​It is a serious thing 
just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in the broken world. 
-Mary Oliver

The prophet Micah was called to serve God in a turbulent era. In his commentary on Micah, Gregory Mobley said that Micah offers theological interpretations of three significant events. One, is the takeover of the kingdom of Samaria, the northern kingdom of what had once been a unified Israel. It was roughly in the area that we call today the northern part of the West Bank. Another significant event was the movement of migrants out of the war-torn area into the city of Jerusalem, expanding the size of the city by quite a bit. And, given that folks from the North and the South had some big arguments about how to follow their shared religious traditions, I imagine that there was tension that accompanied this immigration. 

And, the third event was the general instability of the region due to the aggressive behavior of Assyria. Assyria hadn’t only gone after Samaria. I’ve read that Assyria would become the largest empire in the world up to that time. And, they did not amass so much land and money through peaceful negotiation. They got it through war. Every nation around them would have likely felt at risk. Micah was called by God to address the horrors of war, changes in an important city, and the volatility of a powerful and dangerous neighbor. I am not a prophet, but, I am a preacher. And, we’ve observed a hellish two weeks in Gaza from afar and a nightmarish five days in Lewiston right up close. And, last week, homeless camps were swept in Portland. Maybe Micah has a prophecy that can help us out in our own volatile times. 

Just a heads up: I’m not going to share everything Micah said. Like most prophets in the Hebrew Bible, Micah shared a fairly cranky message from God. The prophecies move from punishment to salvation, as is common in many prophetic messages. As Sarah Sarchet Butter notes in her commentary on this text, the first part of Micah 6 is even a trial. I have no urge to put the people who are suffering right now on trial, in large part because the bulk of the suffering I am witnessing right now is not the fault of the people who are hurt. Failures of policy and governance have put people in danger. The people who are in pain right now don’t need me or anyone else telling them what they did wrong to deserve to be harmed. They were simply existing in public when someone chose to do them harm. So, I would argue that not all of Micah will be helpful for us right now because it might make it seem like God wanted the destruction to happen and I am a firm believer that God did not. 

The first word of chapter six is the Hebrew word “shem’a.” It means listen or hear, or, as Megan Fullerton Stollo argues in her commentary, “heed.” She says that implicit in this word is not just listening, but hearing that will be followed up with action. What are the hearers in this text being invited to heed? First, there is a recitation of what God has done for the people... a remembrance of salvation that, as Kenyatta Gilbert notes in her commentary, speaks of an intimate relationship between God and humanity. Hearing the stories of past salvation, the people respond then with a question about what is the appropriate way to honor God’s promise to care for them? The people’s initial response is to think of what sacrifices can be made in thanksgiving. There is talk of rams and calves and burnt offerings and river of oil. There is an offer of a firstborn child (it is not clear if this is serious or sarcastic). God says something different is required. 

“God has told you, O mortal what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” In his notes on this text, Peter B. Machinist says, “In this single sentence the prophet sums up a century of brilliant prophesy.” Do justice. Love Kindness. Walk humbly with your God. Shem’a... heed.... listen and act. Live in a way that brings justice alive. Root your actions in loving kindness. Move about this world as though you are confident God is with you. Move about this world following God’s direction with a measure of humility that allows you to make amends and change course when necessary, but is also confident that your relationship with God will continue to carry you forward. 

Notice that everything God requires from the hearer in this scripture is relational. Justice, love, and humility do not exist in isolation. These are instructions that guide how we interact with each other as a reflection of our covenant with God. We can’t give God mountains of cash while treating our neighbors poorly. No amount of rams or calves or oil will make up for relationships that do not reflect justice and kindness. Our relationships with each other need to be stewarded just as faithfully as our relationship with God. The sacrifice we make for God, that is our acts for justice and our loving kindness, is given to the people that surround us. This community is the altar at which we place our love and from which we fight for justice. 

​Where will you share your love in the coming days and weeks? Because our neighbors here and abroad will surely need it. How will you fight for justice in the coming days and weeks? Because the world is seeming short of it.  The author Cole Arthur Riley, who actually visited Lewiston and Auburn in the last couple years to give a talk, shared these words on her Instagram account blackliturgies: “If your hope is waning, find those who can sustain it. And when the time comes, you will carry someone else’s hope for them. No individual can resist despair on their own. We steady each other. We can’t afford despair.” Doing justice and offering loving kindness is how we will sustain each other’s hope in this tragic time. It is how we will walk humbly with God and with our neighbor. This is what is required of us. Let us finish with this prayer offered by Riley:
     Inhale with me: This is too much to hold.
     Exhale: So, we hold it together. 

