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Grace, mercy and
peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
With
many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.
Prayer: Dear Lord
Jesus, breathe out upon us all your Holy Spirit, to me that I may preach well,
and to all of us that we may hear well. Amen.
In our Gospel
reading today, we read two parables: one about seed growing in the ground, and
another about a mustard seed. Parables are little stories that Jesus tells
about everyday life, which speak about a hidden truth. And right at the end of
our reading we have two little verses, which speak about the fact that Jesus spoke
in parables. It says: With many such
parables [Jesus] spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did
not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he
explained everything.
It’s amazing that
Jesus should so often talk in parables: sometimes the parables take quite a lot
of thinking through and quite a lot of patience to really get at what Jesus is
talking about, but sometimes people just listen to them, and they just don’t
get it. And the word of God is often like this—sometimes we just don’t get it.
But then what? Are we interested in trying to find out what it does mean? Do we
want to search and prod the bible, and really seek out what Jesus is talking
about? Or do we just switch off?
We are living in
very strange times – maybe you have noticed this. These are very strange times
for our world, very strange times for our country, very strange times for our
church. We live in one of the most comfortable countries in the world at
present, but what is happening in many corners is that people are becoming
hardened to hearing God’s word. Parents are even raising their children in such
a way to make them hard to God’s word. There is a veil that comes over people’s
minds and hearts so that they just can’t listen anymore.
And there are many
prophesies of this in the bible. One prophecy is from Deuteronomy chapter 8,
which says: Take care lest you
forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his
statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and
have built good houses and live in them…then your heart be lifted up, and you
forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of
slavery. Have you forgotten the Lord your God? Have you eaten
and become full, and have stopped being hungry for his word? Also in Zechariah
14, we read: They made their
hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord
of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets.
In my ministry as a
pastor, I have met people like this—and it is a frightening thing to be
speaking God’s word to someone who looks like the statue of Hitler. They are
cold, they are angry, and their faces are like stone. Even from the pulpit,
sometimes I can look out and receive the most scornful looks, as if I’ve
interrupted some people’s precious time to read the bulletin, and not when I am
preaching anything controversial, but when I am speaking the sweet Gospel of
Jesus and his death and his resurrection. It’s a scary thing.
And I think when
this happens and people stop hearing God’s word, something else comes about.
God has given all kinds of things to his church: especially he has given us a
Saviour, a wonderful Jesus, our Messiah. But also, to each church, God also
gives pastors. It says so in Ephesians 4. Now, what I find is that often people
don’t really want a Saviour or a pastor. A pastor is only called to preach the
Saviour. But what a lot of people want is an all-in-one package. They want a
pastor and a Saviour all in one, but then of course, someone like this is
neither a pastor nor a Saviour. Many people think Jesus is not here in the
church or that he is not working. Many think our pastors are a bunch of useless
idiots because all they do is talk about Jesus. So they would rather have a
pastor who thinks he is Jesus, they say: “Come on, pastor—tell us your vision
for the future”, never mind any vision that Jesus has for his church, his
bride, his kingdom. Yes, I as a pastor, have a vision for the
church—that I may decrease, and that Christ may increase.
And so, many
pastors today are often people that are plagued with quite some amount of
sadness, because people just won’t listen to God’s word. And yet, whether or
not anyone will listen to us at all, we must still keep on preaching this word.
God says to the prophet Ezekiel: Be not afraid of
their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.
And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear.
Now, we simply have
to realise just what a wonderful gift it is to have God’s word. In God’s word,
the bible, we have every single thing that we need for this life and for the
next life. God’s word is completely sufficient for our worship. Do you realise
that almost every single sentence that we speak in our service is a direct
quote from the bible? Take for example, the words: “Lord have mercy”, which we
speak or sing every Sunday. If we look these words up in the bible, what do we
find? They are the words that beggars speak when Jesus passes by. And so what
does this teach us? First, this means that in our church today, we believe that
Jesus is passing by—he is coming to speak his forgiveness to us, his words to
us, to give his supper and his blessings to us. And so, we cry out to him, “Lord
have mercy”, because we know that everything that we have in our life has come
from him, and we depend on him totally and completely, just like those beggars.
If only we knew this and believed it, and if only we had ears to hear it.
And also, sometimes
we have various problems in the church that pop up, and the word of God in the
bible is the living medicine that has a solution to every single problem. And
yet so often, we look to human solutions, or we think that things will have an
inevitable stalemate. With God all things are possible. And yet, when we do
have problems in the church, and disagreements, we need to realise that the
answer and the solution is already in God’s word, if only we have ears to hear
it.
And also, the word
of God is the key to renewal in the church. We know that all over our country
many churches have falling attendances. Many people want to see the church
grow. And yet, many people think that if only we shut that bible up, the church
will be more attractive, and it won’t be so boring and dull. Sometimes people
say, “We Lutherans are too knowledge-based, too cerebral”, and that we need to
experience God’s love, and to feel something. Anyone who says this doesn’t know
who Jesus is, and doesn’t know what he’s done for you. If you know this man who
died for you and rose for you, surely you can be nothing but moved by this, and
deeply and profoundly encouraged. But Jesus gives you things to experience—like
the Lord’s Supper. There are people in our wider church who treat God’s word as
boring and the Lord’s Supper like coke and chips, and yet claim to be filled
with the Holy Spirit, and are just looking for the next big ego trip. There are
plenty of people who want to worship themselves and not Jesus. But here, Jesus
gives you his body and blood for the forgiveness of sins—if only we knew what a
wonderful gift this is. If only we had ears to hear, what a church we would be.
