This Sunday is Father's Day. Professor Alyce M. McKenzie tells us that Jesus' seed parables provide good lessons for fathers, and for all of us as we l;earn to live with the guidance and companionship of the Advocate, the Counselor, the Holy Spirit. Jesus called us his friends before his ascension, and prayed intimately for us to be one, holy, catholic or universal, and apostolic - live as called out from the world to bring the good news of new life in God's forgiving love.
In "What Good Fathers Know:Reflections on the Seed Parables" McKenzie tells us :"... the job of parent is to plant and nurture seeds ... For starters, these parables remind fathers that it's not all up to them. They have help from beyond themselves.Some parents are too controlling and want to tell the seed exactly what kind of plant to become. Some parents are too lax and don't help create good conditions for the seeds to grow. While other parents are like the sower in the parable of the growing seed, they sow and wait with patience."
What do Mark's seed parables have to say about growing the church under all kinds of circumstances?
Jesus' parables tell us to expect the in-breaking of God's kingdom into our every-day lives. John R. Donahue tells us to "look beyond what we see to what we hope for." That's what loving fathers do with regard to their children. McKenzie tells us:
"We 21st-century types want our lives to be full of successes and significance. We want our children to be impressive to the world around us. Jesus calls on us to have more patience with and respect for failure, hiddenness, and insignificance. They point beyond themselves toward the reality of the kingdom of God already in our midst. There is a message there for all of us in our relationships with one another today, not just fathers."
In "Just a Seed. Just a Kid. Just a Church," Joel Shuman considers the choice of the young shepherd boy David as king, the elevation of a poor Mid Eastern peasant from lowliness to sit at the side of the Father in heaven, to whom every knee shall bow, and the growth of a mighty tree from a tiny mustard seed, and tells us "God begins with weakness and impotence and insignificance, and God works through those things, and they become God’s salvation, even though the world is likely to continue to regard them as weak, impotent, and insignificant. God’s work in the world is the life together of God’s people, and in Scripture God’s people are seldom impressive by any standards except God’s."
We won't have class this week so that we can all enjoy the brunch fixed by the women of the church.
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