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
Mobley's introduction to 1 Peter in The New Oxford Annotated Bible: The New Revised Standard Version with Apocryphya, ed. Mich Gregory ael Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001)

Peter B. Machinist's entry on Assyria in the Harper Collins Bible Dictionary, Paul Achetemeier, ed. (New York: HarperCollins, 1996)

Megan Fullerton Strollo: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-after-epiphany/commentary-on-micah-61-8-5

Kenyatta Gilbert, "Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany," 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).

Cole Arthur Riley: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy8pd_sOjRV/?igshid=bmFjcGRtMW5xYXBq

Matthew 25:31-46 The Judgement of the Nations
​‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 
Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” 
​Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’ 

     I think goats are delightful. I like how bossy they are and how they hop around, especially when they are babies. I like how they play queen of the mountain and practice their headbutts. Because I have opted for a lifestyle where I don’t have any goats under my direct care, I get to laugh about their mischievous ability to get out of fences and into trouble. I think goats are great and I have yet to find a good explanation for why Jesus doesn’t seem to have a very high opinion of them. Because Jesus really doesn’t want us to be goats. Ok, that’s not actually the lesson. The lesson is actually about how we know who has followed Jesus’ commandment. It is some of the clearest call to faithful action in the whole of Christian Scripture.

     The first metaphor here is of a Shepherd King, looking over a gathering of the nations. Courtney Buggs, in her commentary on this text, describes the first part of the reading as “a fantastical scene – a gathering of epic proportions of many nations, many peoples, many languages [before] the enthroned King.” The gathering of nations is compared to a gathering of herds of animals. Buggs notes that plenty of people in this era kept mixed flocks of sheep and goats together, so when Jesus talked about the nations as a mixed flock, that would not have seemed unusual to them. And, it would not have been unusual for a shepherd to eventually need to separate out the sheep from the goats. This very common action would become an image for how Jesus will judge people when he returns. He will separate people into the sheep and the goats. Again, we should remember: you don’t want to be a goat.

     In this parable, the sheep represent the people and nations who most fully live out divine blessedness. The shepherd king will look over the sheep and goats and thank the sheep for having helped him. Notice that the sheep have no idea how they helped him. Buggs points that out in her commentary. They have no idea and ask him to explain. He says that when they saw him hungry, they fed him. When they saw him thirsty, they gave him a drink. When he encountered them as a stranger, rather than run him off or lock him out, they welcomed him. When he had nothing, not even clothes, they made sure he had enough. They cared for him when he was sick and visited him in prison.

     The sheep have no memory of doing any of that. They ask him, at the risk of sounding foolish, "um, king... Would you mind reminding us when, precisely, we were able to do such kind things for you?"  The shepherd king seems happy to explain. You see, this king was not the kind of king they were used to. They were accustomed to king... emperors... who put themselves above all of their subjects, who often understood themselves to be nearly gods. This king, this stand-in for Jesus, would be very different. This king is not separate from his subjects. He is radically connected to them.

     The shepherd king looked at the work of the sheep... the times they welcomed strangers and visited the imprisoned, fed the hungry and clothed the naked and visited those who had been imprisoned... and said that the loving justice expressed in those acts had made its way to him. In fact, offering this loving justice to those considered to be the least of society was the same as offering it to him. The shepherd king also claims the “least of these” as family, an incredible statement for a king to make. He said the sheep met him everyday, in the face of their neighbors, his family, whom they served.

     Much to the dismay of goat enthusiasts, Jesus says that the goats did the opposite of the sheep. The king tells the goat people and nations that they refused to help him when he needed it. Like the sheep, they have no idea when they refused to help a king. He reminds them that not helping those in need was just like not helping him. And, there would be consequences for their short-sightedness. "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me."

