Is the sower a professional?

 The old saying is that we reap what we sow in life. So what is it that you sow or have sown during your life? Looking back we often find that we have regrets somewhat like Esau, who sold his birthright (Gen 25.32-33), had later in life. Ours may not have been as great a foolishness but looking back it often rankles and hurts. Yet, sometimes what we perceive to be a disaster is what God is asking of us as he plants a seed to mature in the time to come. Retrospective looks back in time are said to be 100% and that is how we learn. Yet the ramifications from our regrets may actually be positive in the lives of others.

In the parable that Christ sets up in Matthew's gospel (13.1-), the sower does not appear to understand what it is that he is doing.  Seed appears to be scattered willy nilly all over the place.  Christ gives a very specific meaning to each type of ground the seed falls on, yet, I feel we are missing something if we take a simplistic view. Jewish midrash interprets the simple and finds some very interesting understandings as a result. They want to know the story behind what is written. Christ was a rabbi a known interpreter of scripture. Lets try thinking more laterally in this well known case.

The seed falls here and other times some falls there. Surely, one has to ask, when sowing for good yield shouldn't the sower be a little more deterministic when it comes to the scattering of the seed. If we want a good harvest we must direct the seed into good ground.  There is no point in scattering it around. I would have fired the sower, if it was my farm, I want a good yield not a bit of this and a bit of that (100% or nothing).  That is how we operate in today's world.  That is how any good farmer would want from his employer or himself if he was sowing the seed, care in deployment. No matter what we do, the expectation is that the out put of our work will be beneficial to the company for whom we work. I suspect in earlier times the same would also be the case especially with regards to the distribution of valuable seed. In looking at the church or the parish in terms of what we do, a recent trend has been to emphasise mission based programs.  We are told you have to do this, or you must do this or this is where you will achieve growth in the church, follow this evangelistic method / program / etc.

Let God direct the sowing of the seed not our own imaginations

God does not work with programs, God works with the world the way God wants the world to be.  God calls us into difference not sameness.  Each programme of evangelism that is promoted is looking for sameness not difference. God determines where the seed should fall, by placing all our seed into the one basket of programme evangelism we deny God access to the fruits of the seed.  Our evangelistic programme may well be scattering the seed on a well trodden path that does not allow for it to grow.  I suspect that more often than not, this is precisely what is happening; we continue to sow good seed onto the well trodden paths of human expectations only to find it trodden under foot.  It is only when we allow God to direct the sower of the seed that we begin to see the fruits of God's labour.  We talk of good and bad ground as if these were dualistic opposites.  Perhaps yesterday's poor ground will become today's good soil as God directs the seed and the growth.

Paul reckons us to live on the level of the Spirit not on the level of what has gone before (Rom 8.5-6) when we live in Christ.  Yet we tend to live in the world and ignore Christ except as a passing whisper or throw away line.  If something has achieved good results elsewhere then surely it will achieve remarkable results here in this place all it requires is the 'minister' to put in the energy.  Or if what has worked in the past should be re-iterated, again and again and again, then we will achieve the same results now as then. However, good soil soon becomes poor if we over produce again and again.  In undertaking these thoughts we also actually undermine God. We are second guessing where the seed that the farmer has granted to us through grace is to be planted by our knowledge not by the farmers understanding of the fields to be sown and then reaped. Only when we understand that it is by allowing God's hand in our work for God that we achieve the remarkable. It is not in following previous things or other programmes as these may not be what God is calling us to in the present. In living into the Spirit we live into Christ and we allow Christ's guiding light to be ever present in our hearts. We go where Christ wills not where we will.

Where has it gone?

Paul in a number of the epistles uses the terminology of the 'Body of Christ' to represent the Church. It has been a well accepted paradigm to reflect what the Christian church should emulate and more often than not we fail in this endeavour. In doing so we sort of shrug of the understanding and go on our way not really engaging with the spirit of the message or the purposeful meaning that Paul puts in the use of this analogy. It has become increasingly obvious that the Church has never really embraced this idea of the body and its understanding of cooperative purpose. Either across denominations or even within them as differences in dogma stymie the effort.

Indeed theological discussion whilst often referring to this understanding of community and neighbourliness  refuses to really engage as the modern philosophical trend has been towards the autonomous self. This very Western understanding of personhood is embedded in much of our traditional theological viewpoints so that we become mired in our individual uniqueness and miss the opportunity of seeing God in those around us. This is particularly brought home to those that tinker in the ecclesiological space when the structure of church governance is considered. Whilst Rome has come to tinker with an understanding of synodality as a result of Francis' push the Anglican church has been immersed in synodality for some time. Yet, the concept of travelling together has been lost over time in the Anglican church with its concentration on small empires whether they be op-shops, catering groups or individual parishes and councils.

