Why
does Jesus teach using parable? If I
had a dollar for every time I have been asked that, we’d have a new
fridge! And a new everything! For many people, the fact that Jesus uses
parables drives them up the wall. I
remind people that parables are good for them.
Parables make us think about what Jesus is saying. More often than not, what Jesus is saying is
really complex. Parables enabled him to
instruct His disciples and us better about those complexities that exist in
life. I also remind people they should
be glad that Jesus uses parables for sermon preparation. Think how bored you are hearing the same
readings and sermons every three years.
Imagine if there were no parables to help the preacher focus on other
aspects of Jesus’ teaching. Can you
imagine how insufferable worship would be, or at least the preaching part of
it? And, whether you believe it or not,
you are a bit spoiled. I preach the
Gospel from the entirety of Scripture. I
have some colleagues who only preach the Gospel week in and week out. They never preach the OT reading or the
Psalm, and rarely do they delve into the Epistles.
If you look up parable in a dictionary,
you will read that it is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual
truth. So far, so good. The problem, of course, is discerning the
spiritual truth that God wants a congregation to hear on any given day. Our challenge as preachers is bringing those
teachings to life. Many of us use sermon
illustrations to do just that. Some of
us, like I just did, will pray for eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to
understand God fully today. But, we all
run into the same problem. Are His
illustrations understood today?
Take today’s parables on the farmer. If I asked the younger kids where milk or
eggs or cheese come from, how many are likely to say Kroger or Publix? We laugh, but we laugh because we know that
we are disconnected from the agrarian roots of our country, even here in the
South. Travel to the northeast or the
left coast, and there is an even greater loss of sense of farming. How often do we hear people griping about the
Midwest? How many times have you, in
Tennessee, wondered about the intricacies of farming? Imagine how little most people pay attention
in NYC? Boston? LA?
I was fortunate in my last parish to have
a farmer in orbit of my parish. For
those of you visiting fathers today, I like the idea of the solar system to
explain how people relate to the parish.
Using my illustration, those who come all the time and who struggle to
apply what they think Jesus was teaching are somewhere among the inner
planets. They come around a lot, not
just for worship but for other activities.
Then there are people who come less often. Perhaps those who come only on Christmas or
Easter belong in those outer orbits like that Pluto or Neptune. I have had people joke with me over the years
that they were more like Haley’s comet than Pluto! I find it funny, but then I’m a bit of a
nerd.
This gentleman would have been in the
asteroid belt, at least in my mind. In
his, he was probably more in the Kuyper belt, just barely feeling the
gravitational pull of God. I considered
him closer in orbit because he was quick to correct or even better explain my
understanding of Jesus’ farming imagery.
He would read my sermons on the internet and then, if I had time and was
willing, flesh out stuff better. Given
the number of agrarian images in the Bible, and my general love of learning,
I’m sure you can understand how much I appreciated our talks. He would also seek me out from time to time
for help with certain decisions. He
would never call it pastoral counseling, but I sure would. Those of you who have heard me share the
story of the rattlesnakes and the hogs know a bit more about this guy. Like those this week who do not come very
often but felt called to give a sympathy gift for our parish fridge, this many
would help financially with ministries that he valued. As I was reflecting on sermon illustrations
for this week on this passage, I was, quite understandably, reminded of my
conversations with him on this passage likely nine years ago.
Let me first say, I understand that some
of the science and some of the application differs significantly between the
modern American farmer and the ANE Hebrew farmer. For example, in Jesus’ illustration, the
farmer is using broadcast sowing. We
don’t do that much anymore except for scattering wildflowers. But, as the author of Ecclesiastes often
reminds us, there is nothing new under the sun.
Have you ever considered how farming works
today? I mean, have you ever given any
thought as to how the farmer goes about his or her business and why Jesus might
use that to reach us today? We have a
lot of current or former business owners and executives, so many of us
understand margins. Margins are simply
the difference between the cost of an item and the sale of that item. In farming, it’s the cost of the raw
materials for seeding subtracted from the money generated from the yield
expressed in percentage. Unfortunately
for farmers, economy of size really matters.
