Sunday Prayers
for the eighth Sunday after Pentecost (July 26, 2020)
On this eighth Sunday after Pentecost, we invite you to set aside some time tonight at 5 pm to pray and worship at home.
Rooted in simplicity and practiced in community,
even if separated by space and circumstance,
we celebrate Christ’s gentle and loving rule.
The readings for today are:
- Genesis 29:15-28
- Psalm 105:1-11
- Romans 8:28-39
- Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Transcript
What does God’s engagement with us and our world look like?
Seed scattered haphazardly, in every nook and cranny of an unkept field. Wheat and weeds growing side by side under the watchful eye of a farmer deeply invested in the wellbeing of the whole field. A tiny mustard seed, lost and buried in the earth only to spring up into something big and beautiful and life-giving. A tiny measure of yeast which leavens enough dough for even a commercial baker. A treasure forgotten in a dusty corner of a field. A pearl that someone stumbled upon. A drag net, that captures everything in its path.
What does God’s engagement with us and our world look like?
Seed scattered haphazardly, in every nook and cranny of an unkept field. Wheat and weeds growing side by side under the watchful eye of a farmer deeply invested in the wellbeing of the whole field. A tiny mustard seed, lost and buried in the earth only to spring up into something big and beautiful and life-giving. A tiny measure of yeast which leavens enough dough for even a commercial baker. A treasure forgotten in a dusty corner of a field. A pearl that someone stumbled upon. A drag net, that captures everything in its path.
Mysterious, but dependable. Distinctive, and yet present everywhere. Domestic, and also extraordinary.
For three weeks now, we’ve been immersed in the strange and compelling parables of Jesus. (And, fear not, the lectionary will be moving us on to other matters next week). Rich with imagery and pregnant with partially hidden meaning, these parables are an invitation to wonder. It’s important, I think, to remember to approach these parables with trust in the goodness of God, and with inquisitive minds. The more questions we find in these parables, the better off we are.
What might it mean that, in each one of these parables, the work of the Kingdom seems to be everywhere? There seems to be no corner of the story that isn’t part of the conspiracy.
What about the fact that the people in these parables are only changed after they encounter something that they weren’t expecting? The Kingdom that Jesus speaks of seems to be something that happens to us and around us, not particularly because of us.
And what about the counter-intuitive trust that is on display in these stories, often in ways that seem foolish. Letting weeds flourish, re-hiding treasure so that you can buy an entire field, tossing valuable seed here and there without care or attention. Strange things indeed.
The final image that Jesus uses is of a net – but more specifically a drag-net. If we leave aside the environmental concerns we might have about this style of fishing, it’s most notable because it is indiscriminate. Every little thing that it comes upon is captured by it. Every manner of fish, and also all kinds of things beside. Not even the fish would be in a position to speculate about what kind of harvest this kind of fishing is looking for.
In a time of great uncertainty, in a time of transition, in a time when a great many of the things that we had come to depend on now seem to be debatable, I think there is great value in letting ourselves meditate on these parables. The details are strange, the values seem to be counter-intuitive, and the results are often not what we would expect. But, Jesus insists, God’s presence abides and God’s purpose is accomplished.
We would do well to wonder at the strangeness of it all, recognizing that God’s ways are not the same as our ways. The structure and order that we long for can be positive, but can also close us off to possibilities that we had never imagined. And the sense of fear or anxiety that can come from being untethered to the usual patterns and systems that hold our lives together can only be remedied by faith.
Which is why, I think, St. Paul writes that “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
If this whole crazy world is God’s, and if God loves so much as to give himself to us as completely as possible in the person of Jesus, and if not even death can upend our hope, then there just might be room for faith and trust to abide. Then the strange and confusing parables of Jesus can be an invitation to awe and wonder, without needing a definitive answer.
If nothing else, these parables describe a movement that is not ours to own. And, which will work out for good in the end, completely irrespective of our efforts.
So may good seed be scattered in our hearts. May we be caught up in a great big net that we can no more understand than escape. May we marvel at the all-encompassing strangeness of it all, and learn to see the face of Jesus at work in every unexpected corner.
And when we’re tempted to reach for an answer, or to desire certainty in the midst of swirling change, may we instead discover peace and trust and faith. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are God’s. And thank goodness for that.