In a lot of respects this lack of fostering the understanding of one body as seen in the various scriptural references of assistance and understanding is being highlighted in the Anglican church around the world with the GAFCON breakaway but also within the Australian Church. The very fact that it is reasonably well known that senior members of the clergy have been known to refuse to gather around the Christian table of fellowship and love is a clear indicator of the paucity of understanding in the concept of one body. This in itself is or should be unimaginable in the Christian faith journey but it becomes even more devastating when nobody  seems to understand the words that are prayed at the end of most Eucharistic services within the Anglican prayerbook. Each person prays to be a "living sacrifice" but as soon as they walk out the door they forget everything that faith teaches.

Are we one body or are we one building?

In a Diocese that is in dire straits in terms of not only claims arising out of the abuse scandals of recent years but also the result of National church failures to maintain promises in the late 1990s one would expect, from a Christian viewpoint, a certain amount of collegiality and coming together to steer through the winds of change. As we know change often means sacrifice and in Christian terms we would understand that through death comes life. Yet, it is obvious that however good leadership has been the concepts of togetherness and community mean nothing unless there is the stability of a building. It has been made very clear that the process with regard the debt means that property must be sold for the good of the body and should one property not be sold or forfeited than another property or properties must be found to compensate. Thus, our selfishness over the retention of one property could make another part of the body suffer, but then 'Hey its not us. Shame!'. Our treasures are meant to be in heaven not on earth yet we still focus our lives on our property. Perhaps, it comes from calling ourselves 'church' instead of an 'ecclesia'. 

The question is of course to be asked where is the National Church?  Or perhaps where is the greater body of Christ? Well not their problem as each diocese is an 'individual' not part of a community or the body of Christ. Of course, they are at liberty to state that the plan forward by the diocese some three years ago cannot take place but have to bow before the Supreme court when the same plan, in essence is put forward. This attitude of complacency and being the little finger on the body's right arm is especially so of the more affluent dioceses who not withstanding their riches on earth believe that they are the only ones who know God's word. Sounds a bit pharisaic to me.

To take up or not to take up

 We are told that we are to take up the yoke that Christ gives to us so that we may rest from the burdens that we carry (Matt. 11:29). This seems at first glance a somewhat paradoxical statement as the yoke, any yoke, implies some form of weight. If we are already overburdened how can taking more weight upon ourselves lead to rest. Perhaps we can see a glimmer of an answer in the story of Isaac and Rebecca's first meeting (Gen 24:58-67). In this section of the story Rebecca first sees Isaac in the field as she and the servant approach following the journey from her home. In this, as in similar Hebrew texts, the interpretation that we have is somewhat prosaic in comparison to the wealth of interpretation available in the Hebrew / Jewish interpretations. In this instance it is said firstly that Isaac was not just walking but rather there is a sense of his communing with God and perhaps recalling the akedah that was spoken about last week. In observing him Rebecca falls "in love" and falls to the ground in front of him because of the respect for his connection to God (much more romantic). It is however what comes after that needs our attention as in verse 67 Rebecca takes on the burden of Isaac's grief over his mother.

Rebecca is already burdened, if we think about it, with the re-location from a loving home into an unknown circumstance. She has given much up for the possibility of happiness with an totally unknown man and in a totally unknown culture. Yet, she willingly picks up the burden of grief that Isaac is suffering from and consoles him. This leads to what appears to be  a comfortable life or at least as comfortable as things can be within the harshness of nomadicity. Rebecca here makes a knowing sacrifice in love and lightens the burden not only upon herself as she becomes accepted within the new community but also that carried by another. This is perhaps what we need to understand when we are asked to carry the load. It is not that our concerns or worries are disappeared but rather by picking up the load we share our toils and our burdens with each other. In carrying our own burdens we actually destroy our lives both physical and mental. It has recently been brought home to me how anxiety and worry are easily manifested within the physical to such an extent that it incapacitates our own ability to function. If we decide to carry our own tears and our own anxieties then we will suffer greatly. It is often our response of not sharing that leads us to the physical dependence and pain we suffer in later years.