Every four years politicians wring their hands in pretend sympathy over
the loss of family farms. The problem is
that little can be done about it. In
order to increase the margin, one must acquire more and more land to farm. Put in English, a 1 acre farm will lose money
because planting will cost more than what will be yielded at harvest. The same is true for most 10 acre farms. At 100 acres, a farmer may be able to
generate decent cash flow, but the margins will be in the single digits. As the farms get bigger, the margins
rise. It has been a few years since I
paid attention to the exact numbers—we care more about music and healthcare in Nashville
than we do about corn and soybeans—but I don’t think margins ever get any
higher than the upper 20%. What makes
farming so challenging economically? I’m
glad you asked.
What happens in the beginning of farming
in our advanced culture? The farmer has
to decide what to plant. Will corn make
more money this year or soybeans? Does
the farmer have the equipment to select another crop, or is the farmer trapped
by past choices? One cannot switch from
planting 1000 acres of corn to tomatoes or strawberries just because the price
is better. Some farmers are super
advanced. They can take soil samples and
send them off to labs so that experts can tell them what crop, and what variety
of what crop, will thrive in their soil.
Of course, those labs will also tell the farmer what he or she needs to
buy to make the soil more hospitable to the crop he or she would like to
plant. Just like the seed, the
fertilizer and the nitrogen and the fungicide and whatever else is necessary
costs money. Up front money.
Did I mention that the farmer needs
specialized equipment to plow the field and to apply the needed chemicals? You and I can handle our little backyard
gardens, but imagine doing what we do for an acre. For 10 acres.
For a 100 acres. You should be
moaning. It is literally back breaking
work.
When do you plant? Many of us pay attention to zones when it
comes to our gardens. Why is that? That’s right.
We are trying to avoid killing frosts.
You and I are not necessarily as invested in our gardens as the farmer
is in his or her farm, but we pay attention, don’t we? What happens if we try to get a jump on the
planting date? A killing freeze
invariably happens. As inconvenient as a
killing freeze is on our half dozen tomatoes, think what it must be like for
the farmer whose livelihood is tied up in his or her crop. We go back to Lowe’s or Home Depot or our
favorite farmers’ market to buy replacement plants. The farmer goes out of business.
Once the date is chosen, and the type of
seed, what happens next? The farmer
plants the seed. How is that done today? Yes, tractors. But how do the farmers know the pattern to
use? Yes, some have done it that way for
years, if not generations. But, as with
everything, there’s an app for that!
Nowadays, for a fee of course, farmers can use satellites and computers to
figure out the sowing patters that will use every square inch of their
dirt. Some of those tractors can even be
controlled by those satellites, assuming, of course, you had more money to buy
the fancy model.
Then what happens? That’s right, the farmer waits. Oh, sure, we understand photosynthesis and
mitosis and phototropism and other scientific processes far better than the
farmer in Jesus’ illustration . . . or do we?
That last one is the fancy jargon way of saying plants will grow toward
the sun. The further away a farmer is
from the equator, the more important that process becomes in a farmer’s
calculations! Do we really understand
what causes the growth? Or do we trust
simply that, if conditions are favorable, growth will happen?
There’s another aspect to farming that
Jesus does not mention explicitly in His illustration, but I am certain His
audience would have heard it: the weather.
The weather, for the Hebrews, was meant to be a spiritual thermometer,
of sorts. God promised that, so long as
they kept His covenant, He would send the rains. If they failed to keep the covenant, they ran
the risk of Him withholding those rains.
When we read in the OT about droughts and locusts and those kinds of
activities, understand the Hebrews should have heard a spiritual
evaluation.
The modern farmer is far too sophisticated
for such nonsense. Plus, we are not
God’s chosen nation. We are,
nevertheless, still subject to the weather and natural disasters. Right rainfall at the right time is crucial
for crop growth, just as wrong rainfall at the wrong time can really hurt the
plants. Our big irrigation sprayers can
protect against the weather, at least the dry weather, but that costs money in
the form of equipment and diesel fuel (to run the pumps). How does the farmer protect against locusts
or other insects? Ya, they don’t. Speaking of which, how do farmers insure bees
will pollinate their acreage? A poorly
kept secret side effect of all the chemicals we use today in farming is the lack
of bees. Colonies of bees have, for all
practical purposes, been wiped out in parts of our country. The good news if a farmer has money, of
course, is that bee colonies can be rented to fertilize the crops. But insects can take their toll, as can birds. The guy back north of Davenport shared the
story of a year right out of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, when the crows did
way more damage than the locusts, and did a better job of blotting out the son!
