Is “the greatest of all shrubs” really that big of a complement? I mean, shrubs are fine. We have some around our house! We've even spent money to replace ones that died or add new ones in a different part of the yard. They add a nice touch to the landscaping and do, as the scripture says, provide home and hearth to all matter of small creature. Still, though, the greatest of all shrubs? Is that really all that great?

Today’s reading comes from early in the book of Mark, right as we’re getting to know Jesus as a teacher. He’s already been baptized and tempted in the wilderness. He’s got the first twelve disciples, too. And, he’s begun healing and teaching and arguing with Pharisees. The specific verses we’re learning from today are from this scene that begins with Jesus standing in a boat, teaching a crowded shore-full of people. This is the part of Mark where the author introduces us to the idea of parable. Richard Horsley, in his notes on this chapter of Mark, defines a parable as “extended metaphors or analogies.”  These are stories about one thing that are used to explain something else.

Jesus would usually share the parable with the whole group he was teaching, in this case a large crowd on the seashore. Then, in private, the Twelve, who had inevitably not understood the parable, would ask him to explain it. The two parables in today’s reading are part of Jesus’ specific teaching to the Twelve to help them understand both the content of the parables and why he is using them. Just a few verses before today’s reading, Jesus says, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables...” Then, he quoted Isaiah:

They may indeed look but not perceive
And may indeed listen, but not understand;
So that they may not turn again and be forgiven.

Here is the tricky thing about parables. People who know the mystery of God are supposed to understand them, straight away. Jesus found them useful as a teaching tool because they can be challenging to understand. I’ve had teachers like this. Have you? The ones that want you to learn but are also gonna make you work for it.

It is also interesting to me that Jesus expected his disciples to understand the parables upon their first hearing, but still taught them when they didn’t. To be sure, he chided them for their lack of understanding, saying “Do you not understand the parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? (Mark 4:13)” But, he still works to help them understand what they don’t yet comprehend. The words that Jesus says appear strict: if you know the mystery of God, you’ll understand this. If you don’t, you won’t. But, then, his actions are more gracious. He will sit down to help make sure the Twelve understand what he’s teaching. Perhaps a lesson we take from this is that understanding the mystery of the divine rarely happens all at one time, and, a reminder that those who would become teachers in their own right must be taught in ways that they understand. Even Jesus was willing to switch up his pedagogy if his closest co-workers were struggling.

In Mark 4, Jesus used a lot of stories about planting and growing, including the two in today’s reading, to talk about faith and the nature of God. In a commentary on this text, Dr. Wil Gafney points out that gardens and agriculture are what she calls “an enduring metaphor” throughout the Bible. The region in which these texts came to life, first as stories shared from human to human, and then as the written word, were places where it was challenging to grow food. It could be challenging to find arable land and enough water for crops. Gafney argues that is such a place, “paradise looks like a garden full of fruit producing-trees riven with healing waters.” God as Creator, as Sower, and the Force which causes Growth are vital images of God throughout the Bible. It makes sense that Jesus would tell parables rooted in this tradition in order to help his disciples and strangers alike learn something more about his ideas about faith.

What does it mean to “sow” the Kin-dom of God? The answers to this question are not exactly straightforward. Through parables, Jesus invites us to approach the question at an angle. Carolynne Hitter Brown describes the first parable in today’s reading as “God and people working together to bring about God’s design for creation.” That’s her view based on her angle of insight. I think this is a sound reading, particularly since we know that Jesus is speaking to the disciples, those who are not yet teachers on their own right but soon will be. He’s trying to help them understand their role as teachers and healers. He’s reminding them that their job is to sow, that is, to teach and heal. The growing... that’s God’s job.

The sower doesn’t have to understand how the plant grows. Sure, there are things we have long known that make the plant more likely to grow - weeding, adding nutrients to the soil, keeping up with watering, protecting the plants from the critters who want to eat them first. Ultimately though, for most of us, sowing is an act of faith bolstered by our actions to support growth. We do what we can to support it or suppress it. But, the seeds grow when they grow. Our job is to make sure that they are planted.

And, the shrub... let’s go back to the shrub. I was maybe a little hard on it in the beginning of the sermon. Thank goodness God sees potential in that little seed that I don’t. Because the first parable of today’s reading is about the disciples’ actions as sowers. The second parable is about the growing. And, God finds delight in growing small things into something great. Dr. Brown describes the mustard plant in more glowing terms than I do, which is probably more in line with Jesus’ intent in telling the parable. She said that the smallest seed becomes “a lush bower” in which the birds can live and raise their young.