The yoke shares the burden or lightens the load

So how can we take the extra load and be relieved of the burden we carry so that the load becomes light? The main issue is not that we do not care but rather that our needs always predominate. The taking up of another load appears to be us to be something that is deleterious to our own health. In this case we are cautious if not downright over protective and selfish. We have to take real care here because selfishness leads us to act in such a manner that is overwhelmingly problematic for our community. Once we take this route we are on the mind bending logic that Paul uses to account for his ability not to do that which ought to be undertaken (Rom. 7.14-ff). The reality is that we need to take up the yoke that God calls us to take for this eases the burden not necessarily for us immediately but certainly in the long term. The reason for this is that the old adage " a problem shared is a problem halved" is so true even in the current day. In sharing the burdens of the community we are able to half the real issues that we think that we have to carry on our own. So often we have and start with good intentions that eventually become burdens usually because of our inability to share. 

Just think in terms of Parish councils or centre committees or any other sort of governance model that you wish to think of. The council / committee is often there to assist and share the burden of leadership. what so often happens is that it comes down to an issue of power and politics. The more power I have the less I wish to share and once I have power the less I wish to give that power up. The yoke that Christ asks us to pick up is so light because it is a shared responsibility. We do not take the burden on ourselves but share the burden with the other. Just as Rebecca learns to do and does with the burden of sorrow within the family. Only when we are ready for this sharing can we begin to understand how light God's burden is upon us as all of our brothers and sisters are able to share the burden with us.

To be a willing living sacrifice

 We pray at the end of our Eucharistic services for God to send us out as a "living sacrifice" into the world. I wonder what you think a sacrifice is in your life. We can think of anything that may be a sacrifice but most of us think of something that would in reality only inconvenience ourselves. To make a sacrifice is to make sacred that which you do. Quite often it may mean a giving up of something or at least entail some sort of real hardship for and in our lives. However, I suspect that it would not be as great a sacrifice that Abraham was preparing to make (Gen. 22.1-14), although in some circumstances it may entail an equal amount of heartache. Looking at the Jewish sources of interpretation of this passage, the Akedah test, (and there are many) there is a suggestion of inner paradox being played out (see Zornberg for example). How much do we give to God and how much do we give to ourselves? We often want to protect what we give rather than give to God as a sacrifice. We do not actually sacrifice but rather appease our own sense of worth in what we do.

We are often eager to complain about the sacrifices that we do make when looked at on a greater scale. The sacrifice we brag about is nothing more than an inconvenience in our lives. Abraham walked in the way of God, much as Christ did in a later age, and in doing so he is portrayed as the Father of the faith, not only Jewish but also ultimately the Christian faith. Yet, looking at the Jewish sources of interpretation there is an interesting back story to this passage. The possibility is that in walking in the steps of God and celebrating  God's presence while spreading the "good news" of God's presence in his life he neglected the simplicity of sacrifice after his son was born. He gave his all towards being a father and relinquished his giving of all to God. It is this that requires God to test Abraham. This is a dimension of Abraham's journey both inwardly and outwardly as he celebrates the presence of his son. Does the mere movement towards family suggest that ultimately we are moving away from God and forgetting to live up to God's requirement to sacrifice? Perhaps, this is where we are living in the current age. We do not see the purpose of "sacrificing" our time in praise and thanksgiving to God when we have family and lives to live. The modern turn allows us time for those things that encourage our happiness which in turns allows us to turn a blind eye to the injustices of the world. This extends to the term of "sacrificial" giving and other "sacrificial" things we do. The modern state has allowed us to sit back and relax in terms of our own personal sacrifices, which in turn has allowed us to sit back and relax in terms of the requirements of God.

We forget the sacrifice and continue to ignore the purpose.

In this we are often governed by a Law of Tradition. The reasoning goes somewhat like this, "We have always ... and that is the way we will continue to do ...". You can fill in the spaces with whatsoever you like that covers any form of sacrifice. Unless we hear otherwise tradition is tantamount to having come from God. We can always find an excuse for not doing what sacrifice asks us to do and this is always easier than actually making the committed sacrifice. In this Paul has it right in Romans (6: 12-13) if we are to label ourselves as followers of Christ. Christ sacrificed himself for us and we are obligated by faith to do likewise as we follow in God's way of love. All love demands sacrifice to a greater degree than we allow. Any family knows that in order for the family to grow certain things have to be let go, we term this a sacrifice but often it is no more than disallowing certain luxuries. However, on occasion it is a large sacrifice of everything that is normal for the household. In coming to terms with the enormity of the sacrifice we come to understand the harsh reality of sacrifice and can no longer consider the simple things we give up as a sacrifice. If we begin to really understand what it means to sacrifice in a simple thing like family, can we who dwell in Christ and accept the hospitality of Christ, not sacrifice for God. It is easy to say that we will become a living sacrifice at the end of each service in which we receive the hospitality of God at the communion table, a reminder of a greater sacrifice then we are able to give, but not so easily translated into our common Christian life. This is applicable to all of us not just a few. A real sacrifice means something that is more than uncomfortable or prosaic, it means that it will hurt us and we do not want to let that happen in our comfortable lives and thus we turn from God.

