Perspective
Mark 4:26-34[1]
In our culture, we tend to think of our lives as our own to
do with as we please. Perhaps this is especially true when we’re young. But
when the responsibilities of a career and a family come along, we realize that
there are many others who depend on us. Paraphrasing the poet John Donne, none
of us is “an island” to ourselves. The point is that we’re all connected to
each another, and what we do or don’t do can have effects that we may not even
be able to imagine at this point. Both for good or for harm. I think that’s a
perspective that we’ve lost in our current setting. My actions affect more than
just my life, and so do yours. That’s a perspective that’s very different from
the one that most people adopt these days.
I mentioned last week that our perspective on things can
make a difference, more than we may know. We talked about adopting the
perspective that regardless of the difficulties we may face, we can hold firmly
to the confidence that God is working in and through us to accomplish his work
in the world, even though we may not know what that is. It reminds me of a
benediction that is widely known as the “Halverson Benediction.” Richard
Halverson was the long-time pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Bethesda,
MD. He was also Chaplain of the United States Senate from 1981 until 1995. The
benediction he is known for is one that he used in the Senate. There are
several forms circulating these days, but the most common one is, “You go
nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you. Wherever you are, God
has put you there. God has a purpose in your being there. Christ lives in you
and has something he wants to do through you where you are. Believe this and go
in the grace and love and power of Jesus Christ.”
It's a powerful benediction. I first encountered this
benediction when I came into the Presbyterian world 20 years ago. The pastor of
the church who helped shepherd me through the process of having my ordination
recognized by the PCUSA used a portion of this benediction every Sunday in
worship. I also encountered it at a Summer Youth program hosted each year by
the Synod of the Sun at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. They used it to
challenge the young people of the church to recognize that wherever they may
go, whatever they may do, Christ has something he wants to do through them
right where they are. Both in the church at large and with youth, I think the
point was that we all have a calling. We don’t have to serve in a specific
church-related position for Christ to use us to accomplish his work in the
world. In fact, it is precisely through all of us that Christ seeks to accomplish
his work!
I think we see this idea reflected in our Gospel lesson for
today. Both parables Jesus used compare God’s “kingdom,” or what God is doing
in the world, with the way seeds grow. And in both parables we see something of
the rather “understated” and “unexpected” nature of what God is doing. In the
first parable, the kingdom of God is compared to someone who “would scatter
seed on the ground” (Mk 4:26). I think it’s hard not to notice the lack of
effort on the part of this Sower of seeds. All he does is “scatter the seeds”
on the ground. There’s no mention of cultivating or tending the seed. Rather
the seed “sprouts and grows” but the farmer “does not know how” (Mk 4:27). The
idea is that the seed produces fruit on its own, in some respects unseen even
by those who plant it: “first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in
the head” (Mk. 4:28).
The next parable is about a mustard seed. The point of this
parable is somewhat obvious: the contrast between the beginning and the end.
Jesus says that the mustard seed is “the smallest of all the seeds on earth”
(Mk. 4:31), but when it grows up “it becomes the greatest of all shrubs” (Mk
4:32). He’s making the point that the mustard seed is tiny in comparison with
the plant that grows from it. In the same way, the beginnings of God’s kingdom
may have seemed unimpressive in Jesus’ day. In fact the work of God’s kingdom
may seem to be unimpressive in our time. But Jesus assures us that the result
will be equally surprising in all that it accomplishes in this world.
I think we’re meant to see a couple of important ideas in
these parables. First, the kingdom of God does its own work. When Jesus
proclaimed “the good news” that “the Kingdom of God has come near” (Mk
1:14-15), he was “scattering” the seed, the message of the gospel. That message
is like a seed that bears fruit “on its own” in the hearts and lives of those
who receive it. And this happens oftentimes without our even being aware of it.
Second, the work that God is doing in this world is surprisingly unimpressive.
That was true in Jesus’ day, so much so that it was easy for many of his
contemporaries to miss it. What may seem surprising to us is that the work that
God is doing in this world today can still seem rather insignificant. The
“hiddenness” of God’s work in and through us makes it easy for us to forget
that Jesus said this is precisely the way God carries out his work in the
world.
That brings us back to the “Haverson Benediction.” There
are some parts that I’m not so sure about. I understand that he believed
wherever we go, God has sent us there. My experience of life hasn’t always
confirmed that. There are things that happen to us in this life that I don’t
believe reflect God’s will or God’s purpose. They certainly aren’t consistent
with God’s character! Sometimes we find ourselves in places we never thought we
would ever be. Whether or not God has “put” us there is an open question in my
mind. I’m not so sure about that part of the benediction.
But I have no doubt that wherever we are, God wants to
accomplish his purpose in and through us right where we are. And that purpose
is to extend his grace, mercy, and love to all people. I also believe
wholeheartedly that Christ lives in us, and that he “has something he wants to
do” through each and every one of us, wherever we may be. Our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ doesn’t just do his work through people who hold particular
offices in the church, although those roles are important. He carries out his work
in this world each and every day through each and every one of us. So the
question isn’t whether Christ has anything he wants us to do. The question is
what Christ may be intending to do in and through us, right where we are. I
think that puts all of our lives, everything we do, everywhere we go, in a
whole different perspective!
[1] ©2024 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm PhD on 6/16/2024 for
Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
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