Author: Pastor Aleese Kenitzer

For the past two weeks in worship, we’ve heard two parables from Jesus describing God’s Kingdom. First, the parable of the sower, and second, the parable of the wheat and the weeds. 

As I was wrestling with these parables and preparing to preach, I have to admit: it was challenging to narrow down my thought process to one main point. I know it’s easier to grasp ahold of one point, rather than a multitude, especially when an idea is communicated verbally. But, when it comes to parables, the point is exactly the opposite. Parables are not meant to be distilled down to one message, nor to a simplistic allegory. Parables, according to C.H. Dodd (New Testament scholar and professor), are “a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application as to tease it into active thought.” (Parables of the Kingdom, 1935:16).

So if in the past two weeks you’ve found yourself walking away with more questions than answers – especially from our Gospel readings – well, the parables are doing what they should be doing then. Parables are not meant to give us concrete explanations, but are to call attention to the unsatisfactoriness of previous explanations and understandings that we may have held onto. 

So as we approach yet one more week of parables this coming Sunday, allow yourself to be teased into active thought. And, if there’s something that’s still sticking with you from the parables we’ve heard already, continue to mull it over. Because it just might be in that mulling that God has a specific word for you. 

A good farmer (and gardener) knows that for plants to grow, the soil needs to be cultivated. It needs to be worked. It needs to be turned over. 

But often, that process of turning over the soil isn’t a delicate one. Think of the last time you thrust a spade into the ground. The spade distrubs the soil, breaking it up. It’s for the plant’s benefit that the soil is loosened up and turned over. But the act of cultivation is actually quite an agreesive act. 

In our Gospel reading this past Sunday, we heard the parable of the sower in which seed falls in various environments. The sower (which, one might interpret as God) sows the seed of the kingdom liberally, without worrying about where it lands. If it lands on concrete, so be it. If it lands on fertile soil, so be it. God faithfully spreads the seed of God’s Word. 

But, God also faithfully nurtures and cultivates us to receive God’s Word. Which, at times, might feel a bit disruptive. Discomforting. Because turning over the “soil” of our lives, our world, our church, might shake things up a bit. It might loosen things up a bit. And, it might turn some things over. 

And yet, as God does this work, our lives, our world, and our church is now able to more fully receive the seed of God’s Word. 

So if it feels as though you’ve been “shaken up” or “turned over” or “loosened up” in your faith at some point, take heart. For God is not working for your demise. Quite the opposite. God is seeking to invite us into this work of cultivation so that the seed of God’s Word takes root, grows, flourishes, and bears fruit…for our sake, and for the sake of the world. 

As we remember, celebrate, and give thanks for the freedoms embraced by many in our country, we also pause as followers of Jesus to give thanks for the truth that through Jesus Christ, we have been freed from the bondage of our sin.

As Paul writes in Galatians 5:1, “For freedom Christ has set us free.” But, in the words of Superman, with that freedom comes great responsibility. Now, we are freed to live in service to our neighbor.

As you go about your day, challenge yourself to remember that you, too, have been freed from all that keeps you captive. And, challenge yourself to see those around you as your neighbor whom you have been freed to serve in Christ’s name.

Some of you may be familiar with one of the many Mission Impossible movies. These movies are a series of American action spy films that focus on a main character Ethan Hunt: an agent of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). Each movie highlights a new feat for Ethan to overcome in order to save something or somebody. As Ethan hears each new assignment, he’s given the message, “your mission, Mr. Hunt, should you choose to accept is….” Following this precursor, then Ethan hears what he is to do, and what the dangers will be. 

In many ways, this invitation given to Ethan is a similar invitation given to us as disciples of Jesus. If we’re honest, the readings we heard in worship this past weekend were intense and didn’t mince any words about the potential costs, and dangers, of living as a disciple of Jesus. And yet, still, Jesus called his disciples – and calls us – to follow. 

But why should we accept this mission when there is potential for danger? When it may come at a cost? And when it may ask something of us? 

Perhaps we accept this mission for similar reasons that Ethan accepts his missions: because he is determined to protect those he cares about, because he is convinced there there is a better vision for the world without the threat of evil, and because he believes in his cause. In the same way, as followers of Jesus, we may accept our mission to join as disciples for the sake of others in the world – so that they might know the truth of Jesus. Or, we may accept our mission because we are convinced that, through Christ, there is a better vision for the world. Or, we may accept our mission because we firmly believe in the cause of Christ. 