What other natural disasters can influence
farming? Who said volcanoes? Don’t laugh too much, I read an article this
week about the lava threatening the livelihood of marijuana farmers in Hawaii. No, I was thinking more along the lines of
hail and tornadoes. There’s a thing
called lodging, I think it was, where the crops get beaten down by the wind or
the hail. It’s called lodging because
the crop is lodged in the earth, I guess?
He couldn’t explain why the term was used, but he certainly understood
its impact. Remember those wonderful
machines that we have been talking about, tractors and their attachments? They have attachments for harvesting. Not surprisingly, one harvester does not
harvest all crops. Many are
specialized. What happens if the corn is
matted to the earth when the combine rolls through? You guess it, it stays on the ground. Corn is meant to be upright in stalks not
flat along the ground. So, the lodged
crop does not get harvested. Again, not
a big deal for us working in our backyard garden plots. What if you have an acre? 10 acres?
100 acres impacted by lodging?
Big deal, eh?
One other natural disaster can hit
farmers. Where he farmed north of
Davenport, it was not quite as big a risk.
When those big supercells with lots of cloud to ground lightning roll
through, or when idiots done with the cigarettes toss them out the car window,
a fire can be sparked. If you have ever
driven past farms, you’ll know there’s not an abundance of fire hydrants or
fire stations, for that matter. Fire
during the dry seasons can destroy a good bit of crop before it is contained.
No doubt I have bored you with all this
risk to profit, but harvest is also an issue.
Know why the farmers wait as long as possible to harvest? Do you know why farmers try to get the jump
on the growing season and risk killing frosts?
When farmers harvest, they want there to be as little moisture content
as possible. The reason is
economic. I cannot remember for sure,
but I think the farmer told me that ever 10% increase in moisture in the plants
translates into an additional cost of a nickel when it comes to drying out a
bushel. Think how many bushels there are
in those farms you drive by on I-24, I-65, or I-40. As my kids would say, that’s a lot of
nickels! It makes sense, the crops are
dried by heating, usually by means of natural gas. Natural gas, as we all know, is not free!
Now, think back on the life of the
farmer. He or she takes most of their
remaining cash and invests or pledges it against the year’s harvest. Out of those resources, he or she must
purchase seed, fertilizer and other chemicals, rent or buy the necessary
equipment for the jobs and the crops, run the irrigation pumps, purchase the
pesticides and fungicides, not plant too early and not wait too late to harvest
and run the risk of additional crop drying costs. All of that is done betting on the
harvest. And as you have just learned,
their control over their harvest is illusionary. Mother nature can take her toll; thieves can
take their toll. And the farmer depends on
the harvest to be big enough to cover the bank note and to generate living
expenses for the next year. There truly
is nothing new under the sun. The size
and technology have changed, but the stresses of farming today are not all that
different from the stresses of farming in Palestine in the days of Jesus. Why, then, do you think Jesus uses this image
in His parable? What lesson or lessons,
do you think, did Jesus have in mind when He related these images to His first
disciples? Why, do you think, did Jesus
want this parable collected and studied by all disciples who came after?
I think there are a number of lessons in
the parable, such are their natures, but one that should jump out at us is the
overarching life of a patient faith. The
farmer in Palestine or the Midwest of the United States buys seed, plants it,
and then waits for the harvest. The work
of planting and the work of harvesting is incredibly hard, some would even say
backbreaking. But no matter the work of
the farmer, no matter the strength of his or her back, no matter his or her
endurance, success depends a lot on stuff outside his or her control. During
the growing season, both are subject to any number of threats. There is little a farmer can do when faced
with the threat of predation by wildlife or insects, even less when faced with
the danger posed by weather. Yet, year
after year, season after season, the farmer goes through his appointed tasks,
trusting, in the end, the crops will produce and he or she will survive another
year.
What is life like for us in the
church? Corporately, here at Advent, how
do we function? We gather in late
November or early December, depending on the calendar, to discuss and approve
our budget. How many of us ever look at
the numbers and start to worry? What if
a big giver dies? What if the support or
elimination of this ministry angers a big giver and serves as the excuse for
them to leave? Have the members of the
Vestry really looked into cutting various expenses? What if we tighten our belt, cut our staff
pay, and the staff leaves? What if we
put off repairs to the physical plant or the rectory for another year? I see the nods of agreement. We are like farmers in that we have to trust
the money will come in, just as the farmer trusts that the appropriate rains
will come.
