I read a story recently about a guy named Bill. Bill was an alcoholic who had just recently given up the drink. When he was on a business trip, which turned out to be quite a flop, he was tempted to drink. He paced up and down the lobby of the hotel wondering whether he should buy some gin, and be “king for a night” as he expressed it, or whether he had better not. His experience led him to believe that he might avoid difficulties if he found another alcoholic to relate to.  

Spying the name of the Reverend Walter Tunks on the bulletin board in the lobby of the Mayflower, Bill called him up and asked him for help in finding someone to talk to. The Reverend gave him the name of a person, Mrs. Seiberling, to call who may be able to help him. When he called her up and told her his situation she said ‘I have just the person for you’. Bill was then introduced to a gentleman named Bob who was in a very desperate alcoholic situation. Bill rushed to Bob’s house and, to make a long story short, what was to be a 15 minute chat turned into a 6 hour conversation. Bill was planting a seed in Bob. It was the seed of hope and he planted it well.  

In today's Gospel we read two parables. Parables for me (and many of us I’m sure) were the first part of the Bible that held real meaning. Even as a child I could see meaning in these stories. From bushels to banquets, from stewards to seeds, parables have a direct message that even kids can understand. But it was not until I got quite a bit older that I found a much deeper love for the parables of Jesus.  

The word parable comes from the Greek parabolē. From this word we also get the word parabola. As you may or may not know, the parabola is a mathematical term for a curve we get when comparing a fixed point and a line. A point being something finite and small and a line being something that extends into infinity. In this definition we can find the meaning in the word parable. It is a story that finds the connection between our story and that of our infinite God.   In the two parables we look at today, as with many others, there is much more than meets the eye. It is through investigation that we find the deeper meaning behind the stories. By digging into these parables we not only bring out God’s message to us, but we also bring ourselves closer to the person of Jesus, what he has done and what he is doing for us every day.  

When we look at the first parable on its surface we see a story of how a seed grows in secret. It is a very simple concept but when we look deeper we find a message and a mission just inside. Jesus is talking about God’s coming kingdom. The Jews of the first century had a view of the coming day of the Lord which we find reflected in the prophet Joel. It describes a time of terrible devastation coming on God’s people and that God would restore their fortunes and judge the nations around them.  

Jesus is telling them that the time of harvest is coming, but it is not going to be anything like what they are expecting. He is saying that what he is doing is the beginning of something new. It was in fact seedtime for God’s long awaited harvest. Jesus was talking about something new, something no one was expecting. This was a start and not an ending. It is here that I see the third layer of this story; our mission.  

Our mission is to be farmers in this Kingdom of God. To take our seeds and plant them. If we look at first Corinthians we see Paul talking about the many gifts we have been given by the Spirit. These gifts are the seeds that we need to plant and nourish so that they may grow in God and for his Kingdom. Now these gifts, as Paul says, are many and they are different with each person, but “All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses”. Sometimes when we look at our seed we see something small and insignificant and we wonder what this could possibly do to help. How can my little seed make any difference in this crazy world? But it is only through trusting in God and planting our seed in his life giving soil that we see it transform, in so doing changing the world around it.  

We don’t have to look very far to see how seeds planted with God can grow. Right here at St. Aidan’s we have many. One example is Dr. Michael Chambers, who saw homeless people sleeping outdoors in the Beach and knew something had to be done to help. With his tiny seed and with the work of God, along with the help of people right here at our church, grew our Out of the Cold program at St. Aidan’s. That seed has helped and will continue to help the people at the margins of God’s world.  

In our second parable we hear Jesus reinforcing the image of how God works in the world, how God makes things grow even from the tiniest of seeds. Jesus pulls from our first reading in Ezekiel the image of a tree that is offering shade. In this he is saying, “Don’t worry. Remember who your God is and that our small seeds will all grow together with Him. They will lead to a kingdom that will offer shade to the whole world.”  

But as we look around our world and even just our city we see many other kinds of seeds. Seeds of hate, racism, idolatry, the list could go on. So what are we called as Christians to do about them? If I may be so bold I would like to present a small “parable” of my own.  

I love my little lawn… helping it to grow into a beautiful green carpet of grass is a real joy for me. But as you can imagine it is always a great struggle to keep my grass weed free. When I first started working on my grass I called it a war. I went out each day armed with my weed puller and did battle with every weed I could find, ripping them out root and stem. Yes, I had fewer weeds, but oh did my lawn ever suffer. It was full of holes and covered in burnt patchy grass. The harder I worked the worse it seemed to get. Then one year I tried a different approach. In the spring of that year I aerated my lawn, gave it lots of good fertilizer and layered good soil where there were holes. Then I let the grass do its thing. The sun and the rain, together with the “love” I had given it, allowed it to form good roots and flourish. My lawn now has no room for weeds: the thick grass suffocates them before they have a chance to grow. Yes, a few grab on to the edge of the lawn and I have to go out with my puller and root them out. But as a whole my lawn flourishes.  

We must deal with the bad seeds in life the same way. Just pulling the weeds in our Lawn of Life will never bring about the change we all want. It is only by preparing the soil with the Love of God, by covering it with the enriching message of the Gospel, that we will make a change in the world that is real and enduring. Yes there will be weeds to pull, but many less when we work with the love of Christ.  

So let’s go out into the world and use our gifts. Let’s plant them in our community and watch them grow with God. Just like Bill did in the story I started with. The seed that he planted with his friend Bob did grow. It grew and blossomed into that great organization we know today as Alcoholics Anonymous. That tiny seed which was planted in the love of God has gone on to help millions of people throughout the world.