     Courtney Buggs argues that the main difference between the sheep and the goats is a question of orientation. She puts it this way: “the group on the right possessed an orientation toward meeting the needs of those at risk of marginalization, while the group on the left did not.” In orienting yourself towards those most a risk of marginalization, you are orienting yourself towards Jesus. It really is incredible to hear Jesus so completely identifying with humanity that to serve other people is to serve him. Jesus, who had been born among the poor and colonized, knew what it was to suffer under a tyrant. In following his own mission, he wouldn’t reproduce those harmful ways of being a leader. Instead, he would orient himself to those most in need. And, he would insist that his own followers do the same.  While the empire would not tend to the least of these, Jesus would. And, while waiting for his return, Jesus insisted that his followers do the same.

     I spent the last two days among people in the Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ who have been trying very hard to be sheep. I heard one story in particular that reminded me of today’s reading. A member of Williston-Immanuel, a dually aligned UCC/American Baptist church in Portland that is currently housing 34 asylum-seekers in their building, shared a moment when she felt clearly that Jesus had shown up on her doorstep asking for help. A couple, new to the country and with few resources, had been directed to the church for help as they were getting ready to lose their housing. Initially, the church covered a night in a hotel for this husband and wife, who was also pregnant. But, three days later, they were back and shared that they’d had no luck finding more permanent housing.

     She said “We have a spare room. I thought we could let them move in.” So, they welcomed these strangers into their home. It was not always easy, for reasons you might guess if you know what it’s like to move in with new people, and also reasons you might not. The citizens learned that the refugee family became unable to access some valuable resources because technically they weren’t homeless anymore. In fact, eventually, the citizen couple and the asylee couple learned that the citizens would need to write them an eviction letter to take to some of the programs in order for the programs to accept them back into care.
Inviting people into their home was not easy thing, but for this faithful woman who shared her story, the “sheeply” act was worth all the difficulty and hardship. Fortunately, and importantly, the two families could partner together, each trusting each other, and each trying hard not to take advantage of what had been entrusted to them. Not every houseguest is so trustworthy. Thank God these two couples found each other and worked so well together. Their experience shows us something important about the Reign of God, with all its messy and beautiful glory.

     I don’t know if you’re going to have a refugee family show up at your door. But there will surely be an opportunity for you and for this church to act like sheep in the coming weeks and months. I pray that we will act like sheep when Jesus shows up at our door. And, that we will find ourselves in the flock on the right side, next to Jesus’ family, the ones who may be known as the “Least of These”.
​
Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
Courtney Buggs’ commentary “A Generous Spirit to the Most Vulnerable,” in the “Because of You” Stewardship Material 

     Today’s scripture is a story about fear. It is the middle parable in a series of three, beginning last week with the story of the bridesmaids who were stingy with their oil, and continuing with next week’s scripture about the sheep and the goats. We go from a story about staying awake and tending to your calling to a story about being afraid and how that can impact what you do with something that has been entrusted to you. And, both last week’s parable and this week’s parable are put into the context of waiting... waiting for the groom to arrive or waiting for person who loaned the money to return. It is wise to consider how fear, particularly fear of angering someone powerful, can shape how you wait.

     A talent is a lot of money. In her commentary on this text, Carla Works notes that one talent is worth 6,000 days wages for an average worker. That is 20 years of income. I can’t imagine anyone walking up to me and handing me twenty years of my salary, especially with few instructions on what to do with it. Just “I’m leaving. I’m entrusting you with this.” That’s it. I wouldn’t blame you if you were tempted to hide it away so nothing happened to it. Especially if, as we learn later, the person who has entrusted you with this life-changing amount of money is known to be harsh in judgement. What if you do the wrong thing? What if, God forbid, you lose some of what has been entrusted to you?

     I think it matters that we pay attention to the power dynamics in this story. In his commentary on the text, Larry Morris III notes that the translation of the Greek work “doulos” is complex. It can be used for a servant, which would be an employee, or a slave, who is owned, often against their will. Morris argues that it can mean “bond-servant” here, that an indication that the person has entered servitude willingly. He also notes that often in Christian writings, it is used with a positive connotation to describe one who believes and “willingly submits under the authority of Christ.” I’m not totally sure that the willingness cancels out the slavery part, but I will buy that this word is consistently used to describe people who are faithful to Christ and shape their lives around his teaching. But, I can’t help but remember that with servitude comes a lack of control.

