Weeks 5 & 6 at Clearwater College: Communications

Von mir völlig unbemerkt, ist schon der 10. Oktober vorbeigegangen, der Tag, der 2/3 meiner Zeit in Kanada markiert. Am College bin ich nun auch schon seit 6 Wochen.

In den letzten beiden Wochen hatten wir den Kurs "Communications". Es ging um die Vorbereitung und Präsentation von Predigten und darum, wie man wissenschaftliche Arbeiten schreibt (die große Mehrheit hier kommt ja grad erst von der Highschool). In diesem Rahmen sollten wir alle ein fünfminütiges Devotional und eine zehnminütige Predigt vorbereiten, die dann im Kurs gehalten wurden. Ich habe den Kurs nur gehört, ohne Credits, aber trotzdem ein Devotional und eine Predigt vorbereitet. Basierend auf meiner Farming-Erfahrung dieses Jahr, habe ich sie über Unkraut und Saat gehalten.

Devotional on Mark 4:7: “The seed that fell among thorns” or “Preparing the soil”

I.      Introduction

First of all let me ask you a question: Who of you has ever worked with plants, in a garden or on a farm? In Jesus time, people were familiar with the growth of crops. Many of them probably did at least some kind of farming to sustain themselves. Today many of us are not as familiar with the processes of farming anymore, which makes it harder to understand and relate to the parables Jesus teaches based on this image.

The passage I will talk about today is Mark, chapter 4, verse 7. It is one verse in the parable of the sower and the four soils. This parable is the first Jesus tells in a series of parables in Mark and it is also found in the other two synoptic gospels, Matthew and Luke. In the preceding chapter Jesus has just chosen his twelve disciples and now preaches to a large crowd of people by the Lake of Galilee. I will read verses 3 to 8 from the NIV:

“3 Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

II.     Starting point: Bad soil. The seed that fell among the thorns.

In the verses we just read, we see that the quality of the soil is a crucial factor in sowing. Together with the amount of water and sun as well as the quality of the seed, it is the soil that determines the outcome. We often talk about sowing and reaping but sometimes forget that there is a third stage that actually comes first. Those of you who have read the book on evangelism may recall it: It is the preparation and cultivation of the soil.

In the parable of the sower, Jesus mentions four different kinds of soil: a path, rock, a thorny patch and good soil. Apparently only one of them produces the desired result. So how do we get good soil, the soil that produces a crop and multiplies?

Have you ever seen a garden or a field that has not been used for some time? If you have, you know that soil is not naturally in a state that allows for immediate sowing. Usually something grows there, but in most cases nothing we would like to see grow. So we see that good soil needs preparation.

As most of you know, I spent three and a half months working on organic farms this year. Since this was in the spring and summer, one of my main chores was weeding. Weeding to prepare for sowing and weeding while the desired plants were growing so that they would not be overgrown by weeds. Which takes me back to verse 7: “Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.” The problem with this soil is not that there is no growth. The problem is that thorns – or weeds – grow alongside the desired plants. This is a problem that can and should be dealt with.

III.   Interpretation of the parable: We are soil and so are the people we interact with

Since Jesus is speaking in a parable, when he talks about seeds, thorns and soil, he uses it as an image. He explains the parable to the disciples in verses 14-20. The seed is the word (14), the thorns are “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things [that] come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful” (19) and the soil is the heart and mind of the person receiving the word. Every one of us is this person and also every person we interact with. This makes it relevant on two levels. If the heart and mind are overgrown with weeds, the word cannot grow and bear fruit. Even if the best seed is sown and water and sun are sufficiently provided.

IV.    Application: How do we prepare the soil?

There are many things that can grow in our minds and hearts if we leave them to themselves. Some may start to grow by themselves and some may be sown by the enemy, who does not want to see the good seeds grow and bear fruit. Real-life weeding can teach us several things:

· While good plants need care, weeds grow on their own and they are resistant.

· Weeds can look pretty.

· It takes a certain knowledge and discernment to recognize weeds.

· Inherently good plants can be weeds when they grow in the wrong place.

· Pulling out weeds – especially thorny ones – can hurt. 

· The earlier the weeds are removed the easier and the better. The stronger their roots the harder it gets.

· Weeds have roots and it is important to remove the roots, not only the visible plant. Otherwise they will always grow back.

· Weeding is not a one-time-thing, it has to be done regularly because weeds tend to grow back. But the more thorough you weed the less they will grow back.

· Weeding is work and it takes time.

Each of these points could be analyzed for its implications in more detail. But for now I would just like to encourage you: If you feel like some seeds in your life don’t seem to grow, take the time to look for weeds that might be choking them and then ask God to help you weed and prepare your soil.

Sermon on Mark 4:26,29: “The Parable of the Growing Seed” or “How seeds grow.”

I.      Introduction

In my devotional yesterday I talked about the importance of good soil to enable seeds sown to take roots and grow. I also talked about the danger of weeds and how pulling them out is important to obtain good soil and ensure growth of the seeds growing.

Let us go back to the metaphor of a garden as an image for lives, hearts and minds, in which we would like to see seeds grow into strong plants that bear fruit. They can be our own lives or the hearts and minds of people we meet or know and minister to.

Every garden looks different. Some gardens have never been worked at all. They are completely overgrown with grass, bushes, thistles and shrubs and need a lot of weeding and clearing first. Other gardens have been cultivated before, but have been neglected for some time. You can still see were the beds used to be and there might even be the odd old vegetable or flower, and maybe there are seeds slumbering in the earth that have been planted and have not come up yet, but most of it is wild and overgrown. Still other gardens have been taken care of and between flowering beds and rows of vegetables only a few weeds spring up from time to time.