How would we live our faith differently if we thought of the kindom of God as a lush bower to house the small and vulnerable? Not a castle on high. Not a fortress with strong gates. But, instead, a verdant thicket, full of life in all manner of creeping, crawling, and flying forms. Our back garden is currently a jungle of untrimmed, wild shrubs. And, whenever I watch it through the kitchen window for just a moment, the small creatures that have found safety within the branches make themselves known.
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The smallest seed planted can grow into sanctuary for those who need it. That is the mystery of the Divine. That is what the disciples need to know is true. They are called to sow. And, God can grow something great from the tiniest seed they plant. And, what they are planting will ultimately be for the good of those who need shelter. Like Paul’s writing last week, we have another example of the holiness of the small and vulnerable... a vision of faith in contrast with a world that often understands wealth, largeness of size, and aggression as power. May we take heart in this vision of a kin-dom made for the ones who need the most care. And, may we do our part and sow so that it can grow in the first place.
 
Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
Richard A. Horsley's introduction to Mark in The New Oxford Annotated Bible: The New Revised Standard Version with Apocryphya, ed. Michael Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001)

Wil Gafney, "Proper 4 (Closest to June 1st)," A Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church, Year B (New York: Church Publishing Incorporated, 2023)

Carolynne Hitter Brown, "Proper 6[11], " Preaching God's Transforming Justice: A Lectionary Commentary, Year B Featuring 22 New Holy Days for Justice, Ronald J. Allen, Dale P. Andrews, and Dawn Ottoni- Wilhelm, eds. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011)

     What is going on in Corinth? Lots of things, apparently. The first letter between Paul and the church of Corinth, which he founded, has been lost. According to Bart Ehrman, the letter that we call 1st Corinthians, likely the second letter to the church, addresses several big issues, including interpersonal conflicts among members, the misuse of worship time by some members as a time to try to establish spiritual superiority over others, hoarding of food and drink, and sexual impropriety. 2nd Corinthians, which might be a collection of parts of third and fourth letters, addresses additional issues that came up after the second letter was written.

     Sze-Kar Wan describes the background for the letter in this introduction to 2nd Corinthians. Paul, who had been traveling around, sent Timothy to Corinth as “his personal emissary.” Timothy came back with distressing news: a group of Christian missionaries with very different ideas about what it meant to be Christian had turned up in Corinth and were undermining Paul’s teaching.  In order to counter their influence, Paul went back to Corinth for what he would come to call a “painful visit” in chapter 2, verse 1 of 2nd Corinthians. Someone insulted him so terribly that he left humiliated.

     It was bad enough a visit with leftover hard feelings that he wrote something he called “a letter of tears” to try and work through their conflict. While he mentions that letter in what we call 2nd Corinthians, the actual text of that letter is lost. That being said, the lost letter appears to have worked to convince the church in Corinth to continue to follow Paul’s teachings around following Jesus, and, also, led them to rebuke the person who had insulted him. Paul wrote additional letters to the church, including the letter that contains today’s reading, one that Wan refers to as being more “conciliatory” in tone. In the conciliatory letter is a section of teaching, specifically about how to make sense of hardship in terms of one’s faith in Jesus.

     In a recent visit with the physician who helps me manage my chronic pain, he mentioned that he finds some of Paul’s writings about bodies useful in conversations with Christian patients. Of course, he isn’t trying to convert non-Christian patients. But, if he finds out that someone is a Christian and struggling in caring for a body that is in pain, he has looked to Christian scripture for ways to inspire them. He specifically cited 1st Corinthians 6:19 as a verse that he has talked about with his patients: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God?” In that verse he finds an affirmation of the goodness of bodies, of the body as a gift, and as a container for the Holy Spirit. He knows that many of his patients struggle with seeing their bodies as good and struggle with caring for them. He hopes that by reminding them that their faith teaches them that their body is a temple, it can help reorient them into tending to their bodies with more love and reverence.

     I actually think that Paul has a more contentious relationship with human bodies, or at least his body, than my doctor is inclined to point out to other patients. In 2nd Corinthians 12, Paul talks about the pain he has had to deal with and offers up his theological explanation for why he has this pain:
“Therefore, to keep me from being too elated (can also be translated “arrogant”), a thorn has given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated (arrogant). Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.”

     You may have heard this phrase before, a thorn in the flesh. It is often spiritualized by interpreters... by that I mean that people read “thorn in the flesh” or “thorn in the side” as a metaphor for an issue that was weighing on Paul’s heart. I actually think it is more useful to read these verses as a description of a physical pain that Paul was contending with rather than an intellectual or spiritual quandary. It would then make sense to me that Paul would do what many of us do when facing a sick and painful body: try to figure out why the pain happened and what to do about it. Paul came to understand the pain as a limitation placed upon him by God, making him weak, so that, as Ehrman notes, he will never be able to boast that the good he has done has come from his own strength, but instead, has been done through him by God.