Growth implies change

 No matter how we look at the world around us there are a couple of certainties other than death and taxes. The most prominent one is the prospect of change in our comfortable spaces. No matter who we are the very thought of change makes us shiver and become somewhat afraid. It does not matter whether the change is one that is sponsored by ourselves, such as a change in direction, home, living arrangement, career, etc or comes to us from an outside source COVID 19, restructure of work environment, new laws, etc. The very mention of the word creates division and this was understood by Christ as he spoke of the future to his disciples (Matt. 10.34-39). As Christians who have died to Christ (Rom 6.3-5) we must expect significant change in our lives, not only when we accept Christ but also when we continue with Christ in our lives.

In speaking about change we seem to accept the enormous change that Christ brings because we have died but wish to negate that change when it effects our more mundane lives. It is as if we believe that what ever spiritual or faith change is undertaken our secular and normal lives must remain unaffected. This is clearly not the answer as the Gospel passage indicates. Christ lets us know, in no uncertain terms, that the traditional place of comfort, the family, cannot remain the same when we take up the cross and follow Christ. If our safe place, our traditional place of comfort and security is no longer a safe haven to retreat to then how can we expect the world to be a safe place amidst change. The disruption that has occurred to our lives and the changes that must happen as we move forward into the unknown future must for us become a force that allows us to increase our resilience in the face of the inconsequential upheavals that we face on a daily basis. Just think of the changes in the life of Hagar and Ishmael faced in the wilderness when cast out by Abraham at the behest of Sarah (Gen. 21:14-21). The indication here is that no matter how cast out from our family we are God has a greater purpose that shows us a path along which we must strive.

We change our diet as we mature otherwise we do not grow

Any young person faces the challenges of change in the  formative years of their adulthood. In leaving home they must strive to find their place in an ever changing society and yes sometimes the challenges in this process of change are significant. At other times we shelter them from the raw experiences of life so that they can find safety in the bosom of their family but... It is a big but for even the family cannot shelter us in the long term. Just as we cannot expect in naivety that what we have always experienced will always remain the same. Christ calls us deliberately into something that changes leading us away from our comforts so that we too can change our own way of thinking to bring the Good news into those areas which are not ministered to as a result of our neglect. We often have to find a new way to express ourselves, away from that which is comfortable, how else can we spread God's love if we do not enter into new places. Remaining within the comfort of what we know and understand places us into the sheltered space. Yes, occasionally we have to place ourselves in that space but we cannot remain there or we will stagnate and die. A pond that does not refresh itself with a stream of water is likely to stagnate and die. If a herd of animals remained in one place they would stagnate and starve. We will not get the same ongoing sustenance if we remain in one way of thought and it is quite often the case that we also stagnate and die.

Even when we want to be fed we automatically want what we have had before or what we believe is life sustaining for ourselves. Once again we fall into a trap because if we are to grow we need to seek out new richness in the food that is provided. Like a child or a baby we require so much more than our initial serving. Baby food cannot sustain our growth into adulthood and so the diet is changed: can we expect any less with our faith journey? Christ calls us to grow into God's presence and life this is not something that can be done if we only have the food that sustained the beginning of growth. Any farmer knows that crops have to be nourished and as they grow they get different feed. This automatically means change, something we need not be afraid of or hostile to but rather open and encouraging so that we can get a fresh vision of God's path.

The education of charism

 Sometimes we think we can do it all.  I can undertake all the ministries in the Church and in the world.  All I have to do is put my hand up and I will be there. If we are excited to participate we jump all over the place and try and put our hands on the wheel, so to speak, in as many different places as we can. What happens is that we get ourselves mixed up and eventually cause a disaster as we tangle everyone else up. Christ sends his disciples out in a deliberate and calculated manner (Matt. (9.35-10.8 ff) having understood what was required.

At baptism we pray that the child / adult will be filled with the charisms of the Holy Spirit. If it is a child, I do not think that we expect him/her to jump up and speak in tongues immediately. These gifts take time to develop and come to maturity just as the child grows. The same is true for an adult, occasionally the gift manifests itself immediately but often there is a period of maturing and discerning before the full gift is manifest in the life of the individual. There are times when we need to set time aside and pray about our situation before undertaking a course of action. This is of course quite easy for a child as it has its parents and God parents to guide it in its first tentative steps towards making a decision in faith. But what of an adult, as we can be extremely impulsive especially when it comes to our likes and dislikes, our comforts and our intrusions, our future and our past. We have a tendency to see where others are not stepping up and feel that we need to fill the gap.  At the end of the day we become rag and bones because we are not doing what God wants us to do but what we want to do.

