, we stop expecting God to act in our lives. That is the true definition of an atheist. Not someone who doesn’t believe in God. But someone who believes that it does not matter whether there is a God or not – because it does not change the situation. When in reality – God is always there, God is always present, God always cares. But sometimes we have to wake God up. We have to wake God up within our own souls – to know God is with us, but God does not join us in worrying about the big problems of the world. Worrying does not change a thing. But faith does.
Question back to you – where is your faith
The disciples asked Jesus don’t you care about us. Jesus asked the disciples why are you afraid? Have you still no faith? What about you? Where is your faith? Stuck in big problems, or imbedded in an even bigger God?
Questions in response – who is this that even the wind and the elements obey? In the end, the disciples saw the power of God at work. The storm ended, and they asked who is this that even the wind and the rain obey? A pretty big God.
A very big God – able to care and handle it all. Look for the signs and look for the words of Peace. When Jesus says, Peace be still was he talking to the storm, or to the hearts of the disciples? When Jesus says those words of wisdom to us, is he talking to our big problems, or our big faith, or both? Listen to those words of wisdom in your life this week. Let us Pray….
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Weed or flower
June 14, 2009
“A Weed or a Flower”
1 Samuel 15
Mark 4:26-34
Year B
Second Sunday After Pentecost
Easter Flowers – Lillies, hyacinths, azaleas. Our sanctuary was filled with the lovely aroma of all of these special easter flowers. They all have a story of resurrections, and they remind us that the world is ,coming a live again.
But there is another easter flower that outshines them all - The most prolific Easter Flower – the dandelion
The qualities of the dandelion – the dandelion grows everywhere. It is strong it is hearty and it grows everywhere. Once lady talked about how she needed to get them out of her year, before her neighbor complained. They grew so abundantly.
Is it a weed or a flower?
God created both with a purpose
The point Jesus was trying to make when he tells the story of the mustard seed
The uses of mustard today – today we use mustard as a condiment, and so we think of it as a food.
But in Jesus’ time the mustard plant would have been a weed. He uses it as an example of faith.
Would not have grown into a tree, and is not the smallest seed in the world. And you cant do a whole lot with them.
The reality is that they are a nuisance. Once you plant them you cant get rid of them. They are everywhere. And the more you try to unplant them, the more they seem to appear.
His audience would have been laughing at him, or laughing with him as he talked about mustard. You don’t really need to spend a whole lot of time planting them, they can take caer of themselves.
The good news is that God does not call us to be mustard plants – a weed. Even though all weeds are plants of God and thus have a purpose.
He calls us to have the faith of a mustard seed. To realize that we are the beginnings of something big. Something prolific at least.
Mustard plants are the plants of God. They don’t grow themselves. And they do not grow according to human care. When the seeds are planted – God does the rest of the work to make them grow.
We are not called to make anything happen, to make anything grow. To just plant the seeds with our faith. To walk away and to see what happens.
When we see situations that are impossible, we have no idea of why God is telling us to plant the seeds. We just do as we are told. God sees differently then we do.
God instructed Samuel to go to Bethlehem to look for a new king for Israel. He took his oil and his sacrifice and he went to the house of Jesse. Jesse had lots of hardworking, strong capable sons. Samuel was sure that the oldest, the strongest, would be God’s pick for King.
Yet God reminded Samuel that even though he sees the outward appearance, God sees the inside. The heart. God had picked the youngest son, David to be the new king of Israel. Samuel anointed him.
But one thing that I did not realize about this story was that this did not happen immediately. It took years for David to grow up, and for the turn of events to make things happen.
And yet from that moment forward, he knew that God was working his destiny out for him. And that if God anointed him King, one day it would happen.
He had the faith of the mustard seed that one day – he would do prolific things. But in God’s time and at Gods will.
That is the lesson for us- we spend so much of our lives waiting for results. Waiting for things to happen. Waiting for proof that our efforts are not in vain. Waiting to see that someone our work is making a difference. Waiting for our destiny.
And God has to send events and people to remind us – that we are not in control. We can plant seeds all day – but we cant make them grow. We have to wait on God to do that. Furthermore, we are not encouraged to plant easter flowers, which have to be cared for- and nurtured, and watered, and babyed. They are pretty to look at, and they satisfy our need to think that God needs us. We are planting mustard seeds, like dandelions – which once planted take on a life of their own. Or more precisely god takes care of them better than we ever could. They grow strong and hearty and spread the message of God’s love everywhere – you cant stop them once they get started.
We never know what we are starting – just start it anyway.
There once was a man – who forgot to kiss his wife goodbye – he was in such a hurry. Yet his wife noticed and felt slighted. She went and yelled at her son who was getting ready for school – that his shirt was wrinkled. When his sister came down for breakfast – he yelled at her. She went outside and kicked the dog – just for being him. This family was in turmoil, starting off to have a bad day, and no one seemed to know why and no one seemed able to do anything about it. They were mad, because someone had shown them anger. And they unknowingly passed it on to others. – It is sort of like the world we live in – where we live in a state of consequences and actions in which we have no control. But after being kicked, he dog came up to the little girl and showed her an act of kindness – he licked her nose. That changed her whole day and her whole outlook on life. She went and volunteered to help her brother iron his shirt and get ready for school. They both remembered to kiss their mom good bye as they went off to school to help a younger child get on the school bus. The mom felt better, and vowed to do something nice for her family. When her husband came home she greeted him with a big kiss. And asked him how his day went. The father – with no thought of how his actions affected his family. Went on with his daily routine, but announced to his family that he was taking them to Disney world next week. The whole family changed – just because the dog licked the nose of the little girl. One small act, one mustard seed planted. One soul willing to not get caught in in the way the circumstances were, but in what could be done in the moment to make a difference. And it made a difference. A very subtle difference in the life of this family.
