Mark 4:26-34

June 16, 2024

The Rev. Todd R. Goddard, Pastor

Rush United Methodist Church

Mark4:26-34

He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”

He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

| Centering Prayer |

What is truth?

We live in an age where truth appears to be elusive.

Even facts are hard to come by.

Depending on your political leanings,

Either the election was stolen,

Or it wasn’t.

Either there is a deep state working

For the benefit of one or another,

Or there isn’t.

Either we are being manipulated by the Russians, Chinese, Iran, North Korea, or QAnon,

Or we aren’t.

Deep fakes, artificial intelligence, and machine learning

Make skeptics of us all.

What is truth? Plato inquired of his students.

“I’ll get that paperwork right over to you,” a less-than-reliable colleague promises.

“Yea, right,” I cynically whisper under my breath.

“When hell freezes over.”

We are told that our taxes will be cut while at the same time we are led to believe that more will be provided.

We are told that the newest and latest educational efforts will ensure every child will be prepared to enter the work force or attend college.

We are told that the way to riches is simply “a dollar and a dream.”

What is truth?

Plato taught that we could know truth if we could sublimate our minds to their original purity.[1]

It is my observation that the more we are subjected to the relativistic half-truths of the world the more cynical we become.

All politicians become liars.

All CEOs and members of corporate boards are on the take.

All clergy and church officials are predators.

All marketing people would surrender their first born to the devil if they could only land one more sale.

What is truth? Pilate asks his detained prisoner.

Cynicism breeds the whole grey area

of shifting sands, called relativism.

Truth is understood in terms of how it relates to other realities.

One person’s truth may or may not be another person’s truth.

Absolute truth,

the fact from which all other truths proceed and are judged,

become as dust in the wind.

We can all get along as long as we can tolerate other people’s world perspective.

But as soon as someone else’s understanding of truth collides head on with our sense of truth,

well, then, we have trouble.

The Survivor contestant

Makes an alliance one week

Only to betray their alliance the next.

The promising job appraisal one day

Is followed by layoffs the next.

The MRI is clean

Until it isn’t.

Israel says, “this is where the border is drawn.

It was established by David and

confirmed by the British in the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and

by the United Nations in 1948.”

To which the Palestinian replies, “who was here before Joshua?

Who was here before the British?

Who was here before the United Nations?

What gives you the right to take my home?”

“From the river to the sea.”

Jets are launched,

Artillery is fired,

and bullets begin to fly.

What is truth? Pilate asks Jesus.[2]

An all-to-common reaction to the fluidity of relativism is fundamentalism.

Webster identifies fundamentalism as

a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism.[3]

Christian fundamentalism can be summed up by the bumper sticker that reads

“The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it!”

Fundamentalism stems from natural fears that a person’s values, culture, belief, and faith are being threatened.

United Methodists are NOT fundamentalists.

But there is danger in dividing the world into two partisan camps – one being strict adherence according to my beliefs – and the other being “anything goes,” “live and let live,” amoral living.

Creativity is suffocated.

Honest inquiry searches for answers somewhere between these two poles.

Diversity has value – political diversity, ethnic diversity, gender diversity – and it is couched in the world between these two extremes.

God didn’t create us with the gift of free will and determination so that we could dismiss it, sit back, and allow ourselves to be spoon fed what others champion as Truth.

We aren’t mindless dolts, pre-programmed Lemmings set to work by some twisted cosmic manipulator.

No!

God gives a brain for a reason – to use it!

to reason with it!

to ask questions! and

to go about a quest for answers!

Stop.

Be still.

Think.

Think critically.

What is truth? Pilate asks Jesus right before he is sentenced to death.

This curious question comes as a response to Jesus saying

“For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”[4]

Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to the voice of Jesus.

Faithful Christians have been contemplating these words of Jesus for centuries.

Catherine of Siena,

Teresa of Ávila,

Karl Barth,

Paul Tillich,

… all the great writers and thinkers of Christianity have attempted to wrap themselves around these words of Jesus.

Earlier, Jesus taught his disciples these words,

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”[5]

Jesus is the truth.

He is the truth, personified in the world.

The gold standard for knowing what is truthful for the Christian

is to replace our human will

with the eyes

and ears

and mind

and heart

of Jesus Christ.

Substitute the self for Jesus – and your eyes will be opened to see the truth in the world unlike you will have ever witnessed before.

Look through the eyes of Jesus and begin to see people as individuals.

I see a CEO who is generous, loving, and kind

– who practices good  stewardship of time, talent and treasures

– who caries Jesus in her heart to every business meeting she attends.

