July 17, 2023 — Psalm 85 

“Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin. You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger. Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us. Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations? Will you not revive us again,   so that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts. Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.” Psalm 85 

This Psalm does seem to come to us from the post-exile period — following the Babylonian exile. At least it has a tone that belongs to that time. The punishment had ended, the people had lost everything, and in the glad return the people of Israel had seen a proof that G-d had covered her guilt. But all was not well in the return. The people felt purified, yet there was no Temple — it had not been restored. This is why we hear the pathetic cries of this psalm. In this particular instance, the cry arose from the dread of famine, which was always regarded as a judgment on national sin. But, even as he utters his lament, the Psalmist lets loose with praise: “Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.” 

We all feel sometimes that we have been plunged into the midst of trial — that we too are in a spiritual desert. And yet we too are a people who should feel like we are living in a day of hope and salvation. We cannot allow the occasional deserts to let us forget the spiritual nourishment and hope that comes through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The occasional fasting helps us appreciate the feast that is to come. As the Psalmist concludes this Psalm, “Righteousness will…make a path for his steps.”  

Prayer

God of grace, you so loved the world that you gave your only Son to be our Savior. Help us to rejoice in your redeeming grace by showing mercy and following in the way of justice and peace, for the sake of Jesus Christ, redeemer of the world. 

Amen. 

July 16, 2023 – Pentecost +7A — Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

“That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!” “Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

 In Galilee, the usual practice for sowing seed was to spread seeds by hand then later plow them into the soil. Some of the field had probably been walked on and had become a path for villagers, and some of it was only a few inches of topsoil on top of the limestone, which was natural to that area. But you would spread seed on every available space, then come back later to plow the land. Some seed would take, others wouldn’t. It was not about precision seeding — it was about hitting every possible spot of land where seed might grow — might just take root. Who would sow seed this way in our world today? Today, seed is placed in soil with such accuracy –farmers use GPS to guide their machinery. Not so, obviously, in Jesus’ day.

Most of the time Jesus is telling a parable, he is saying that the “Kingdom of Heaven” is like……in other words he is telling a story where the Kingdom can be compared to………he uses metaphor, he uses simile, he is making a comparison — of course, his stories could be just about giving the facts about the Kingdom of Heaven in a new and interesting way.

So, if we were to look at this parable with an eye toward Jesus’ teaching, and our own world, here is one interpretation I would endorse:

The seeds in the parable represent the teachings of Jesus. In hearing the words, the stories of Jesus, a person must have an open mind and be willing to learn from Jesus. Spiritual growth is a step-by-step process, and understanding the teachings of Jesus comes one step at a time — sometimes we understand immediately — sometimes it takes time to discern. We call the process of sharing the teachings of Jesus as “planting seeds” — and all seeds need time to take root.

When we discern G-d’s truth, weighing the difference between mainstream and non-mainstream, trying to loosen-up our firmly held beliefs, seeking ways to sift out truth from false teachings, keeping that open mind that is so necessary for discernment, then we discover the possibility of entering into the extraordinary experience of living in the good soil of God’s Grace — and everything around us then responds in kind. G-d has plenty of seed to cast — there is no end to G-d’s seeds of love, mercy, forgiveness, and grace. G-d who sows G-d’s unlimited seed does not seek certain soil, that G-d thinks is better than other soil. G-d just sows seeds of love, mercy and grace our way day after day after day after day. Those with ears, I hope you hear….

Pastor Dave