     Truth be told, I have concerns about people thinking that God has inflicted pain and illness on them. Generally, I don’t think God works that way. Most of us are in chronic pain or are sick because of some combination of bad luck and/or genetics and/ or choices we make about how to care for our bodies. While Paul’s theological explanation for his pain seems like it brought him a measure of peace, I’ve seen plenty of people, often inspired by Paul, who feel like God is hurting them on purpose. They will develop shame around that or feel like they have to endure more pain with less support because they are “supposed to be in pain.” If the Gospels tell us anything clearly about Jesus it’s that he was interested in healing people’s pain, not causing more.

     That being said, Paul finds great meaning in remembering that Jesus suffered pain. Jesus, though powerful, did not opt out of the basic human experience of having a body that hurt sometimes and could be harmed by powerful people. Jennifer Vija Pietz points out in her commentary on this text that when Paul speaks of his own suffering, particularly the ways he has been targeted for harm because of his ministry, it is helpful to remember that Jesus suffered, too. It allows Paul to make the case that appearing to be powerful, which what some of the Corinthian church members did to try to assert that they were spiritually superior to other members, did not mean that they were actually following Jesus’ example. Given that Jesus suffered crucifixion, those who suffered on his account were much more like him than those who grew in acclaim and power.

     Pietz argues that Paul believes that suffering isn’t a sign of failure or a sign that one is disconnected from God. Instead, the Holy Spirit is present and active in the midst of suffering. While I may not be totally on board with the parts of Paul’s writing where he seems to dismiss the value of these bodies of ours, hurt though they may, I do think it is good for people to hear that suffering doesn’t mean you have failed God somehow or that those who suffer are somehow farther from God than those who are comfortable and well. A certain amount of struggle and pain are unavoidable in life. I don’t think Paul is telling us to ignore the pain in our bodies or dismiss the pain others are experiencing, even though Christians have a long history of doing both justified by his work. I do think that Paul is asserting that the world's standards for success and comfort are often very far from the standards of love and justice that Jesus invites Christians to follow.

     What is eternal? That’s part of what Paul hopes to communicate in this portion of his letter. Ultimately, he believed that renewal is possible, even in the midst of suffering and discord. And, he believed that suffering is temporary. The Spirit that connects us to each other and to Christ is what he calls eternal. Our bodies will change. We will not always succeed in following Christ or loving each other. But, ultimately, new life is being born from that which is eternal in the midst of struggle and strife. For Paul, pain in this moment does not preclude hope in the future. May we feel the promise of renewal, even as we feel the reality of the struggle, and know that Jesus is here with us in both.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
Bart Ehrman, in The New Testament: A Historical Introduction of The Early Christian Writings, 2nd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).
Sze-Kar Wan's introduction to 2nd Corinthians in The New Oxford Annotated Bible: The New Revised Standard Version with Apocryphya, ed. Michael Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001)
Jennifer Vija Pietz: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-10-2/commentary-on-2-corinthians-413-51
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Who is Samuel? Our scripture for the day tells us that he is a prophet. But, before he was a prophet, he was a kid working for a priest named Eli. And, before that, he was the beloved first son of Hannah and her husband Elkanah. In order to understand how a child came to be working with a priest instead of living with his parents, it is probably good to be reminded of his parents’ stories, and to learn some about Eli’s family, too. 
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Does anyone remember a Bible story where someone very much wants to be a parent but hasn’t been able to? Abram (Abraham) and Sarai (Sarah) are two people. Elizabeth and Zechariah are two more. Hannah is another. Her husband Elkanah has an additional wife, Peninnah, with whom he had children. But, he and Hannah shared no children together. Hannah wanted very much to have children, too. In the first few chapters of 1st Samuel, we learn about how sad she is and how she prayed to God that she would be able to have children. Eli, the priest at the temple at a holy place called Shiloh, heard her prayers and assured her that she would be able to be a mother.

When she eventually had her child, she named him Samuel, which means, “I have asked him of the Lord.” In his notes on 1st Samuel, Steven McKenzie reminds us that, in the Bible, when someone has been wanting to be a parent and it was very hard, but they finally have a child, that child is often given a special purpose. Hannah felt that this long-awaited child who had been a gift to her should be set aside for a special job with God. She raises him when he is very little in their home. But, when he was old enough to eat on his own, Hannah took back to the temple at Shiloh, along with a special offering, and left him in Eli’s care. She said, “For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me the petition that I made. Therefore, I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.”

