Parables of Hope Preached on June 16, 2024
26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” [1] (Mark 4:26-32)
These two parables are two reasons for us to have great hope
We planted carrot seeds and now the stocks are this high and growing. We didn’t engineer the seeds we simply –(well) Susan’s simply – not me. See, She planted the seed and what happens? They come up. The kingdom of God is his point. a man should scatter seed on the ground.
We also have lettuce. A nice little bed of lettuce. But there’s another lettuce that grew up in the cracks of the driveway. Because last year, we had lettuce in a bed on our driveway. And then this year, there is a crack there’s a little edge there between the slabs of concrete and wood you know, there’s lettuce growing up from there.
Now you call those volunteer plants and of course volunteer plants they sacrifice themselves for the better good which we hope to enjoy God’s word is like the seed and then it may be planted and it grows. And so when we come to Bible study, the seed gets spread out and we watch it grow and we listened to it and meditate upon it.
From the early days of our Missouri Synod, there was the portals of prayer
People are daily in God’s word, they put their money behind it, their publication behind it, and every church pretty much has those portals of prayer. Pastors volunteer their time to write a month of devotions. And if one month isn’t so good, then of course, well maybe next month’s pastor might be better. Just like when you get pastors at your church, one pastor may be better than another. Any of the oh, “this is my favorite pastor.” And another one well, maybe this one is not so much but it’s not about me. It’s about the seed. And if you miss that point, then you have missed everything.
“I don’t like that pastor.” Well you don’t see what kind of seed does he use.
Luther liked this parable. You know why? Luther gets up. He preaches this great and life giving seed. And he says “oh, you know what I preach And then I go home and I go to sleep and I don’t worry about it.” So however bad or good, my sermon might or might not be nice, speak the word. And I speak of God’s grace and God’s love and God’s forgiveness and the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. I’m the hardest on myself when I haven’t been the clearest about God’s love and God’s forgiveness in what Jesus has done on the cross and what we have in him as a short and certain and unshakable faith that we can stand firm in
and I have been the pastor at churches where they have gotten rid of the previous pastor for whatever reason and you know what, the people still have faith. Hence, so even a church where they have gotten rid of a pastor because they had every thought they had every good reason yes or no. He knows ultimately the seed has saved in a bear fruit
-not once but more than once.
And oh, did I hear stories? Oh.
So people had faith. And the seed was planted and it grew. And the pastors baptized and they confirmed and they preached and they gave Holy Communion.
And when I came to such a church people said, so Luther he would get up and preach and he wouldn’t worry.
His concern was the seed and that it clearly was good seed and then it was said and it was given and “I don’t know how or what’s going to happen.” But the Earth produces by itself first the blade then the year and the full grain in the air as the parable goes..
Our kids plant stuff, we plant stuff our kids plant. and the place where our kid’s grandkids from Michigan live … they don’t have much ground where they live but they have I don’t know what kind of plants they have this year but they play corn and and tomatoes and every green peppers and every sort of thing. And they grow and they’re eating and canning it and feeding I think that they feed my grandkids. you know when your grandkids grow up you know the problem is— their parents keep feeding them. So now it’s our turn for a week to feed them for which we are so thankful and rejoice in God. And so this hope you see is God true is his word of blessing. Then go out. Look we got a community garden and the only shame is it’s underused. Do you understand?
When I get some work to do myself in the community garden.
What about this parable? Is God’s word true? Try it planting something. Take a bag of seeds probably getting pretty cheap right now right? Home Depot and places like that. “We want to get them out of there you see” how the hope is sure. let me tell you we’ve got yellow, small cherry tomatoes that were just growing and just waiting for her to ripen for the harvest because Susan knew where to get this cherry tomato plant and when it became available, we went and got it and it’s planted and it’s growing and it’s going to bear fruit and there’s going to be the harvest. So, Jesus says there’s gonna be a harvest someday, you’re gonna come before the Lord what is Jesus gonna find? Is it going to find the fruit that comes from faith or is he going to find some kind of empty or false lack of fruit
The seed that Jesus plants certainly. And definitely bears fruit love joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self control.
