“Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance. When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. Then a servant-girl, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, “This man also was with him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” Then about an hour later still another kept insisting, “Surely this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.” Luke 22:54-62

If we were in the crowd witnessing these event would we have had any more courage or conviction than the disciples? The absence of the disciples screams at us throughout the trial. And should we be surprised that Peter falls to self-preservation instead of coming forward to defend Jesus. Would any of us have done anything differently? None of the disciples does anything to stop the events. 

We don’t have our savior on trial today, although the authority of scripture and the teaching of the Gospel is always being assailed. We should be willing to admit that religious reductionist activities are always putting our religious beliefs on trial everyday.

How do we respond when people try to silence our voices? Do we run away? Do we hide from religious controversy? Do we seek our own self-preservation?  Or, will we have the nerve to stand up, live out, and speak the truth of the Gospel without hiding or cowering in fear.

Pastor Dave

June 13, 2021 – Mark 4:26-34

[Jesus] said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.” He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; ³⁴he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.” Mark 4:26-34

Parables draw comparisons between two realities – the earthly and the heavenly. They use earthly images to speak of heavenly realities as I have heard people describe over the years of my Sunday school teaching. Of course last week we heard of comparisons being drawn between Jesus and his family – and Jesus and his followers. Today, the comparison is between our understanding of the Kingdom of G-d – and the unpredictability of the Kingdom of G-d.

Jesus said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?”

The Kingdom of G-d, it seems, must always be two things at once – mysterious and unpredictable. We can assume that Jesus uses the parables because he knows the reality it introduces is unexpected – and unpredictable – and his hearers weren’t ready to take it in — all at once. And yet as pastors, we are tempted to say something like – “This is what the parable of the mustard seed means” – as if we have all of the answers.

Can we compare the Kingdom of G-d to a weed? Jesus did. Jesus does. Who here likes weeds? I would go out on a limb to say that most of us try to pull out the weeds or kill them so they do not come back. And yet Jesus says the Kingdom of G-d is like a weed. God’s kingdom cannot be controlled or influenced – it will grow with the reckless abandon of a weed that is out of control.

Mustard, after all, is a weed. It was a lot less like a flowering shrub that we might plant around the edges of our property – as it was and is an invasive weed – something you want to keep out of your garden and lawn at all costs because it runs amok easily, gets out of hand, and nearly takes over whatever ground it infests.

We have to be careful that we do not treat strangers like weeds – things we try to keep out of our churches so they do not mess things up – or even take things over.

Or maybe, just maybe, when Jesus compares the Kingdom of G-d to weeds, what he is really talking about is the kingdom’s penchant for penetrating and taking over our lives, sometimes against our better judgment. We see how weeds can crop up in the most unlikely places. I see a single weed coming up between a crack in a sidewalk – or between the asphalt and the curb – or even between bricks on a patio. Imagine the Kingdom of G-d seeping into your life – cropping up between you and your free time – between you and your job – between you and your idea of “churchy people”. Imagine the Kingdom of G-d creeping into your mind to say “You know, you may not have the right idea about how the kingdom of G-d works in this life – in this church.”

Is it really the best use of our time to try to kill this weed – this teaching of Jesus that makes us so uncomfortable – to kill it just because it makes us uncomfortable – that tells us, in reality, that we have no control over how the Kingdom of G-d works in this life?

Pastor Dave