Even though Hannah was sure that her child could be of service to God, I would imagine leaving him behind might have been hard, for both her and Samuel. After she left, she lifted up a song of praise to God. Let’s sing one verse of it together (ask Rosalea to play verse one). Does the song remind you of any other songs mothers sing in the Bible? It reminds me of the song Mary sings when she agrees to be Jesus’ mom. Hannah would visit Samuel once a year and bring him a special priestly robe that she would make for him.

What do we know about Eli, Samuel’s guardian? Eli has children of his own, adult sons who are also priests at Shiloh. But they aren’t great guys! McKenzie gave a good summary of some of the hateful things they did. Priests are supposed to be trustworthy, honoring God and treating worshipers fairly. Eli’s sons don’t do either. They took parts of the food sacrifices that were supposed to be left for God. And, if a worshiper told them to stop taking the part meant for God, the priests who threaten them with violence. They also had improper relationships with women who work at the temple. While these men ignored the work they were supposed to do and harmed the people they were supposed to be helping, Samuel was growing up. As he grew into an older kid and a teenager, he became known to be a trustworthy person by God and by the worshipers at Shiloh alike.

 All of that information is backstory to today's reading that is useful in helping us understand what all is happening. If we know that the children of mothers who had a hard time becoming pregnant were often given special jobs by God, we might guess that God would give Samuel a job on top of the work his mother asked him to do at the temple. But, also, as Diana Chen points out in a commentary on this text, the beginning of our reading says that the people hadn’t heard much from God lately, and that “visions were not widespread.” So, Samuel, even though he worked in the temple, doesn’t assume that God is talking to him when he first hears the call. He thinks it’s Eli.

He’s a good kid, so he ran to Eli when he thought Eli called, even though it was early enough in the morning that the lamp of God that stayed lit in the dark was still being burned. Eli groggily woke up and said he hadn’t called and told him to go back to bed. This happens three times where God calls and Samuel, thinking it’s Eli, goes to the elderly priest’s room. The third time, Eli realized what was happening and gave Samuel good advice: Lie back down and if God calls again, say “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” Samuel followed Eli’s recommendation. Samuel probably isn’t the only one who’s ever been thankful that God called one more time.

I’m am delighted by this image of God standing around, like an annoyed parent who’s called for their kid too many times already, but will call once more because they really need him to pay attention. Did you catch that line when Sharon read it: “Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” This time, Samuel knew what to do. “Speak, for your servant is listening!” And, God spoke, giving Samuel a life-changing calling. Samuel became a prophet.
 
 Well, technically he became a prophet the next morning when he did the thing prophets are supposed to do: share the words of God with the people God needs to hear them. Did you notice that, at first, he was scared to share what God said to him? I think that’s pretty fair. It is not easy to tell someone bad news, especially if that person has been your guardian and you are still a kid. Not every adult responds well to kids when they tell them a truth that they don’t want to hear. It’s not fair, but it still happens. Eli noticed that Samuel was afraid, but he pushed him to share what God had said. Eli believed that Samuel could hear a word from God, and wanted to hear what it was, even if it was bad news.

Eli, to his credit, didn’t punish Samuel when Samuel told him of God’s coming judgement. Eli accepted the consequences for not restraining his sons as they abused their power. Scripture tells us that Samuel continues to mature and all the words from God that he shared came to pass. All of Israel would come to know that he was a trustworthy prophet. Which is important, because some big things will happen in his future. The scholar Walter Brueggemann calls Samuel a “kingmaker” in his introduction to this book. He would be a leader in Israel in his own right, and would have a part to play God’s appointment of two kings you might have heard of, Saul and David.

As we remember Samuel this week, may we give thanks for the ones who are answers to another’s prayers. May we give thanks for guardians to tend imperfectly to children who are not their own. May we give thanks for the bravery of teenagers and the truths they tell. And, may we give thanks for that fourth call from God. Let it be the one we can understand. May we listen, and may none of the words God has shared with us fall to the ground.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:

Steven L. McKenzie's introduction to 1st Samuel in The New Oxford Annotated Bible: The New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha, ed. Michael Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001)

Diane G. Chen, "Proper 4 [9]," Preaching God's Transforming Justice: A Lectionary Commentary, Year B Featuring 22 New Holy Days for Justice, Ronald J. Allen, Dale P. Andrews, and Dawn Ottoni- Wilhelm, eds. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011)

Walter Brueggemann, An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian Imagination (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003)