“Simple Gifts”

First of several stewardship sermons 2012

July 15, 2012

©Thomas B. Cundiff

 Psalm 46

Mark 4:  26-34

Psalm 46

          God is our refuge and strength,

          a very present help in trouble.

2       Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,

          though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;

3       though its waters roar and foam,

          though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

4       There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

          the holy habitation of the Most High.

5       God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;

          God will help it when the morning dawns.

6       The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;

          he utters his voice, the earth melts.

7       The LORD of hosts is with us;

          the God of Jacob is our refuge.

8       Come, behold the works of the LORD;

          see what desolations he has brought on the earth.

9       He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

          he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;

          he burns the shields with fire.

10     “Be still, and know that I am God!

          I am exalted among the nations,

          I am exalted in the earth.”

11     The LORD of hosts is with us;

          the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Mark 4:  26-34

The Parable of the Growing Seed

²⁶He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. ²⁸The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

³⁰He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? ³¹It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; ³²yet 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.”

The Use of Parables

³³With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; ³⁴he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

I. SOUTHERN LIFE -- SIMPLE LIFE?

Two television shows have peaked my interest found on the Arts and Entertainment, the A & E Network. 

 The first show:

 “Cajun Justice” is the newest of these shows about life in Terrebonne Parish – a parish is like one of our counties.  The population in Terrebonne Parish,  located in southern Louisiana, is about 110,000 (about half the population of Saginaw County).  Terrebonne is a 21 square mile parish with unemployment of 25%!  While Oil remains a key industry off the shores of Louisiana, most of the people in this Terrebonne Parish live off the land – farming, hunting, fishing and trapping. 

 Cajun Justice is a law enforcement-type show about Sheriff Vernon Bourgeois Jr,   The show is also about southern justice defined as a Napoleonic type of law -- established in 1805, where for the most part people regulate their own lives until you need the sheriff – and then the Sheriff becomes pretty much the judge and jury – the most powerful man in the Parish….this is style of law enforcement that comes from the French – i.e. Napoleonic type if law enforcement.   

We think it’s tough taking care of crime in some of our northern cities, I can’t imagine what law enforcement must be like in some of these places where people have always pretty much had to take care of themselves – where the only true law is of basic primal survival. 

A second show:

“Duck Dynasty” is the second reality show on the A & E network – a show that gets me laughing out loud – a show about the Robertson family running a multi-million dollar company that makes a variety of  “Duck Calls”…..the little gizmos used to attract and hunt ducks.  And the image of the Robertson family –  and again this is a real story about a real family – craggy, rugged men with long beards who like to live off the land.

One of these men on the show was heard to say: “All I need in this life is a good women who can cook–and the bible….and oh yes, also a gun.”

Favorite foods for the Robertson’s are what they can catch themselves, of course on the menu:  duck, frogs, raccoons, turkey, and squirrels.  They will even pick up ROAD KILL because the pelts are worthy money.  One of the Robertson’s said of salvaging ROAD KILL – when you see a $5.00 on the road, don’t you stop to pick it up?  It’s the same thing….ROAD KILL for this family is the same as finding cash.   

One episode that really had be laughing, when the old grandfather Phil Robertson went to do a “show and tell” at his granddaughter’s school and  demonstrated, to the chagrin of all the children and teachers, how to skin a squirrel. 

Life in the rural south!

II. SIMPLE GIFTS

Now to get to the point of this sermon:  One common thread running through these reality shows – these are people who thrive in living simple lives!  Phil Robertson says often:  “SIMPLE, SIMPLE, SIMPLE!”   Their motto or subtitle of the show:  GOD, FAMILY and DUCKS.  Can’t get much simpler than that! 

While we live in a fast-paced-high-tech urban culture, it is still possible to get back to the core values, the simple gifts God has given us that are in the end, all we really need. 

“Simple gifts”, my sermon title this morning is also our stewardship theme for this year.   Stewardship  doesn’t always have to be about church and budgets and money.  Stewardship as a concept is really more about how we manage our lives and resources with all that has been entrusted us to use in living our lives. 

North and south and east and west – from Amish communities to Native American Tribes to the UPPERS of the upper Peninsula, and the Appalachian people of the Ozarks – or those who live in rural Michigan or in the urban centers developing green space and urban gardens – perhaps you can now get my point. 

God is trusting us to use, not squander, precious resources entrusted our care.  God has faith in us to take care of this precious creation, as we have faith in God to take care of us.  Is this making sense:  God has delegated to each of us the responsibility to care for the simplest of gifts to be used to support what we value the most -- life in community, life in family, life in church – and life with God. 

True wealth doesn’t come from money or power or prestige or building up earthly kingdoms….but rather using our God-given gifts to benefit those around us and this world in which we live.  The Robertson’s say:  GOD, FAMILY and DUCKS.  I would have to say, GOD, FAMILY, CHURCH and EARTH.  And these are just four of the themes I hope to develop in pulling together messages related to our stewardship theme:  SIMPLE GIFTS.