And you can draw upon that, by God’s Word by God’s Spirit right now. Do you know you can bear fruit right? This plant will but will you? Okay, so here you go. Okay. We’re a group here. Look at each other for a minute. Look at look at look at the people here. Okay, very simple bear fruit say “I love you.” Say it again. Say it one more time. Oh, you bore fruit
Oh no. When people find out they’re gonna want some of that fruit you see? And then you see you can examine yourself and say what was going on when I said it? And then if you have any questions about that, you can say Well, Jesus first loves me and He loves them and so I’m drawing upon the fruit of Jesus and what He has said and done and and then let us do that even more. And so you can bear fruit. See how easy that was? No soil was required. No sunlight was required. No water was required. No. No fertilizer was required. In Christ in the spirit in faith we already have it and so that you see the hope. Oh, look, you love– see –while there was that one day, God you know—on the last day there. Here was one day when you looked around and you said I love you. That could be your saving grace mentioned and then if you do more, oh man. That’s gonna be some last day.
And of course the second parable is as much about hope as the first because Ezekiel is writing to the people of his day, who are waiting for the anointed one whom God has promised. Abraham hoped and believed in and waiting for it and he speaks of it, and that there will be a day when such a person comes and such things happen. And then Jesus they do look at the crowds even on Palm Sunday, who heard and believed read the book of Acts. They the seed of the gospel within the lifetime of Paul had gotten to Rome and who knows where else the gospel. The seed went around so much that Paul couldn’t get anywhere and he had to write letters back and forth because he couldn’t get everywhere as much as he could as often as you want to do. And we have the seed of the letters that he wrote, because he couldn’t get to them in person. But sharing with them the same word. And we believe that before the temple was destroyed and 70 ad that the Apostle Thomas had gotten to India the country and began sharing the gospel there and the gospel in Rome and countless other places where people fled and then they wherever they got to they started planting seed. What do you think the people did before World War One hear the Slovaks comment, and they have faith but no church. And what do you have you have in this place and in this history, the proof and the testimony and the hope of this word that Jesus says 2000 years ago the smallest of seed of few people fleeing Europe for a better life.
And Maggie, her grandmother, very simple. No church, no building, no pastor and Maggie at 85 is compelled to tell what she goes to a Lutheran pastors, you are to come and give us God’s word, and sacrament.
The whole history of this church depends on some grandma from Europe who ate lard so that they could survive long enough to get here and you are all beneficiaries of that and the many other faithful people who work together because of the gospel, because of the faith that they had received and they’ve worked together, even though there was no building —- nothing.
And now all this this oughta humble every single person as it does mean that God seed is able to do such things. Therefore we have greater responsibility to continue this word and this work, this ministry working together. And for the sake of the Gospel, are we are we working for the gospel? Are we doing everything for the salvation of people’s souls? Are we not planting and nourishing and spreading God’s word? Are we doing that? Are we showing the love of Jesus Christ? Are we testifying to the mercy of God? Like those bottles, where you can put your change in a for the pregnancy center to help women who need help. And the food pantry where you last month, five over 500 people from the Albion area came and got food because you and other churches work together to have that place and have that food to be able to feed over 500 people and do it every single month and month after month, and then the community garden where people could have a place to grow their food and people from this church growing food so they can take it to the food pantry for the hundreds of people who are in need of help receive it because of all of these things.
This church is nothing more than a mustard seed and whatever comes from it is from God. And so this night I will go to sleep and rejoice because that seed continues to be sown of that message of Jesus and what He has done for us on the cross has been given by absolution by proclamation of God’s Word by the confession of our faith and by where the receiving of the Lord’s Supper whereby what Jesus has done on the cross has been given to us as that sure and certain guarantee that we are loved by God accepted by God and welcome in His presence and shall be there for evermore to turn away from this and I eagerly desire this and truly be humbled that it’s still here and then it is for yours for the taking. As those who believe and confess
How can you neglect so great salvation that’s even biblical. How can you neglect so great salvation?
This is our hope. This is what we have. And I rejoice that I have one more Sunday to speak this word of grace and I speak that fully knowing that one of Susan’s pastors died an untimely death in the pulpit.
So it can happen maybe it gets someone better. That’s okay. Whether it’s me or somebody else, that God’s word is preached for the joy and edification of God’s people.
So this is a place that was promised in Ezekiel and seen in Christ and seen here so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade. God has blessed this church and continues to bless it. Let us rejoice in it cultivate it and spread it. Amen. Now no may the peace of God
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Mk 4:26–32). (2016). Crossway Bibles.