New Seeds of Creation

Year B: Proper 6

The reign (or kingdom) of God does not consist of a place, a form of government, or even of the rule of God over our actions and interior life. It is not an organization into which we are supposed to fit. It generally introduces itself by an event (or a series of events) that changes our lives. Many of the parables describe situations in which someone’s life is suddenly turned upside-down. In these parables Jesus seems to say that this intrusion into one’s life is how the reign of God manifests itself. To allow one’s life to be turned upside-down requires a change of heart. And a change of heart presupposes a certain disenchantment with what we have been considering happiness.¹ —Thomas Keating

Year B, Proper 6, June 16, 2024

First Reading: Ezekiel 17:22-24

Psalm: Psalm 92:1-4, 12

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:6-17

Gospel: Mark 4:26-34

Sermon - New Seeds of Creation

Thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender shoot from the topmost of its young twigs; I myself will transplant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain height of Israel I will transplant it, and it will produce boughs and bear fruit and become a noble cedar. Under it every kind of bird will live; in the shade of its branches will nest winged creatures of every kind. All the trees of the field shall know that I am the LORD. I bring low the high tree; I make high the low tree; I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I the LORD have spoken; I will accomplish it. Ezekiel 17:22–24

Ezekiel portrayed the kingdoms of the world as a great tree. While this tree appeared to be the greatest of all, its systems of injustice would not stand. From its midst, an insignificant sprig would be planted and would become a mighty kingdom itself. This kingdom would become the home to all the birds of the air. It would be a kingdom in which the conventional wisdom would dry up and justice would abound.

In Jesus’s parables in Mark 4, he drew from this subversive imagery to paint a picture of what he was up to in his ministry.

The Parable of the Growing Seed

He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle because the harvest has come.” Mark 4:26–29

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” Mark 4:30–32

The first parable highlights the mysterious way that the reign of God (justice) seems to appear in the world. A farmer may plant the seed, but he cannot ultimately control how much his plants will yield. Similarly, we may plant the seeds of the kingdom of God, but it is God who gives the increase. We are called to sow seeds, not to worry about or stress over the produce. But we are called to participate.

The second parable draws from the Ezekiel imagery of a tree planted to be the home for all the birds of the air. This tree (or bush) is seemingly insignificant, and it may have humble beginnings, but it ends up becoming a home for those of every nation.

These seeds that are planted may be called the seed of the kingdom of God. We might even call this the gospel (or “good news”) of the kingdom. But there is another way to imagine it. To borrow language from Paul, this is the seed of the New Adam or the New Humanity or one could say it is a new seed of creation.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we no longer know him in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being! 2 Corinthians 5:16–17

In the old way of viewing things, the empire way, everyone is divided into categories, and these categories determine one’s worth. The empire does not hesitate to classify some as a commodity and use them for its own benefit. For example, the United States is currently considering forcing women to be included in the draft, should there be one. To force one into military service in the name of national security is antithetical to the gospel of Jesus and is another example of how Samuel’s warning to Israel continues to fall on deaf ears:

So Samuel reported all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots, and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. He will take your male and female slaves and the best of your cattle and donkeys and put them to his work. He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And on that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you on that day.” 1 Samuel 8:10–18

In the kingdom of God, in the new creation, this whole order is flipped upon its head. We no longer view things from a human or fleshly perspective. Instead, we view the world through a new lens, and this new lens calls us to be ministers of reconciliation.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 2 Corinthians 5:18–19

We may not always see the fruit of our efforts, and success, if and when it comes, may be inexplicable, but we have a glorious calling to participate with Christ in the spreading of the seed of new creation. As more and more people call the kingdom their home, may we have hearts of hospitality and unending love for our neighbors including those who we might call enemies.

Second Reading: When We Walk by Sight

“For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

When we walk by sight, we think we’re always in the right.
We think that our worldview is the only way to walk in the light. 

When we walk by sight, we say that there is only one way,
But the way we say others should follow is the one we have paved. 

When we walk by sight, we say that there is only one truth, 
And lucky for me, I’m the one that has it and maybe you do too. 

But when we walk by faith, we realize how small we are; 
We recognize that the only true light is Jesus: the bright, morning Star, 

But when we walk by faith, we see that there is one Way;
This way is the Way of Jesus, and as humans we fall short everyday. 

But when we walk by faith, we see that there is only one Truth;
The Truth is that God doesn’t just love me; God also loves you. 

When we affirm that we walk by faith, not by sight, we are giving up the need for a kind of scientific certainty that so many chase after when it comes to their walk with God. Instead, we humbly admit that there is a lot that we don’t know, and we strive instead to have a deep relationship with God through mutual trust and love. 

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1. Keating, Thomas. The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience. New York: Continuum, 2008. Print.