     Morris also notes that the Greek word Kyrios that is translated here as “master,” can also be translated as “sir” or “lord,” like the aristocratic title, or “Lord,” with a capital “L.” This is what we might call God or Jesus. There is power inherent in this title. Morris notes that this title implies that one is able to exercise “absolute ownership” and “exercise full rights.” But, this master wields power in a surprising way. He entrusts an extraordinary amount of money to people over whom he has absolute control. Susan Bonds calls it a “sacrificial gift of epic proportions” in her commentary on this text. Twenty, forty, and one hundred years of funds. Bonds says that the word for property likely means not just money or material possessions but something more like “one’s entire substance and life.” The rich person is trusting these three with so very much.

     When reading this text, we should avoid interpretations that reinforce behaviors that reproduce inequality. Just because the master in this story gives people money based on their capability to manage that money, that doesn’t mean that the differences in the amount of money we observe people having in our everyday life is somehow ordained by God. As Morris says, “money has to pass through numerous unjust systems in our world before it reaches many of us.” If you have more money, that doesn’t mean God gave you more money. If you have less money, that doesn’t mean that God wants you to have less. That kind of theology is death-dealing and dangerous.

     What is useful to us, especially as we consider what it means to be stewards of God’s church, is a closer look at how the people who received the generous sums of money stewarded it. After a long time, the wealthy person returned and spoke to the three to whom he entrusted his livelihood. The two who had received larger sums had taken risks with it, trading it, and doubled what had been given to them. The one who had trusted them rewarded them and praised them for trustworthiness. Morris points out that the word that is translated as “trustworthiness” can also mean “faithfulness” or “belief.” They believed they could and should do something with that money, so they did. And, they found themselves having acted wisely, increasing what they had been given, and doing exactly what the master had tasked them to do while he was away.

     The fearful servant... his was a different story. His fear kept him from putting what he was given to use. Morris makes an insightful point in his commentary. He says that there is a difference between fear and reverence. What this person felt was dread. He dreaded falling short of what was expected of him. He dreaded doing the wrong thing. He dreaded making any choice really, beyond hide away and hope for the best. His fear narrowed down his vision so much that he didn’t even think to put the money in the bank where it would have gained a meager interest. Those of us who’ve spent time not having enough know what it’s like to feel like you have to hide away what you have so it doesn’t get taken away. It may be easy to empathize with this fearful slave. But, in the end, we can see that his fear made him a poor steward and kept him from living out the faithful actions to which he had been called.

     If Jesus was trying to help prepare his disciples for the trials that were to come (remember this story is happening after the triumphal entry into Jerusalem that we celebrate on Palm Sunday but before Jesus’ trial and execution), why would he tell them this story? Carla Works argues that he is instructing his followers to be like the servants who emulated their master’s actions... who took risks and gained from it, just as he had. In the face of tribulations and oppression, in the time of waiting for Jesus’ return, then, to be trustworthy, to be faithful, is to risk modeling our behavior on the ministry of Jesus. We can’t let our fear make us hide away and try to protect what little we have. While fear can be useful, in this case, it turns us away from our calling. We have been given much. May we be faithful enough to make use of it.
​
Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
Carla Works: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-33/commentary-on-matthew-2514-30-3
L. Susan Bond, “Proper 28,” Preaching God’s Transforming Justice: A Lectionary Commentary, Year A Featuring 22 New Holy Days for Justice, eds Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm, Ronald J. Allen, and Dale P. Andrews (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013)
Larry Morris III, “Faithfully or Fearfully Generous,” From the “Because of You, Our Church Changes Lives” stewardship materials

     I have never been to a wedding that was a weeklong. Even my sister’s wedding, which I attended as a bridesmaid and therefore had extra bridesmaid things to do, didn’t take a whole week. Eric Jackson, in his commentary on this text, reminds us that the wedding we are reading about in today’s scripture was a wedding that was about a weeklong. In my experience, anything that lasts for a whole week involves some waiting.  And, according to Jackson, the grooms were often late. Not only could the wedding itself not start if both parties weren’t there, but in these weddings, which had a bride and a groom, the bride and her party and family couldn’t even leave the house and go to the place where the service would be held until the groom and his party and family showed up to walk with them to the place with the ceremony would be. It turns out, that no one knew when anything was going to start and lots of people ended up waiting.

