The
vicarage garden is, I have to say, so bad that it's funny.
Though
I rather enjoy gardening, I simply don't have any time – and
Andrew, who might have the time, has less than no inclination.
Couple
that with the fact that when the new vicarage went up, I rather
suspect that the builders simply dumped some topsoil on the rubble of
the old, and add the presence of a digging enthusiast in the form of
Libby the retriever, and hens who will eat anything that lies in
their path....
You
get the idea. Chelsea it isn't.
But
for all that, we DO have a wildflower lawn...something I love for all
sorts of reasons but mostly because it demands nothing of me at all.
The
clover, daisies, speedwell
and dandelions that flourish there owe nothing whatsoever to my
hardwork or ingenuity.
They
are there simply because they
have self sown...and actually, if I decided tomorrow that I wanted a
perfect stripey lawn, they'd
be almost impossible to get rid of.
And
that's also the case with the mustard seed in 1st
century Palestine.
While
some varieties were used as spice and others medicinally, in general
they were considered at the very least a pest and often somewhat
dangerous.
Why?
Because wild mustard is incredibly hard to control, and once it takes
root it can take over a whole planting area.
In
other words, mustard seed was the ground elder of the ancient
world...rarely found in well tended gardens, but overrunning a vacant
field...
And
that, you know, is the most wonderfully encouraging thought.
Jesus
says that the Kingdom is like a mustard seed...which
means that actually nothing
can stop it
We
may think that there are no signs of its presence...may feel that the
human race is intent on self destruction, that selfishness, cruelty,
death and despair are having things all their own way....but,
imperceptibly beneath the surface of our broken, workaday world, the
seeds
of Kingdom transformation are
growing...subverting
the patterns of this world in ways that we can neither predict nor
control.
And I think that's the point: this kingdom Jesus proclaims is not something we can control.
And I think that's the point: this kingdom Jesus proclaims is not something we can control.
And
it's definitely not safe, not, that is, if we're even a
little bit
satisfied with the way things are.
Rather,
the kingdom comes to turn
the world upside down, to make the prayerful song of Magnificat a
living reality.
The
seeds of the kingdom, tiny but irresistible, are also the seeds of
hope – hope which moves us to action.
That's what Jesus offers, the dangerous hope that God's kingdom is coming and while we can neither control or even summon it (the farmer in the first of today's parables has no idea how or why his seeds grow) we can be alert for signs of its coming and celebrate its presence among us.
So this week I invite you to look at the world through Kingdom spectacles...
That's what Jesus offers, the dangerous hope that God's kingdom is coming and while we can neither control or even summon it (the farmer in the first of today's parables has no idea how or why his seeds grow) we can be alert for signs of its coming and celebrate its presence among us.
So this week I invite you to look at the world through Kingdom spectacles...
“So
now we regard no one from a human point of view”
See
things differently.
Be
on the lookout for signs of that dangerous, transformative hope of a
new reality founded on Love.
And
live into it...
live
your identity as a new creation, brought to birth by water and the
Spirit, living in Christ and empowered to be a sign of the Kingdom
yourself, in all its justice, and joy
Another corker. I hope they realise how lucky they are...
ReplyDeleteOstrich, I do rather <3 you...Whether or not my lovely congregations think I'm any use, they certainly wouldn't dream of saying so...so your encouragement is worth its weight in gold.
ReplyDeleteGrateful hugs xx
Particularly like this one, but then I'm rather into wildflowers... and God's Kingdom being something we just can't get rid of!
ReplyDelete