Back to ministry for a moment. What if a key person dies during the
year? What if the person who is
providing a lot of the catalyzing energy in a particular ministry is called
home by God over the next year? What
happens to that ministry? If Barbara
Jones had passed away before Parenting Adult Children was firmly established,
are we certain that someone else would have stepped up? Think of other ministries around here that
are driven by force of will or commitment.
Are we certain Wrestling with Faith would survive Jim’s or Robert’s
departure for the Great Wedding Feast?
Do we worry who will pick up the slack if Larry and Dale and Betty were
no longer able to lead Room in the Inn?
Is anybody else as passionate about the Bible Project and Wednesday
evening fellowship as Tina Tsui? Who
would do yardwork were we to lose Phocian, Stewart, or David? Ever worry about getting enough volunteers
for the Vestry? What about your personal
favorite ministry? Do you worry about
the loss of a key woman or key man? Like
the farmer, you and I know there are risks and challenges. Like the farmer, we know there is a
possibility of failure. Yet, like the
farmer, we know are called to trust in the midst of doubt or worry or stress,
we are called to a patient faith. Just
as the farmer trusts most of his or her crop will survive to produce fruit, you
and I trust that, so long as God has a purpose for Advent, our ministry will
continue. Our ministries may cease, but
our ministry will continue.
What of us as individuals? There is a bit of gallows humor among famers,
well, at least among some that I met during my time in the Midwest. Often, when a moron like me was adding to
their stress when asking about the what if’s, they’d eventually get to the
“well, I’m fairly certain out of my x number of acres planted, enough will
survive that I won’t starve this year. I
may be bankrupt, but I’ll have a full belly of corn.” I suppose, unlike those who work desk jobs,
farmers can figure failure means they eat instead of us all eating. It’s a weird gallows humor, but it is
certainly understandable. It is among
those farmers, too, though, that I heard their simple faith. More than once a farmer, when asked by me how
he or she deals with the threats to livelihood, responded “You’ve heard the
saying ‘There are no atheists in foxholes,’ Father? Well, there’s fewer in farmin’!”
In the end, you and I are called by God to
live a life of patient faith that is, all too often, better reflected in places
other than the Church or a church.
Jesus’ illustration captures that innocent and simple faith but reminds
us that the simple and innocent faith is not nearly as simple as we like to
think. Farmers maintain their belief in
the next harvest despite their fear, despite the natural threats, and despite even
the threats posed by politicians who, despite their woeful ignorance of the
farming life, are tasked with regulation and policy. None of us have thought about the problems
caused by a bad boss or mid-level manager.
Imagine the threats our politicians’ ignorance pose to the farmer! Despite all that, the farmer farms.
In a chapter in Mark when seed and farming
and bearing fruit looms large, you and I are called to remember in Whom we
trust. You and I gather here each week
to remind ourselves of the saving works of God, to be nourished and encouraged
to get back out there in the wilderness and keep cultivating, to be equipped
with skills or knowledge that will make us better witnesses to His redeeming
grace in our lives, and to trust, simply to trust, that nothing we do in His
name and to His glory will fail. Make no
mistake, we may lose money or jobs, we may suffer all kinds of illnesses and
injuries, and the acquiring of skills can be difficult, tedious, or seem downright
pointless, but we are called by the God who specializes is redemption and
Resurrection! When the world judges our
work a failure, even as it did when our Lord hung lifeless on that Cross or was
placed on the preparation slab in the tomb, we know better. We remember His death, we proclaim His
resurrection, and we await His coming in glory!
They are not just empty words we mouth when we gather for worship, but
reminders of the life of patient faith to which He calls us! And knowing that, knowing that just as He
redeemed Israel when it wrongly chose a king, we know He can redeem our
mistakes. And just as He raised our Lord
Christ from death, we know that He can raise us! And armed with that knowledge, that
certainty, that faith, we head back out into the wilderness to do our own
gardening—to plant the seed He has given us, to irrigate using the water with
which He has supplied us, to manure in His name, to weed in His name, trusting all
the while that, like the farmer in His parable, that He will provide what we
need. It is a simple call, to trust
Him. Ah, but living that call, living as
if we truly believe and trust Him, that’s work--dirty, sweaty, challenging work,
just like the work of the farmer and the work to which He calls you and me!
In
Christ’s Peace,
Brian†
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