     If a scholar 2000 years later knew that people had to wait a lot at these weddings, you’d think that the people who actually went to this kind of wedding all the time would have known to prepare for a late start. And, yet, about half of the bridesmaids are caught without enough oil. You see, given the likelihood of a late start to the wedding, everyone would have to have a lamp to light the way while they walked to the wedding venue. If you don’t have enough oil, you can’t see your way to the wedding venue. The oil is necessary because things start late! And, everyone knows that things will start late. So, why didn’t they bring more oil?

     And, you know what else strikes me as strange? Jesus seems to tell the disciples that the meaning of this parable is to "Stay Awake therefore for you know neither the day nor the hour." The thing is, everybody in this story fell asleep. Greg Carey points that out in his commentary on this text. All ten of the bridesmaids, the five who are called foolish and the five who are called wise, fall asleep. And yet, the five who have too much oil still get into the party even though they fell asleep. If I read this story, minus the Jesus explanation at the end, I would think he was telling people to prepare better... to store up more than you think you would need. And, don't share with the people who don't work as hard as you. I would read this parable like it was that old Aesop's fable, the one with the ant and the grasshopper. Or maybe a bootstraps politician who doesn’t want to create social safety nets for people who “run out of oil.”

     The moral of that Aesop’s fable is definitely "Be prepared." But, Jesus didn't tell his disciples to be prepared. He told them to "Keep Awake." Some might argue that preparedness and wakefulness are usually pretty closely linked. Usually, the people who are most prepared for every contingency are the ones who are also awake and paying attention to what is going on. Jesus seemed to draw a distinction. He specifically called for wakefulness, not preparedness. Alertness, not hoarding of stuff.

     Now, both sets of bridesmaids do a terribly poor job at wakefulness. Everybody falls asleep. Why wouldn't they? The groom was taking forever. When he actually showed up, all of the women were startled awake. They seem to panic. The supposedly wise ones have such a scarcity mentality that they can't share with the supposedly foolish ones. And, the supposedly foolish ones are so distracted by the things they lack, that is oil, that they forget what their primary role is... that is to greet the bridegroom with great joy. They end up going to buy more oil instead of actually doing the things they were supposed to do in the first place, greet the groom.

     The first time I ever preached on this scripture, I wondered how the story might be different if everyone had stayed awake. Nine years later, I still wonder. What might have happened had the bridesmaids started to swap stories and share about their preparation? What if one of the ones who gets called wise says, “Oh, I knew he’d be late, so I brought extra oil.” The other four who get called wise note that they’ve done the same thing.

     And, what if all the ones who get called foolish are inspired by their compatriots’ planning and realize they need more oil, too. They might have decided to put out their lamps until they hear that the groom is in sight. Or, maybe they send out one to go buy some more with others ready to run get her if he shows up. Or, maybe the wise tell them about the 24-hour market around the corner that always has oil and say they can get there quick if they hurry.

     Staying awake would have given them the opportunity to talk with each other, to build community. Now, it’s possible they might not have had any of the conversations I imagine that they could have. Staying awake doesn’t automatically mean that they would have talked with each other or helped each other or even liked each other. But, they sure couldn’t do any community building while they were asleep. Maybe that’s why Jesus told them to stay awake. When you’re awake... paying attention... you can see the opportunities that are all around you to build relationships that reflect the Gospel. You can’t see them if you’re asleep.

     Had these women been able to stay awake, maybe they could have made the waiting easier for each other. In his commentary on this text, David Lose points out that, in this story, we can see Jesus identifying what will become a central aspect of Christianity.... waiting and how to deal with it. We are a people who so often live in a sense of expectation. We may dedicate our time to worship, prayer, and service. But, we are always waiting. From the time of the first followers of Christ, we have been waiting. We could spend our time preparing, storing up things to make sure that we get into the party. We could show up with just what we have and hope that we won't have to wait too long. The thing is, we're probably going to be waiting longer than we expected. We don't know how or when the fullness of the empire of heaven will arise. Even as we contribute to it, work to build it up with God, we do not know when reign of God will be complete. And, we will grow weary as we wait. We're probably going to fall asleep. But, if we pay attention to the people around us, we may find some unsuspected partners who can make the waiting easier. We may find compatriots in our journey, others who are waiting, watching, and serving, too. If we can stay awake, our actions may shift from stingily hoarding the excess we have gathered or striking out in a panic, distracted from our first callings.