We may accept Christ’s mission for any of these reasons. But even beyond these reasons, we accept Christ’s mission because in giving ourselves to Christ and to Christ’s mission we actually find life. 

It seems counterintuitive that life is found in what’s given up, or that life is found within what might be considered “dangerous.” But in love, Christ calls us to follow: trusting that our God values us more than many sparrows, and trusting that in in giving ourselves to Christ and each other, we will find life. 

So as you continue to walk as a disciple of Jesus, consider the mission put before you. After our readings from Sunday, it may seem like a mission impossible to pick up this mission. But in and through Christ, we are given newness of life…sending us forth to make possible what may seem impossible. 

Last Friday evening, I found myself surrounded by 30 kids and 7 adults staring up into the night sky. Even though it was a cloudy night, we could see a lot of stars. With some coaching, Dave Bakke showed the kids where the Big Dipper was and how to find the North Star. 

But then, as we took in all the stars in the sky, I broke the news to the kids that, really, we can’t even see all the stars. Our human eyes can only take in so much. There are stars lightyears away that we can’t see because their light hasn’t reached us yet, and because our eyes weren’t made to see all those shining, twinkling lights. So, even though we could see a plethora of stars, there were even more out there. 

In our readings this past Sunday, we heard a theme: that by the power of the Spirit, there is always something more than what we could ever imagine. Sometimes – especially as adults – it’s easy to lose our imagination and get to the point of thinking that what we see is what we get. But with God, there is always more out there. 

Just think of the story of Abraham and Sarah and when God told them they were going to have a child. They were getting old, and they thought that what God was saying to them was absolutely impossible. Already by Genesis 18, the Lord had come to Abraham twice to tell him the news. And during one of those times, the Lord told Abraham that he was going to receive as many promises – and as many kids! – as he could count in the sky. But the Lord hadn’t come to Sarah yet. So by chapter 18, now it was Sarah’s turn. But when the messengers came to Sarah, she just couldn’t believe it. Instead, she laughed. But in response, the messengers said: “Is there anything too wonderful for the Lord?”

Truth is, there is nothing that is too wonderful for the Lord. And God has promised us so, so much that we can’t even see it – or perceive it – yet. So the next time you’re out at night, take a look at the stars. And think of every star as a promise that God has for you. And then, think of every star that you can’t see, and imagine all the promises that God has yet to give you, and show you. 

We might not be able to see what God is doing all the time. But always, always, God is doing something so that we might know Christ’s love, and so that we might live together with God…and with each other. 

Many of you have come to know me as a pretty driven person. I’m a planner, and in a situation of disorganization, I’m prone to create some semblance of structure. That’s the way I’m wired.

Which, makes it challenging when I hear stories in the Bible of Jesus interrupting people’s plans, jobs, and directions. And yet, that’s exactly what we heard in our Gospel reading this past Sunday. Jesus interrupts Matthew’s job – calling him to discipleship while he’s on the clock. It’s not like Matthew didn’t have anything to do with his life. But when Matthew was presented with something different, something new, something life-giving and liberating in a way that he hadn’t known before, Matthew chose to follow. 

When we hear Jesus call the disciples in Scripture, it’s easy to write these stories off as something that couldn’t possibly pertain to us. “It was ‘easier’ for those guys to just up and follow Jesus back then,” we might think. But even for those guys, their lives, their lifestyle, and their perception of their world was interrupted when Jesus called to them. 

So what happens when God calls to us and interrupts our lives? The call God gives us may not be to move somewhere new, to pursue an occupational change, or to start a new mission project. It may be. But often, God’s call to us is to live and serve right where we find ourselves…just perhaps with a different intention, and perhaps with an openness to how God is directing us to live. 

So this week, as you’re willing, ask God to interrupt your schedule. And if you do, be prepared. Because God will show up, and God will provide opportunities for you to serve in Christ’s name and offer the love of Jesus. Each day, we may be striving to live out our call to discipleship in a multiplicity of ways. But having invited God to come into our midst, and allowing God to direct us according to God’s will? We just might find ourselves responding to a call, and to a fullness of life, that we never knew was there.