Readings: Psalm 46; 1 Samuel 15:34–16:13, 2 Corinthians 5:6–17, Mark 4:26-34
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, June 13 2021
Our New Testament reading this morning had Jesus talking about seeds. Little things that grow into things that are much greater. About how we play only a small part in it, we plant it and we harvest it, but God takes care of the rest. Like the process of growth, from a seed to a tree, Jesus pictures the Kingdom of God growing mysteriously from small beginnings into something majestic.
The first parable talked about the mystery of growth. The seed is planted.
It goes through changes. The stalk appears, then the head, then it blossoms.
When the grain is ripe it is harvested.
We know that sometimes the seeds we plant don't make it. We know that we have to prepare the ground. We know that a whole lot of conditions play a part. But most of it, just happens and as it happens, we can do very little to change it. About the only thing we can do is stop it or ruin it.
It is much the same with spiritual growth. Seeds of faith are planted in people’s lives. Sometimes they take, sometimes they do not. At times people are prepared for growth, at times they are not. There are occasions when the storms of life cause the growth to be hindered. There are occasions when people will not go with the flow of it and the seeds do not come to anything.
But, by the Grace of God, sometimes things take root and we see people going through a process of changes and developments that show they are maturing and developing in their Christian life. And it is by the Grace of God. It is a thing that we cannot explain. It is truly a miracle.
I have been reading recently some peoples accounts of their Christian journey. A common factor in many people’s testimony, is that when things seemed at their worse, or when they travelled through an incredibly difficult time, God spoke and planted a seed in them that brought a result they had never expected.
One recent example, for personal reasons, particularly struck me. Carley Cottingham’s story. I will share it in her words.
“Growing up in Three Rivers, I was a talented three sport athlete, who especially thrived on the basketball court, I had dreams to play basketball at the collegiate level and was well on my way to do so until my junior year of high school when my world was turned upside down.
In the spring of 2009, my right hand began to suddenly cramp up, ache, tingle, and turn white. I figured I had injured it while playing softball, but because I was such a competitive athlete I decided not to tell my coach.
By the time summer came around, the symptoms were getting worse and began spreading up my arm. I finally decided that I needed to see a doctor. I went to Bronson Hospital with my Mom where I was diagnosed with Tendonitis and was told to go to physical therapy for 6-8 weeks. I spent the summer before my senior year in and out of therapy, when at one particular session my right hand lost all color. The physical therapist was shocked at what was happening and scheduled an appointment for me to see a hand surgeon.
After that appointment with the surgeon, I was told that I had blood clots in my right arm that were completely clotting my arm from my elbow down to my fingertips. The doctors performed more tests and tried giving me medication to help break up the clots, but it was completely unsuccessful.
I was then transported by helicopter to Detroit where I was rushed into a twelve hour emergency surgery. Over the next four weeks I had over fifteen major surgeries. The doctors finally diagnosed me with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. Unfortunately, the clots were discovered too late, and on August 26th, 2009 the doctors amputated my hand.
While lying alone in my hospital room, my body broken and bruised, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. I felt the presence of the Lord there with me in that room. I heard His voice so audibly I thought He was on the hospital PA system. I heard the Lord say to me, "Carley, I might be taking your right hand, but your life is in my hands".
I knew right then and there that I was going to be just fine! I knew that the Lord had the most incredible plans for me and that He was going to use my story to glorify Him.
I continued my senior year and played basketball, where I was recognized by ESPN the magazine and was awarded Hero of the Month by the Detroit Pistons. The athlete in me was ecstatic, but I knew that I couldn’t have done without my Savior.
Over the last ten years I have shared my story all over the US, and work alongside Bethany Hamilton, professional surfer and shark attack survivor, to host retreats for young women who have lost limbs. Through continued support from my church community, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, I will continue to thank God for every day!”