     I don't think Jesus is calling us to be stingy bridesmaids. I do think Jesus is calling us to be partners for each other as we wait. If we stay awake, we might even see that there is a celebration happening all around us. There’s work to be done, to be sure. But there is also a new chapter of life happening, and we get to be a part of it. May we stay awake for each other. And, in our wakefulness, not miss out on our turn to welcome Christ, whenever and through whomever he walks up to our door.
​
Resources consulted while preparing this sermon:
Eric Jackson’s commentary “Involved Waiting” from the UCC “Because of You” stewardship materials
David Lose: http://www.davidlose.net/2014/11/pentecost-22-a/
Greg Carey: http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2207
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     This year was one of the toughest gardening seasons I’ve had since we moved to Maine. When it was time to clear and plant, I had only been walking on both feet, without a boot, for a little more than a month and I was still going to physical therapy twice, sometimes three times, a week. I had also planted a lemon balm plant right in the middle of my favorite vegetable plot the year before. I didn’t realize that lemon balm will grow wildly and abundantly, like mint, and take over a whole plot. There was an oregano plant there, too, that was enormous. I have zero memories of planting it the year before, but it was there, nevertheless. I’d have to remove lots of both of them if I wanted to plant there at all.

     I opted for just a few cucumber plants and some tomatoes that Sarah, our former intern, had started for me. So, I cleaned took out the oregano and a bunch of the lemon balm, and planted a small garden. And, then it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. I have the leggiest, least productive tomatoes that I have ever seen. One of the cucumber plants produced kind of normal looking cucumbers, just not many of them. Another other one grew these little blunt, stubby ones that taste ok but are not very big at all. Even though I’ve worked to enrich the soil in this spot, the over-abundance of rain, the lack of sun, and the competition with some freewheeling, fast-growing herbs were challenges my garden just couldn’t overcome. Sometimes there are things that get in the way of a rich harvest.

     Even though it rained a lot here this summer, I never was tempted to preach from a boat the way that Jesus is portrayed as doing in today’s reading. It says that the crowd was so big that he had to get on a boat for enough space to be seen and heard by the people gathered. In her commentary on this text, Deb Krause notes that, in the book of Mark, Jesus is only shown delivering two long sermons. One is here, in chapter 4 in Galilee. The other is in chapter 13 in Jerusalem, just before he is crucified. Krause argues that each sermon is a good summary of the Gospel as Jesus taught it in each place. Today’s reading is the first of three parables about seeds and soil. This parable, according to Krause, is more about the quality of the soil than how the sower spreads the seed.

     This is a sermon Jesus preached at the beginning of his time in Galilee. Throughout their time in Galilee, Krause notes, the disciples will worry that they won’t have enough. In Mark 6 and Mark 8, there are two different stories where there are a whole bunch of people who need to be fed and the disciples don’t think they have enough to feed them. Jesus takes what looks like just a little food and makes sure everyone has enough to eat and that there are enough leftovers to take home. There’ll also be a time when they are alone in a boat with Jesus and worry that they don’t have enough food. Krause reminds us that Jesus’ response to their concern is “Have your hearts hardened?” Which can be read: have you forgotten? Remember the crowds. There will be plenty.

     When beginning a new season, it is wise to examine the resources you have as you make your plans. It can be tempting to concentrate on what you lack. We only have a few loaves. We only have two fish. The path is hard as a rock. Look at all of these thorns. We will never feed all these people. We will never have a decent harvest. Krause invites us to assess what we have a different way... more like the sower or like Jesus with the bread. She states the lesson of this parable this way: “take that which we have, bless it to God’s purposes, break it open to make it shareable, and to share it.” When we share what we have... when we plant all the seeds in the packet... we make room for the Spirit to provide more than we can imagine.
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     It is true. Some of the seeds don’t grow. There’s too many rocks or not enough soil or it’s just rained too much. If all we look at are the rocky paths and thorny thickets, we might never plant at all. We must remember that not every seed we plant will grow. But, because of the soil, the good soil, some of the seeds will grow. May we be surprised by God’s abundance that is thirty, sixty, and hundredfold times greater than we might first imagine. Oh, and does anyone need any lemon balm? I have plenty.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
The Sermon Exegesis titled “Resisting Fear with Trust in God’s Abundant Provision,” by Rev. Dr. Deborah Krause, From the “Because of You, Our Church Changes Lives” stewardship materials