I’m sure that many of
you would like to see the church grow and flourish. Let me put something to
you: think, how can God’s word be right at the centre? Not entertainment, not
you and your needs, not emotional fulfilment, not bottoms on seats, but how can
God’s word be praised and glorified? I know that there are many of you that
have never read the whole bible. Maybe it’s time for you to start. Start with
the Gospel of Mark, and the other gospels, and then see what else you want to
read. Maybe you could begin at Genesis and go through to the end. Martin Luther
read the bible from cover to cover twice every year. It’s people like that
bring renewal to the church. And you might think—but Luther lived 500 years
ago, he had time! Is your lack of time God’s judgment on you? To what other god
are you sacrificing your time? Oh yes—Luther had plenty of time, in between
fearing for his life, changing the course of European history, having a house
constantly full of visitors, raising six kids, and being constipated. I know
many people who would love to have had the education that some of us have
had—and yet, we can all read, and many of us read very well, and yet, many of
us never read the only book that really matters. Then people say, “But pastor,
I’m too young, or I have a simple faith”. And yet, to whom do you think St Paul
wrote his letters? To university professors? No—he wrote them to people like
you. It’s really time for us to turn over a new leaf and dedicate ourselves to
the bible once again, and to really learn it.
You could read the
bible at home by yourself, or become part of a study group. If you’re married,
you could read it with your spouse. Maybe today is a good day for you to talk
in the car on the way home and say, “You know, we’ve been married for 15, 20,
25, 40 years, and yet, we’ve never really read the bible together.” I know that
for some of you, your spouse won’t be interested. Never mind. But I know that
for many of you it could be possible.
And also, if you
are parents, you should read the bible with your kids. We parents are so often
looking for quick fixes to our children’s boredom. But that needs to start with
you parents—if you aren’t interested in God’s word, neither will your kids.
They will pick up on your boredom, and your disinterest. And I don’t mean, read
with them, “The adventure bible”, or the “Veggie Tales Bible”, or the “Spiderman
comic bible”—just read the good old bible with them. Read the easy bits with
them, and then go on to the hard bits. Talk about it over dinner, talk about it
when you’re madly driving them around. And if you don’t know the answers to
their questions, go and ask someone and look it up. Ask the Holy Spirit for
help—he will give you every gift that you need. But God’s word is where the
renewal will come from.
But whoever we are,
and wherever God has put us in life, God’s word is the thing that we are called
to hear, to learn, to study, to read, to devour. A church that neglects God’s
word is a dying church, no matter if it has a thousand people. A church that
treasures God’s word is a living church, whether they worship in a tin shed and
whether they have a worse set of toilets than the Birdsville track. Our
congregation has been wanting to build some new extensions for years—but what
do we want it for? Our words, or God’s word?
So why should we
dedicate ourselves to God’s word? Because in God’s word, we find Jesus. We find
Jesus on every page—our Saviour, our Prophet, Priest and King, the real
Messiah, the true sacrifice for our sin, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin
of the world. In the bible, we find Jesus. And when we find Jesus, we find the
forgiveness of sins. We find a Jesus who completely takes away all of our guilt
and condemnation, who completely covers our shame, and has paid the full price
for every single thought, word and deed that has even been just a little bit
off, let alone for every sin that always seems to be like a chain around our
neck every day. In the bible, we find Jesus, and in Jesus we find the
forgiveness of sins. And when we find the forgiveness of sins, then we find the
Holy Spirit and the church, and all the fullness of Christ’s kingdom on earth.
And when we find the Holy Spirit and the church, then we find every gift of
encouragement and joy and love and peace as we help each other through from day
to day, looking forward to that time when our Saviour will return at the end of
time.
All of this begins
with God’s word. When we have God’s word, we have everything. When we don’t
have God’s word, we have nothing.
Jesus says: The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on
the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows;
he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear,
then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in
the sickle, because the harvest has come.
God scatters his
word—and when he scatters his word, he plants his kingdom. Go out and plant a
seed in the ground—it doesn’t look like much, and yet neither does God’s word.
And yet, it sprouts, it grows, then comes the ear, then the full grain in the
ear. Then comes the harvest. Who would have thought that all of that could come
from a seed? And yet, who would have thought that Christ’s kingdom, which over
the centuries and over the course of history has been so rich and so wonderful
could have come from some simple fishermen being sent out to speak the message
that Christ has died and risen from the dead?
Jesus says: With what can we
compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a
grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all
the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all
the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can
make nests in its shade.
Who would have
thought that such a wonderful tree could come from such a tiny seed? Who would
have thought that so many people would come and become part of Jesus’ kingdom,
the kingdom which grows from his word, and take their rest in it, like branches
in a tree? Who would have thought?
And yet, today, do
we have the ears to hear? Remember the men who were walking with Jesus on
Easter Sunday: Did not our hearts
burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the
Scriptures? After Jesus had risen from the dead, we read that he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. The time has come for us to pray for the Holy Spirit to open our minds to
understand the Scriptures, and to remove from our minds any veils and coverings
that hinder us. May the Holy Spirit scatters his seed on us, the wonderful seed
of God’s word, so that we may produce such a wonderful, rich, full harvest.
Amen.
Dear Lord Jesus, we
are so often so hard of heart to your word, and we don’t spend the time with
it, and delve into it, and think about it, and desire to learn it in all of its
richness. Give us new hearts, to learn your word, and then to spread it far and
wide throughout our community and wherever you would lead us. Send your Holy
Spirit, dear Jesus, and renew our land, our homes, our hearts, with the living seed
of your holy word. Amen.
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