Only in listening and in harmony with God do we grow

There are a number of questions that we need to ask ourselves as we grow into our charisms and as we educate our children towards the next step in faith that they need to take. In asking these questions of ourselves we take a step back and allow God's Spirit to interact with us through prayer, contemplation and the discernment of others. We need to ask, Is this truly what God is calling me to and how am I to know that this is God's call on my life? In answering these or encouraging our children to answer these questions we actually have to do some work. It is not a question of "Oh this is what I think I want to do"  which is typical of children taking their first steps towards adulthood. It actually means that we have to sit down and discern where God is calling me. How? By listening to what others are saying and reflecting on our decisions, in relation to the choices that we are making. By spending quiet time with God and allowing God to speak (we so often speak and don't actually listen to God). By allowing God's Spirit to call to you in the quiet moments of your life. Only through such a process do we discern a true call into ministry.

We allow our children room to discover these options of listening through their lives if we are being true to our baptismal call. We go out of our way to encourage others to rightly discern the paths of God's Spirit in their lives through encouragement and listening. We are present to the other as sounding boards so that we discern with the community the charisms of our neighbours and our fellow sojourners in Christ. It will be Christ who leads us as he becomes manifest in our lives and as we are encouraged in the path of discernment for ourselves. Only when we recognise the Christ that is indwelling in our own selves will we understand the gifts of the Spirit and how we release them into the community. It is only when the gifts begin to help the other and encourage those who are lost that we can know that the Charisms of the Spirit are invigorating the community.

The rhizomic nature of faith

 We are as a Diocese and as a faith community being called out of our comfortable lives into something new. Abram in the Genesis story (Gen. 12.1-9) is called by God into a journey to a new place. It is not a comfortable call as it means that his current life and understanding will be shattered by answering this call. Family and friends will be left behind as he goes on a journey that is not only a discovery of self but also a discovery of faith. We too are asked to make that break with custom and comfort to move into a new place. Any immigrant or person who comes to a new land will tell you that there is a psychological displacement as well as a displacement in ones body and soul. The familiar turns into the unfamiliar or to put it simply robots turn into traffic lights and circles into roundabouts.

In turning to the offer of new life we are turning towards a step in faith not in legal understanding. The law of the Anglican polity would strangle us and make us bend to tradition. God however offers us the grace to develop according to his requirements not according to a law that creates anger and frustration (Rom. 4.15). We can see the effect of this in our current circumstances as the changes required frustrate the understanding of diocesan independence that is the tradition of Anglican politics and synodial bickering. The call to change is a call that reverts our understanding of church from a model of stasis to a model of growth. Relationships tend to grow in an organic manner as can be seen if we look at the e life found in social media. God's presence is a relational presence as we saw last week and is grown through new interactions in new spaces. Like any rhizomous plant that has inadequate room to expand will stagnate and not produce new growth so we as a rhizomous community stagnates within the concrete walls that we have created around us.

Can we become a rhizomic culture popping up in unexpected places?

 Christ calls not the righteous but the sinner in the first part of the gospel reading (Matt. 9.9-13). The expectation from those in the faith community was to call those who were righteous, aka the leaders of the synagogues and temple because surely this is where God is looking. In turning the expectations around Christ recognises that faith and growth is found in the corners and edges of formed community. The vibrancy of faith that can overwhelm all things, as expressed in the latter part of the reading (Matt. 9.18-26), is found outside the expectations of tradition and formal opinion. The early Christian community was a community that was on the edge of society and the predominant faith groups. The explosive growth of the Christian faith was borne out of the fringe before becoming the central edifice that it became. It is clear that it is to a certain extent losing that central position as its leadership, with few exceptions, no longer speak into the public sphere for fear of doing something that is against tradition and the 'faith'. Yet, Christ sets our example not tradition and Christ ministered on the margins of society. Surely it is then incumbent on us to follow Christ into the margins to find the Spirit that drives us towards God's central community of love. No longer should we hold to a vision that is crumbling in a modern society that is changing rapidly. Our vision must be one that God calls us to that elevates our journey to show how in an ever changing world the priority of love is a consistent state of being to draw us towards the sanctity of peace and the grace that God gives to us in love.