Grace's Second Opinion

September 16, 2014

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

Once again, an illustration involving one of my daughters.

After worship last Sunday, I asked the girls what they thought of the service.  They have become my most honest critics and, despite their age, often give me my most helpful feedback.  And this time, Grace really dug deep with her wrestling over the scripture text.

“I think there’s another way to interpret the Bible verse other than the way you talked about.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

Before I tell you what she said, read the text again for yourself:

Then Jesus said, “This is what God’s kingdom is like. It’s as though someone scatters seed on the ground, then sleeps and wakes night and day. The seed sprouts and grows, but the farmer doesn’t know how. The earth produces crops all by itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full head of grain. Whenever the crop is ready, the farmer goes out to cut the grain because it’s harvest time.”

You might remember how I interpreted the parable:  I suggested that we were the farmers, and we were called to plant the seeds of God’s love throughout the world.  The story suggests that the process of transforming lives and the world is ultimately a mystery, and that our responsibility is simply to pay attention to the signs, and be ready to act in love and service to others at precisely the time God calls us.

“But what if we aren’t the farmers in the parable?” she said.  “What if God is the farmer?  And what if we are the seeds that God has planted?” 

There was a lot of silence in the car after she said it.  I initially wanted to dismiss what she was saying.  (Please.  I have three years of formal seminary training, for pity’s sake.)  But as my mind spun through the implications of what she was saying, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. 

The seed sprouts and grows, but the farmer doesn’t know how.  C’mon.  God doesn’t know something?  But wait a minute.  Isn’t that a potential by-product of human free will?  As Wesleyans, we believe that God’s prevenient grace operates in all of us from the moment we are born, wooing us and empowering us toward acceptance, but individual free will means that ultimately we must choose to respond to that grace.  I’ll let Grace slide by this one. 

The earth produces crops all by itself.  Okay.  Here’s another problem.  Wouldn’t Grace’s interpretation suggest that God plays a pretty passive role in the maturing of a person’s faith?  It’s the “earth” rather than the “farmer” which does the growing.  That’s a problem, right? 

Or, wait….maybe it isn’t. When you think about it, if we believe that “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof,” then in reality, all of what happens in our lives is under the full reign and rule of God.  God has established this kingdom on earth, which includes the work of the church and the community of the faithful, to be the fertile soil in which tender souls are cultivated into full bloomfollowers of Jesus.  When it is at its best, the Kingdom of God does produce “crops all by itself.”  Okay, Grace.  I’ll give you these first two points. 

...first the stalk, then the head, then the full head of grain.  But here’s where Grace’s interpretation really kicks into high gear.  The work of God in our lives really is a lifelong process.  It is not necessarily relegated to a single moment in time, when we “are converted,” or “accept Jesus into our lives,” or “become a Christian.”  Maturity in the faith is a journey, which demands our participation, in the context of a community through which God’s grace can bloom to full fruitfulness.

Whenever the crop is ready, the farmer goes out to cut the grain because it’s harvest time.  And then it occurred to me the real value of what Grace was saying.  Grain is worthless until it is harvested, processed, and used to feed the hungry.  Otherwise it is just pretty decorations on the landscape.  So until we allow ourselves to be utilized by the farmer, and yield our lives over to God’s highest intentions, we haven’t fulfilled our truest purpose. 

She’s a smart girl, that Grace deVega. 

Well, I don’t know what you do with all of this.  It’s certainly possible that there is truth in both of our interpretations.  You might even find greater value in Grace’s explanation, over Reverend-Three-Years-Of-Seminary-Training.  And you may come up with one that works for you.  But my conversation with Grace is a good reminder that certainly children like her have the capacity to wrestle, accept, and incorporate even the deepest mysteries of the faith into their lives.  Their capacity to wonder and imagine truths beyond themselves must have been the reason that Jesus spoke the words that are the subject of worship this Sunday, as we continue our sermon series on theKingdom of God:

“Allow the children to come to me,” Jesus said. “Don’t forbid them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people like these children.” Then he blessed the children and went away from there.  (Matthew 19:14-15)

Grace and Peace,

Magrey

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega

St. Paul's United Methodist Church

531 W. Main St.

Cherokee, IA  51012

Ph:  712-225-3955

Email:  mdevega@sp-umc.org

PORK LOIN DINNER SEPTEMBER 28

Once again, we are hosting our annual pork loin dinner (and the first since our return to the dining hall!) on Sunday, September 28.  It will take place after the morning service, and it will feature delicious pork loins from the Parker family.  You are invited to bring a side dish to share, and desserts will be provided.  A free will offering will be taken to put towards our recent renovations.