III. JESUS PARABLES

Jesus likes simplicity.  He lived a simple life.  He chose twelve men to follow him….and they lived, as far as we can tell from scripture, simple down-to-earth lives.  The way Jesus passed on his message on to others – one ‘soul’ at a time, one gathering of followers at a time.  You can’t get much simpler than that.  Jesus teaches—then and now—how to live our lives under the guidance of the commandment -- the simple law of LOVE. 

“You shall love the lord your God with mind and heart and soul, and your neighbor as yourself!”

Jesus used parables, simple stories like the ones used in our readings this morning, two stories or parables to make profound affirmations about God. 

To think of it this way:  The disciples were asking tough questions that could stump the best of the prophets or Pharisees or scholars or theologians … they are asking:

“Teach us about the Kingdom of God.”

How do you give a simple answer to such a grandiose question.  I am faced with the same problem in preaching…..how to find simple ways to describe complicated things!   The parable of the mustard seed is Jesus’  way of answering this question that has immense implications when it comes to how we live our lives in relationship with God.

The first parable is of the Growing Seed .  It talks of the seed that is planted that then grows first into a small plant then a larger stalk – developing, maturing and growing, another key theme:  we are like the seeds God has planted….developing, maturing and growing in faith until we can harvest and give to others gifts that are meant to be shared – gifts of love and care and encouragement and compassion.  Sharing our resources with those who are struggling.  Sharing from what we harvest with those who are not as fortunate with what they have planted…..knowing that what god harvests from us provides spiritual nourishment for others…..and then as the seasons change the cycle of giving changes….and begins again. 

The second parable of the Mustard Seed, the smallest of all seeds – the seed that grows like a weed into a large shrub providing shelter for birds.  In the context of the disciples asking about the Kingdom of God, this parable becomes much more complicated in Jesus talking about all that we can see -- and what we cannot see -- that emerges from what is planted….all sorts of things beyond comprehension that God provides – simple gifts that grow into all sorts of things that surpass what we can possibly humanly imagine -- The Kingdom of God.  

I look at the large trees in my back yard.  I can hear the singing birds.  I assume there are some other critters in that tree….perhaps a squirrel or two…and nests….while I can’t see or hear all these things, I know these wonderful things are in this tree.  Like the Kingdom of God, I can only imagine what life is like in this beautiful place….this tree of life….. 

Another example:  When I was in elementary school the teacher would ask us to try to imagine a million dollars.  Now, of course we would have to say a trillion dollars –

For fun some trivia

                        One Million has 6 zeros

                             One Trillion has 12 zeros

                             One Quintillion has 18 zeros

                             One Centillion has 600 zeros

To try grasp what is infinite is to try to imagine all the zeros that could ever exist – and throughout time – and into the future – so what is God’s Kingdom?  BUT EVERYTHING BEYOND ANYTHING WE CAN IMAGINE – ALL GROWING FROM THE SMALLEST OF SEEDS—ONE SEED, THE FIRST SEED…..DEVELOPING INTO MORE SEEDS OF HUMAN POTENTIAL THAN WE COULD EVER IMAGINE!

IV.  HELP!

This theme, “SIMPLE GIFTS”  -- a huge topic.  In the four or five sermons I want to preach between now and the end of the year, I will want to hit on different aspects of this theme:

What has God PLANTED for us to use in our personal lives?  In this world?  In this church? 

What can we do, in simple terms, to take care of this earth God has entrusted our care?

What is calling us to grow, using the seeds of faith planted in each of our hearts?

These are a few of the themes running through my mind.  But I could use your help.  What are some of your ideas?  What would you like to see me preach when it comes to this theme:  SIMPLE GIFTS?

What I am asking is simple!  Give me some “Small Seeds” I can work with and plant in building worship services and preparing sermons.  Call me or write me a note.  Email me.  It will be easier, however, for me to remember your ideas of you write them down. And this tip:  There is no such thing as a bad idea! 

Also, if you have any resources, any favorite hymns, any scriptural texts you feel would tie into this theme, let me know!

V.  Conclusion

Back to the reality show “Duck Dynasty”.  The Robertson family, a down-to-earth family from Louisiana – they have become millionaires.  They have big homes and fancy cars, but continue to struggle with what it means to live with the core values given to them from their ancestors – and from God. 

What has caught my attention at the end of each episode – this large family of  ten to twelve or more relatives gather around a dinner table.  They join hands and they pray.  They thank God for food; for time spent together;  for laughter;  for blessings received.  

A hint as to what is to come next fall with this theme:  SIMPLE GIFTS?   For what do you give thanks when you get together with family and friends?  For what do we give thanks as a church? 

Finally, may God bless us as Christ’s church us using the Simple Gifts God has entrusted our care.

AMEN