Let us now pretend that we have made the first step and taken the time to clear, weed and prepare the soil in these different gardens. In some cases, this may have taken us only a few days, in others maybe years.

Now we can take a step further and look at the processes of sowing and growing. Because weeding is not an end in itself but only the means to obtain good soil for planting. Weeding is a stage in the process toward bearing fruit, but not our goal. It does not help us if we only pull out weeds without replacing them with good seeds and plants. We want a flourishing garden or field, not weeded, barren, good soil. 

 

II.     Sowing and growing: The Parable of the Growing Seed

In the parable of the four soils we have already heard Jesus tell what happened with the seed that “fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” (Mark 4:8). Right after this first parable, in Mark 4:26-29, Jesus tells the Parable of the Growing Seed. It is a more precise description of what happens with the seed – the word – that “fell on good soil” and how the process of growth works.

Let me read verses 26-29 from the NIV:

“26 He also said “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain – first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

II.1. Sowing

The ground is prepared. Weeds have been torn out, we may even have added some fertilizer. Now the word is sown. It “sprouts and grows” “all by itself”, in its own time. As Edersheim puts it “the growth [of the seed]  goes on, dependent on the law inherent in seed and soil, dependent also on Heaven’s blessing of sunshine and showers” (Edersheim 1886, 588). The sower doesn’t know and doesn’t have to know how it grows. This growth lies entirely in God’s hands. He collaborates with the sower. We do our part and God does his. He is the one who has called us to “live a life worthy of [him] and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:10). And it is he who will also carry the good work in us “on to completion onto the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). We can trust in God and in Jesus, “who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for [him]” (Rom. 7:4) to finish what he has started. We are not alone in the process of cultivation, sowing and reaping.

The seed grows by itself and in its own timing. Its growth lies in God’s hands and we can trust it to him. Yet, there are factors that we can influence and in which we can again collaborate in the production of good fruit. We cannot pull the plant to make it grow faster and we cannot influence the process of growth in itself. But we can influence surrounding factors influencing the plants sowing and growth.

Again my working on farms this year has helped me in obtaining a clearer understanding of what the parable implies by looking at “real” plants and how they are sown and grow.

            Let us start with the sowing. This applies both to seeds sown into us as well as to seeds that we sow into others.

I have already mentioned one important factor of sowing in my devotional. It is the quality of the seed. Since the seed is the Word or as Jesus says in the second parable “the Kingdom of God” (Mark 4:26), which is brought about by his word, its quality is assured and we can be confident in it.

Just as weeding, sowing requires a certain knowledge of where, when and how to plant the seed. We have already talked about “where”: We want to make sure that the seed is planted in prepared, good soil in the right climate.

As to “when”, we see in nature and read in Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, that everything has its season: “1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot.”

Which means for us that timing plays a role in our sowing and planting, too. We need to know when the right season for sowing is. We may well sow in January or in April, but the chances are that our crop will not be very successful. The time is right, when the soil has been prepared.

However, we should keep in mind that every seed is different and in nature we find a variety of amazing seeds that grow under the most astonishing conditions. Some need fire to grow, others can lie dormant for a long time, some need to be planted deep, some are only spread on the surface.

There is only one seed – the Word of God – and we can and should try to assure that it is planted wisely at a good place, time and with a good method as nature tells us. But we may always know that this is a powerful and unlimited seed and that we collaborate with God, who can also work in miraculous and supernatural ways to make any seed grow, even under unfavourable circumstances.

II.2. Growing

Now that we have looked at the aspects of sowing, let us also look at the process of growing. As mentioned before and told by Jesus in the parable, growth lies in God’s hands and we can trust it to him. Especially (sun) light is something we cannot control, unless our plants grow in an artificially lit greenhouse. When we apply this metaphor, Jesus is the light, as he says in John 8:12. His light is what makes the plant of the word grow in our and others’ lives. And he is not only light, but also gives us living water (John 4:10). Light, water, soil and seed – all crucial factors of the process towards plants bearing good fruit are provided by God. Our part is to accept these gifts into our lives and bring them into the lives of others.

There are a few additional factors that we can influence and in which we can again collaborate in the production of good fruit while the plant is growing.

Some plants grow faster than others and it requires patience and trust. Once the seed is in the soil, the first part of growth is underground, out of sight. It will do no good, do dig it up every few hours to see whether it has grown already. But we can water the seeds should there be no rain.

At some point, we finally see the first sprouts. With some plants it only takes a few days, with others it takes longer. This is when the work of watering and protecting of the plant begins. When weeds start to grow back in the beds and fields, we can pull them out. We can check the plants for pests like bugs or slugs that come to devour them. This process is ongoing until harvest time, being more intense in the beginning when the plant is the most fragile and small.

Finally the day of harvest comes, the day when all the hard work and patience invested into the plant is rewarded and we can enjoy the fruit.

III.     Conclusion

Life is change, life is movement and ideally life is growth. Our minds and hearts are the soil on which the seed of the Word is sown. God wishes for us to grow and bear fruit. And he joins us in our efforts toward a fruitful life. By giving his life for us, Jesus has prepared the ground. He also provides the light, the water and the seed. God is the one in whom we can trust to bring about growth and life abundantly, the process of which we do not fully understand. We can trust him and step up beside him, playing our role by taking care of the additional factors that help and support the production of good fruit in our lives and in the lives of others.

REFERENCE LIST

Edersheim, Alfred. ed. 1886. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. Vol. 1. McLean Virginia: Mac Donald Publishing Company.