July 30, 2008 + Thy kingdom come: God's time line + Hayward Fong

Mark 4: 26-29

There are two accepted interpretations to this parable … a traditional one and a modern one.

The traditional one is that it is a parable of patience and has two lines of meaning.

First, we need to look at the circumstances in which Jesus was speaking. The Jews were clinging to the idea that sooner or later God would vindicate them and the great day of their kingdom would come. There were many who wanted to hurry that day and called for swift and violent action. In Jesus’ period, rebellion was in the air. This parable addresses the hotheads that the way of violence is not God’s way, that God’s plans are being worked out and that too much haste, instead of helping, will be a hindrance.

The second line is a universal meaning. It is a warning to all who are in too big a hurry. It is a characteristic of modern outlook that we demand immediate results. People who come to America see us initially as a people that desire power; as time goes by, they see us as a people ruled by the dollar sign; eventually they come to recognize us as a people worshipping speed. One only needs to watch the TV ads or open the pages of our newspapers and magazines. We are a society of drive-thrus and drive-ins. We are seen as a people that want quicker and quicker results. We do no stop to smell the roses.

This was the similar situation that Jesus was facing. Some Bible scholars see this as the whole impact of His temptations at the beginning of His ministry. At that time He had to make a great and far-reaching decision. He had to decide what methods to use in order to win men for His cause.

The first temptation was to turn stones into bread. The limestone rocks were like little loaves and the tempter said to Him, “You want men? Go on then, give them bread and they will flock to you.” But Jesus resisted the temptation. He would not use the methods of bribery to produce quick results that would fade as quickly.

The next temptation was to leap from the temple pinnacle and float down unharmed. That was the temptation to use sensations. The tempter said, “You want results? Well then, unleash a few startling miracles and you’ll have them scurrying after you.” Again, Jesus said “No! I cannot play with God’s power like that.” He knew quite well that a thing of sensation can be a short-term wonder and then soon forgotten.

The last temptation was to worship Satan, a temptation to compromise. “You want results? Come on…bend a little. Just compromise a little and you’ll be the most popular fellow in Palestine.” Again Jesus stood fast. Right is right and wrong is wrong and there can be no compromise. He would have nothing to do with a policy, which produced quick, but only temporary results.

There are times in life when there is nothing to do but wait. Once a broken limb is set in a cast or a wound bandaged, the healing process must take its own time. Once a seed has been planted, the process of growth must be allowed to go at its natural pace. This parable teaches patience.

This parable also teaches that the growth of the Kingdom is a gradual process. In the growth of the corn, there are necessary stages, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn ripe in the ear.

Unless these necessary stages are gone through nothing can happen. That is a universal law of life.

We don’t learn a language overnight. Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam didn’t become the world’s leading male and female golfers, respectively, in the flash of an eye. All great things come gradually. Knowledge never comes in a hurry; it must be gained step by step. The effect of God’s Word rarely comes quickly. It is generally the result of the mind gradually opening to the light and the heart to God. When we despair and are disappointed that our efforts are not bearing fruit as fast as we want, we need to read this parable to lift us from our anxiousness.

This parable also teaches that at the back of things there is God. It is a parable to put us in our proper place. The earth makes things grow of herself. Man cannot make things grow. There are certain things that only God can do. In the last analysis it is not man who brings in the Kingdom but God who gives it. God has not resigned His lordship over it into our hands. The salvation of the world, which has already been accomplished, is not our work. However, as Christians, there is the danger of stopping there.

We cannot say that we don’t have a role in His Kingdom. Though we can’t make the seed grow, we can see to it that conditions exist in which the seed has a chance to grow. Though man cannot bring in His Kingdom, millions and millions of people are living under such conditions that the seed of the Word hardly has a chance to grow.

William Barclay tells the story of a woman who was taken from a slum tenement for a day in the country. As she saw the green grass and the sky and the blue of the sea, she said wistfully, “It would be so much easier to be good in a place like this.”

Immanuel should be proud of its over a century of Christian witness and stewardship. It has sent its sons and daughters to the four corners of the earth serving out the message of God’s love. Not to be forgotten are people like Mitch Moore who saw a group of kids hanging out in the alley behind the Parish House with nothing to do but get into trouble, and transformed his vision for these kids starting with a basketball into HOLA, a model for character building of inner-city young people.

The fact that God alone can bring in the Kingdom does not relieve us from the responsibility of working with all our strength to produce conditions in which the seed of God’s Word and the moving of God’s Spirit will have the finest chance to work.

And finally, this is a parable of confidence. The process may be slow, but it is sure. This parable tells us not to worry. There is nothing so unstoppable as the power of growth. We only need to look around our church where the tree roots have uplifted the concrete sidewalks. Parenthetically, be careful and don’t stumble as I have on many an occasion. In the same manner, be especially careful when stepping over the cables when they are shooting movies here.

If we follow the right way we can leave the rest to God, for in the end triumph is sure. God sent His Son into the world because He loved the world, but if man’s reaction to Christ is a lack of interest or hostility, that person has judged himself. Paradoxically, the gift of God’s love, which was meant to save him, has in the end condemned him. For that person, the harvest has come because by his reaction to Jesus he has either included himself with God or excluded himself from God.