I see pastors who love their people, politicians who serve their constituents, and bikers who motorcycle for Christ.

Place the heart of Christ within you, and experience the passion of Christian disciples

– coming from all walks of life

– with every possible skin color

– from every type of religious upbringing

– as we all work together for the completion of the Kingdom of God.

Experience the world as the hands, feet, eyes, ears, mind and heart of Christ, and your eyes will be opened to the half-truths and lies that abound:

Riches lead to happiness. NOT TRUE!

Pornography doesn’t hurt anyone. FALSE!

It’s ok to use drugs, so long as you don’t hurt others. LIES!

Hurt in a car?

Trust me! I’m from Rochester, not Buffalo. DAM LIARS.

Lies! Lies! And more Lies!

Not because that’s what I think.

I speak the truth because

Jesus tells us that we are to love others,

not take advantage of them or exploit them.

Jesus tells us to use our treasures to build up the eternal,

not to accumulate that which rusts and decays away.

Jesus tells us to place our trust and security in God,

and in God alone,

not in weapons

or power

or might.

What is the truth when it comes to matters of God’s kingdom?

Jesus tells us this morning,

“The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground.”

The seeds are nurtured

by rain, sun, and soil.

They grow to maturity and

produce abundantly, and then

they are harvested.

Now, if your mind doesn’t make sense of metaphors, I don’t know what I can tell you, because Jesus is teaching in metaphor. He does it to avoid premature arrest and death.

This is the truth regarding today’s lesson:

The kingdom of God is in a state of growth.

It is growing bigger and stronger all the time.

Take heart if you look around and feel discouraged about where it appears the world is headed.

The world is not headed straight to hell!

The world is headed straight to heaven

– it may just take a little bit of time

and a lot of hard work

for everyone to get there!

Focus instead on the Kingdom; where it’s been,

where it is at, and

anticipate where it is growing.

If you’re standing idly by,

step in and step up

to take your share of responsibility for advancing God’s kingdom – one step at a time.

Jesus tells us that we can compare the Kingdom of God with a mustard seed,

the smallest of seeds

but one of the largest bushes.

Do not look upon God’s Kingdom and underestimate it.

That would be a foolish thing to do. The point isn’t the size.

The point is the potential within.

With the almighty power of God, the extravagant love of Jesus Christ, and the unlimited influence of the Holy Spirit,

there is nothing that can contain the Kingdom of God.

Its potential is without limits.

Potential and growth;

what else is necessary to discern the truth about the Kingdom of God?

Potential and growth give a sense of hope,

of promise, and

something good right around the next corner.

When I hear discouragement talk in the church

– cutting missions, limiting programs, declining congregations, and dysfunctional clergy –

I know this isn’t talk of the Kingdom.

This isn’t what builds up the Body of Christ.

This isn’t the direction that leads to growth – in depth or in size.

Avoid engaging in this negative talk,

this attitude that is defensive,

this posture of criticism.

God’s Kingdom is always onward and upward!

Every moment is a new moment of creation,

a new moment of improvement, and

a new moment of opportunity.

The question that Jesus leaves with all inquiring Christians is

“which road will you follow?”

Will you tear down,

or will you build up?

Will you engage in the sin of the world or

will you take part in the redemption of the world as a vital member of the Body of Christ?

Just as the mustard seed grows from the smallest of seeds

to become the greatest of bushes,

so, too, are we called

to become the potential of God’s emerging Kingdom.

That Kingdom is breaking out all around us.

With the discernment of Christ,

opening our eyes to all that is true,

all that is left up to us is

how we will respond to his call.

Now that’s the truth.

The Word of the Lord, as it has come to me. Thanks be to God. Amen.

---

[1]           http://www.bartleby.com/81/16815.html

[2]           John 18:38

[3]           http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/fundamentalism

[4]                     John 18:37

[5]           John 14:6

Mark 3:20-35

June 9, 2024

The Rev. Todd R. Goddard, Pastor

Rush United Methodist Church

Mark 3:20-35

And the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.

“Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

| Centering Prayer |

Whoever does the will of God

Is my brother

And sister

And mother.

I was born into an ocean of grace

That has swept me as if in a riptide

To where and what and how

God has intended me to be.

It is as if

God’s will in my life

Has been a stream of living water

Carving a Grand Canyon

Sweeping me to where God wants me

To do what God wants me to do,

To be as God intended.

I’ve been surrounded by

Family living intentionally according to God’s will.

My mother, Alice, was God’s grace in the flesh,

A life filled with love, discipleship, and selfless sacrifice.

