Rev. Ann C. Fox
(508) 992-7081
minister@uufairhaven.org
Unitarian
Universalist
Society of Fairhaven
Sowing and Reaping
a sermon by Rev. Ann C. Fox
October 11, 2009
Note: A reading is attached, which you might like to read first
Have you ever
pondered what the proverb, “As you sow, so shall you reap” means? Do you
agree with it? It’s a common saying that is sometimes reworded to “What goes
around comes around.” Is it generally
true for you?
I have found
myself using both of these sayings when a person who has behaved badly,
receives something back in kind. Likewise, I’ve thought of it when a very
kind person receives kindness
themselves. Essentially, we are saying that we
get what we deserve. Do we?
We have all
observed times when a wonderful human being has a devastating illness or
some other great loss occurs. Life just isn’t that simple, is it? We
don’t necessarily get what we
deserve!
You have probably
heard the story of the frail old man who lived with his son,
daughter-in-law, and their 4-year old son. The son became frustrated with
his elderly father at meal times because his hands shook. The old man
spilled soup; the peas rolled onto the floor; the gravy stained the table
cloth. The son said, “We can’t go on like this. Dad has to sit elsewhere for
meals. So he moved his father into the other room for mealtimes. The family
sat down to more peaceful meals. The little boy noticed that tears rolled
down his grandfather’s face and he felt sad. One day the little boy was
building something with his Lego blocks. “What are you building?” his
parents asked. The little boy said, “I’m making bowls for you and Mommy for
when I grow up and you are old and
you have to sit in another room for meals. The husband and wife were
shocked! They immediately moved their father back to the table and it didn’t
spoil their dinner one bit when his hands shook and a drop of soup was
spilled. Grandfather was happy, too. Did the little boy sow a seed of
understanding in his parents?
The “As you sow,
so shall you reap” proverb comes to us not from Jesus but from a letter of
“You
reap what you sow....we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give
up….Whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all...and
especially for those of the family of faith.”
‘Reaping at
harvest’ actually refers to the judgment at the end times.
The “Jesus
Seminar” is a group of liberal scholars who took upon themselves the task of
identifying what Jesus really did
and did not say. These Jesus
Seminar scholars believe that Jesus did
NOT believe in the end times and did
NOT say the words that refer to
the end times. The writers of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John)
did believe in the end times, as
did
Progressive
or
liberal Christianity today does
not believe in the end times or
in a God of judgment. Their God is in the process of creation and creativity
and love and their Jesus, though part of that, is looked to as a wise and
divinely inspired teacher.
The Jesus many,
if not most of us, have grown up
with is that of the Redeemer, the performer of miracles, and the one who
became the sacrificial Lamb of God whose death redeems the world. This is
not the Jesus of liberal
Christianity. The UU view of Jesus is that of a special evolved teacher, who
may or may not be divine. We are each free to decide for ourselves.
In the earliest
Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (called the synoptic Gospels because they
all clearly draw from a similar source) and the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus does
not claim
divinity, nor did he organize a church or advocate celibacy, or that he
would return and sit in judgment on the world. (p.93, Jesus Seminar)
For us, the
important thing about Jesus is the teachings that are
authentically his. I believe that
we can rely on the advice of the Jesus Seminar scholars.
The
parables are a large part of
Jesus’ teachings. The “Parable of The Sower” is part of what scholars refer
to as the
Liberal scholars
believe that the term the “
Another famous
parable is, “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine
pearls. When he finds one of great beauty, he sells everything he owns and
buys it.” (Matt 13:45-46)
The
Did you notice
the picture on the Order of Service? This parable has inspired many painters
through the ages. There are dozens of paintings of The Sower on the Internet
by various painters. There are also many in church windows. The
In the reading,
we heard that the Sower threw seeds:
-
On a path and they were eaten by birds.
-
On rocky ground where the roots were weak and the plants withered and died.
-
Among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked the plants.
-
On good soil where they thrived brought forth grain, growing up and increasing…a hundredfold.
What is the
point of the story? The disciples
were puzzled about why he spoke in parables. Jesus tells them, “I will open
my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the
foundation of the world.” (Matt
My interpretation
is that we should think deeply on what the kingdom of heaven is within us
and there find that which is hidden within us and which Jesus had wanted to
help us uncover—the understanding of what life is about—creating the kingdom
of God, or the “just society”.
I deliberately
edited out of the reading the words that refer to Satan. Now, please don’t
“switch me off” just because I used that old time religious word! These were
the words I edited out about the seeds that fell on the pathway: “Satan
immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.” I edited it
out because I thought that this mention of Satan would
turn you off from hearing the
meaning of the story. Is that true? I thought many of you would find this
reference to the evil power in the Bible
tiresome. If we can
think of these references as representing the
fear of people in those times,
the fear of the writers of the
Gospels, we can truly gain something from the wisdom of the Bible.
It is unfortunate
that as Christianity developed, the idea of Satan and evil
exploded in importance. It is
NOT an important Jewish concept.
This concept of evil and hell has to be weeded out if we are to gain the
pearls of wisdom that the Bible offers. Satan did exist in Judaism but the
translation of Satan is “The Challenger”. If Christianity is to survive in
the future, it is going to have to
weed out the importance of this concept of Satan as the evil power
waiting to tempt us at every turn. It is just not believable to
clear-thinking, thoughtful
people.
Jesus was trying
to guide us to perceive our
connection to the deep spirit, the deep
intelligence of the world to
which he was clearly connected. It is this simple.
May we read the
Parables in the Bible with liberal eyes and new understanding of the words
of the young and fearless prophet.
References
Beutner,
Edward F, editor. Listening to the
Parables of Jesus, Jesus Seminar Guides,
Reading: from the
Gospel of Mark 4:1-20 (NRSV)
The Parable of
the Sower
Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd
gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there,
while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.
He began to teach them many things in parables, and
in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And
as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds, came and ate it
up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not
have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil.
And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it
withered away.
Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew
up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.
Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth
grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a
hundredfold.”
And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear,
listen!”
When he was alone, those who were around him, along
with the twelve, asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To
you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those
outside, everything comes in parables; in order that they may indeed
look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand…
And he said to them, “Do you not understand this
parable?” Then how will you understand
all the parables?
The sower sows the Word. [The ones on the path…when
they hear are distracted for there is no soil.]
[When the ones on rocky ground] hear the word, they
immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a
while; then, when [life is difficult, they] immediately they fall away.
Others are those sown among the thorns; these are
the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of
wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and
it yields nothing.
[Others] are the ones sown on the good soil: they
hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a
hundredfold.”
© The Rev. Ann C. Fox/strong>