It is okay for us to do big things – but Jesus encourages us to plant mustard seeds. Plant little things in which God can use and turn into weeds. Things prolific enough to take on a life of God’s amazing growth.
In time, God’s time – our actions will change to circumstance – and eventually change the world in ways that we cannot imagine.
Amen.
“A Weed or a Flower”
1 Samuel 15
Mark 4:26-34
Year B
Second Sunday After Pentecost
Easter Flowers – Lillies, hyacinths, azaleas. Our sanctuary was filled with the lovely aroma of all of these special easter flowers. They all have a story of resurrections, and they remind us that the world is ,coming a live again.
But there is another easter flower that outshines them all - The most prolific Easter Flower – the dandelion
The qualities of the dandelion – the dandelion grows everywhere. It is strong it is hearty and it grows everywhere. Once lady talked about how she needed to get them out of her year, before her neighbor complained. They grew so abundantly.
Is it a weed or a flower?
God created both with a purpose
The point Jesus was trying to make when he tells the story of the mustard seed
The uses of mustard today – today we use mustard as a condiment, and so we think of it as a food.
But in Jesus’ time the mustard plant would have been a weed. He uses it as an example of faith.
Would not have grown into a tree, and is not the smallest seed in the world. And you cant do a whole lot with them.
The reality is that they are a nuisance. Once you plant them you cant get rid of them. They are everywhere. And the more you try to unplant them, the more they seem to appear.
His audience would have been laughing at him, or laughing with him as he talked about mustard. You don’t really need to spend a whole lot of time planting them, they can take caer of themselves.
The good news is that God does not call us to be mustard plants – a weed. Even though all weeds are plants of God and thus have a purpose.
He calls us to have the faith of a mustard seed. To realize that we are the beginnings of something big. Something prolific at least.
Mustard plants are the plants of God. They don’t grow themselves. And they do not grow according to human care. When the seeds are planted – God does the rest of the work to make them grow.
We are not called to make anything happen, to make anything grow. To just plant the seeds with our faith. To walk away and to see what happens.
When we see situations that are impossible, we have no idea of why God is telling us to plant the seeds. We just do as we are told. God sees differently then we do.
God instructed Samuel to go to Bethlehem to look for a new king for Israel. He took his oil and his sacrifice and he went to the house of Jesse. Jesse had lots of hardworking, strong capable sons. Samuel was sure that the oldest, the strongest, would be God’s pick for King.
Yet God reminded Samuel that even though he sees the outward appearance, God sees the inside. The heart. God had picked the youngest son, David to be the new king of Israel. Samuel anointed him.
But one thing that I did not realize about this story was that this did not happen immediately. It took years for David to grow up, and for the turn of events to make things happen.
And yet from that moment forward, he knew that God was working his destiny out for him. And that if God anointed him King, one day it would happen.
He had the faith of the mustard seed that one day – he would do prolific things. But in God’s time and at Gods will.
That is the lesson for us- we spend so much of our lives waiting for results. Waiting for things to happen. Waiting for proof that our efforts are not in vain. Waiting to see that someone our work is making a difference. Waiting for our destiny.
And God has to send events and people to remind us – that we are not in control. We can plant seeds all day – but we cant make them grow. We have to wait on God to do that. Furthermore, we are not encouraged to plant easter flowers, which have to be cared for- and nurtured, and watered, and babyed. They are pretty to look at, and they satisfy our need to think that God needs us. We are planting mustard seeds, like dandelions – which once planted take on a life of their own. Or more precisely god takes care of them better than we ever could. They grow strong and hearty and spread the message of God’s love everywhere – you cant stop them once they get started.
We never know what we are starting – just start it anyway.
There once was a man – who forgot to kiss his wife goodbye – he was in such a hurry. Yet his wife noticed and felt slighted. She went and yelled at her son who was getting ready for school – that his shirt was wrinkled. When his sister came down for breakfast – he yelled at her. She went outside and kicked the dog – just for being him. This family was in turmoil, starting off to have a bad day, and no one seemed to know why and no one seemed able to do anything about it. They were mad, because someone had shown them anger. And they unknowingly passed it on to others. – It is sort of like the world we live in – where we live in a state of consequences and actions in which we have no control. But after being kicked, he dog came up to the little girl and showed her an act of kindness – he licked her nose. That changed her whole day and her whole outlook on life. She went and volunteered to help her brother iron his shirt and get ready for school. They both remembered to kiss their mom good bye as they went off to school to help a younger child get on the school bus. The mom felt better, and vowed to do something nice for her family. When her husband came home she greeted him with a big kiss. And asked him how his day went. The father – with no thought of how his actions affected his family. Went on with his daily routine, but announced to his family that he was taking them to Disney world next week. The whole family changed – just because the dog licked the nose of the little girl. One small act, one mustard seed planted. One soul willing to not get caught in in the way the circumstances were, but in what could be done in the moment to make a difference. And it made a difference. A very subtle difference in the life of this family.
It is okay for us to do big things – but Jesus encourages us to plant mustard seeds. Plant little things in which God can use and turn into weeds. Things prolific enough to take on a life of God’s amazing growth.
In time, God’s time – our actions will change to circumstance – and eventually change the world in ways that we cannot imagine.
Amen.
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