I share that story partly because my own son, Matthew, was recently diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and over the last six months has been through a series of operations, but thankfully no amputations, only a rib removed! With the arrival of their first child it has been a difficult time for them and I was delighted, a couple of weeks ago, to be able to travel to Washington State and baptize my grandchild in the presence of family and friends.
Maybe not such a dramatic testimony as that of Carly, but God was with us. Grace is all around. We do not like to reflect on what could have been if a diagnosis were not found, and I am so thankful for the advances medical science has made. I cannot help reflecting that the Kingdom is working away today, just like Jesus said it would.
We forget what advances have been made in our world not just through science, but also through the growth of Christianity. William Barclay, writing in his commentary on Mark says;
"There is not the slightest doubt that the Kingdom is on the way if we compare, not today with yesterday, but this century with ones that went before. When Elizabeth Fry went to Newgate Prison in 1817 she found in the women's quarters three hundred women and numberless children crammed into two small wards. They lived and cooked and ate and slept on the floor. They crowded, half naked, almost like beasts, begging for money which they spent on drink at a bar in the prison itself.
She found there a boy of nine who was waiting to be hung. His crime? Poking a stick through a window and stealing some paints that were valued at two pennies.... Nowadays things like that are unthinkable. Why? Because the Kingdom of God is on the way. It may, like the growth of a plant be imperceptible from day to day; but over the years that growth is plain."
It can seem like two steps forward, one step back. But how things are now, is not how things will be. How you are now is not how you will be in years to come. Where you are now on your spiritual journey is not where you are meant to stay. You have to grow, you have to move on. We are not at the end of the story. The story is still being written. The Kingdom, though we may not always see it, continues to grow.
The second parable talks of how the smallest of seeds grew to be a great tree,
providing not just a place for birds to shelter,
but fit for eagles to make their nests within its branches.
The significance of both the mustard seed and the great tree would not be lost on the original hearers. The mustard seed stood for the smallest possible thing; the tree was a symbol of a great empire that encompassed many nations. So, the Kingdom of God would grow from something embodied in the life of Jesus Christ to something that embraced the whole world.
Everything has a beginning. Nothing emerges full-grown. It can start out as an idea. It can originate with a prayer. It can begin as an idea that comes as you open your heart to God in a service of worship. Without the acorns there would never be Oak Trees. Never judge things by the initial size of the seed. Particularly the things of God and the things of His Kingdom.
Growth takes place, not in leaps and bounds, but by little steps. Seeds of faith are little things, everyday things that we pass on to others. The smile of hope when others are cast down. The phone call to express your concern. The few items or dollars given to a food kitchen.
The volunteering to do that job or this task that no one else wants to do. Returning your trolley when you visit the supermarket because if the wind blows it could damage somebody else’s car. The picking up of that piece of litter in the street because it is there and no one else has bothered. Little things that when put together grow to be big things.
Be patient with yourselves. Spiritual growth is also a progression of little things. Little insights. Gentle steps and gradual renewal. Why are we always in such a rush? You cannot rush a seed. You cannot go out into the garden and shout at the seed, "C'mon, grow, grow you little scoundrel, get up out of that earth and let's see what you're made of!"
The Kingdom is coming. But it takes time. It has taken all the generations that led to our birth and could take just as many generations after our death. Sometimes it may feel like we take one step before taking two steps forward. If we can just trust that God knows how to handle time, then we will be able trust Him to handle the times that our life is going through.
Our world is beset with many divisions. Divisions of race and color and culture. Divisions of wealth and poverty. Divisions of religion and class. Divisions of language and nationality. It shall not always be so. The Kingdom of God is growing from a small seed to a mighty empire. That is God's way. That is how Jesus said it would be. And we can be a part of it. Seeds of faith have been planted in our hearts. That is why we are here.
May God help us to nurture those seeds, to provide the right atmosphere of trust, prayer and worship for them to grow and to spread those faith seeds in the lives of others through our work and service and sharing of our gifts and talents.
Seeds of faith.
They take time to grow.
Be patient.
God has not finished with us yet.
The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.
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