She took upon herself to scrub church floors on her hands and knees

And supply parishioners with a seemingly endless supply of apple pies.

My father, Charles,

Buckey to everyone else,

Led by the hand of Jesus

Through epoch naval battles

To the doorway of seminary

And eighteen years serving churches

As a pastoral servant in our annual conference.

Blood brothers and sister

All have led lives

Channeled by God’s grace,

According to God’s will.

Sobriety and service,

Teaching and study,

Volunteering in missions,

Raising Christian sons and daughters

Each according to their own call.

Steve, Cindy, and Bryan

I tip my hat and bow

That you have been responsive to God’s call and will in your lives.

The greatest blessing of my life

Is my wife, Cynthia,

God’s gift to me,

My center of gravity,

My confidant, my love;

Who’s life call has been to

Support mothers and babies,

Their health and wellness;

God’s will playing forth

By loving hands,

Kind words,

And a compassionate heart.

I pale in her shadow.

My sons have found God’s will for their lives

Through faithful worship,

Making family with people with physical and developmental disabilities,

Always supportive, strong, loving, and wise.

Their paths have been different,

Yet have converged upon the same,

Listening to the still, small, voice of God

And responding accordingly.

Whoever does the will of God

Is my brother

And sister

And mother.

I gaze in awe

At the families who have become

Part of my life and family,

Summer staff who have

Faithfully listened and answered God’s call for their lives,

Becoming local church leaders and pastors,

Teachers and captains of industry,

Scientists and clinicians,

Each, kindhearted,

Disciples of Jesus.

I am a brother to seminary kin,

Ordained and deployed across the globe,

Witnessing to the God of their experience,

Spirit filled leaders inviting people into a relationship with Jesus,

Serving in diverse locations and circumstances.

From Haiti to Nebraska to Israel,

Wow, I’m in awe,

Of the impact they have made

On behalf of Christ and His Church.

The ordained is to be granted the keys to God’s kingdom,

A responsibility I take seriously.

To be ordained is to have my call,

God’s will for my life,

Confirmed by concentric circles of discernment

That included the Pastor Parish Relations Committee of the Chemung United Methodist Church,

The Elmira District Committee on Ordained Ministry,

The Central New York, and later, the North Central New York Conferences Boards of Ordained Ministry.

My brothers and sister clergy

Form a holy sea,

Imperfect as we are,

Each traveling on the road to Christian perfection.

I am so blessed and privileged to dawn the stole of the ordained,

To take my place at the table of apostles,

Serving only the Lord, Jesus Christ,

His people,

His kingdom.

Family,

People dedicated to doing the will of God

Share a common baptism,

An invisible sign of God’s eternal grace.

The majority of my family

Are not blood relatives

Or clergy colleagues,

But the laity who lead local churches

Where I have been privileged to serve.

God’s will and call

Knows no bounds.

I’ve been holy collaborators with

Lay leaders throughout the Finger Lakes

And the greater Rochester region.

Oh, how I love you,

Your willingness to serve Christ and his kingdom,

Loving God,

Loving neighbors.

You are my mothers,

My sisters, and

My brothers.

My life and call to pastoral ministry

Has not been all mountain top experiences.

Our family has endured death, disease, and disappointment.

Some have wondered,

But, thankfully, have always returned home.

Through every trial, temptation, and sin

God never abandoned me.

I always experienced God’s sustaining grace

Through periods of despair, discouragement, suffering, and pain.

Life has not been always rosy,

But I’ve always been sustained by this beautiful ocean of grace,

Those of you gathered here,

And thousands surrounding us as a cloud of witnesses,

Strong, loving, present,

The Body of Christ,

Spirit filled,

Family.  

Families don’t always get along.

Pride, arrogance, and stubbornness

Have led to hurt and harm.

Yet, … even yet,

Our common baptism,

Our common love of Jesus,

Our common desire to do the will of God

Unites us,

Warts and all.

Whoever does the will of God

Is my brother

And sister

And mother.

Beloved,

And I mean that in the fullness sense of the word,

You are loved,

By God and by me.

You are loved by your sisters, brothers, and mothers,

Each of us cheering your successes,

Sharing in your brokenness,

Enveloping you with God’s grace.

Beloved,

You belong here.

Belonging is essential to family.

Play with children.

Teach youth.

Extend hospitality to your neighbors.

Increase your size with sincere invitations.

Be the Body of Christ.

Be the hands of Jesus

Doing the will of God.

Family.

You are my family.

You are God’s family.

Break the dam of hesitation

And love without reservation.

Amen.