Mark
4:26-34
Prop: Ginger
plant
In today’s
gospel story, Jesus tells two stories about seeds that are planted and that
grow to produce fruit. Under most circumstances, seeds will try to sprout and
grow. But they only thrive if conditions are right. They need the right amount of
light and water and nutrients to grow.
… About
4 years ago, my husband Mike decided to try growing a ginger plant, so we went
to a store and bought a couple of hands of real ginger. He planted it and
watered it and fed it. And it grew. He transplanted it into this planter, and
it did well for a while, then it stopped growing. All the leaves went brown.
Mike put the planter in the garage. (Don’t ask me about why it went into the
garage instead of the yard waste recycling. There is all sorts of stuff in the
garage that should have disappeared long ago, but it’s still there.)
A year
went by, and one day, Mike noticed that there were green shoots coming from the
ginger roots we thought were dead. So, we brought the planter back into the
house and have been watering it and feeding it.
What
made the ginger grow? Time, and God’s plan. When we plant seeds, they grow when
they get water and sun and find fertilizer in the soil. But, it is only because
of God’s plan that plants emerge from the seeds.
Some
seeds plant themselves. Plants often produce seeds that fall onto the ground
and grow next year without human assistance. But farmers intentionally spread
seed of the type they choose, so they will have a crop of the fruit the seed
naturally produces.
Congregations
are like plants. They have been placed in a certain location, and fed and
watered with people at the beginning. In the 1880s in the upper Midwest and the
1970s in Florida, people came, looked for a church like the one they knew at
home, and congregations grew and grew. As new people came, the congregation was
well-fed and well-watered. They grew naturally, and no one had to do much to
help the church thrive except put an ad in the phone book.
Today, people
are not looking for churches like the one they knew at home, because they have
not been to a church for a long time, or they have never been to one. They don’t
know what they are missing, of course.
… I
believe the best way for us to draw people to church is to plant seeds in them
by telling stories. Jesus told parables, a word that describes a particular
type of story. The disciples told Jesus’ stories, and they told their own
stories. New believers heard the stories about Jesus and they came to believe
as well.
We all
have faith stories. … For example, think about your baptism. What do you know
about it? If you were an infant, you only know what people have told you. But
you can put the pieces of the story together and create a larger story. Who was
there? Where was it? Did you wear a special garment? Who were your God-parents?
Did they keep in touch after that day?
I was
baptized at about 5 weeks at St Luke’s Augustana Lutheran Church in Chicago. I
know my parents were there, and Auntie Vi and Uncle Bob were my God-parents. There
are no pictures of that day, but I assume my grandparents were there, since
they all lived in the same area.
Later on
in my life, my God-parents showed up, at various moments in my life and kept in
touch with cards and letters. They were consistent faith figures in my life.
What stories
can you tell about your faith life? Your baptism and confirmation stories are usually
pretty easy to tell. … Another easy one is the story about how you came to Ascension
Lutheran Church. Was it because someone told you a story about the church and
invited you to come and see for yourself?
What
stories would you tell about Ascension? Would you talk about the past, or would
you talk about your present: your desire to call a new pastor, and your
intention to fill the food pantry, and your commitment to partner with a nearby
school, and your ability to have a musical service without a live musician?
My faith
stories are places where God and I intersect, places where God has been or
continues to be active in my life. Your faith stories are places where God has
been active in your life. Today, our stories, yours and mine, intersect in two
ways: you and I connect as humans and as pastor and parishioner, and you and I connect
with God. We are doubly connected because of our faith in God.
If we
are aware of our own stories we can find ways to connect with others. We can
help them connect with God, through their own faith stories, even if they don’t
believe they have them. In that way, our faith stories become seeds of faith
planted in someone else’s heart. And perhaps, they will realize their seed will
grow best if they are here at Ascension Lutheran Church.
… So,
here’s something I would like to do. I would like to start an Ascension Lutheran
Church story collection. When I visit homebound people, or ill people, or
grieving people, they almost always tell stories. So, I am going to get to know
them by gathering and writing down their stories. At the same time, I would
like y’all to begin to write down the stories you would like to tell about your
own lives.
When
have you noticed God being present in your life? Sometimes, we are aware of God’s
presence in the moment; more often, we are not aware God was there until we
look back a year or two or five, or even a lifetime. When we look back, it is
then that we notice we weren’t alone, but God was there, putting pieces in
place for us. God is constantly planting seeds of faith in us.
This
little project will have a two-fold purpose. It will help us learn to tell our
own stories, and we can put them together in a booklet for the new pastor,
whoever that may be.
Also, I
would like to have a little time each week for some story telling. So, I
suggest that we use the announcement time at the end of the service for a story
or two. You can tell your story, or I can tell one from a person I visited.
I know
you normally don’t do much about announcements, but they are important. Most
people need to hear the announcements as well as read them. Plus, visitors don’t
know the details, and they may need more information. So, I invite you to stay
seated after communion for the prayers and the benediction, and the
announcements. Then stand for the sending hymn.
Now, let
me tell you a story. Larry and Lucy were Lutherans and they went to church
every week. Carl and Cathy were Catholics and they also went to church every
week. One weekend, Carl and Cathy visited Larry and Lucy, so they went to the Lutheran
Church. After the benediction, Carl and Cathy gathered their things and made
ready to leave. At the same time, Larry and Lucy opened their hymnals and began
to sing the sending hymn. Cathy said to Carl, “My God, they’re staying for the
credits!”
I suggest
we stay not only for the credits, but that we make the coming attractions, the
stories and the announcements, something worth staying for.
Amen
