The seeds of God's kingdom
23 May 2004 – Susan Graham: "God plants the seeds that will transform us beyond anything we can hope for or imagine into the people of God's kingdom..." The reading for Susan's sermon was Mark 4:26-29.
We've had beautiful sunny weather lately, as those of you who have torn yourselves from your computer screens for a few minutes will have noticed. Gardens everywhere are flourishing, and the Chelsea Flower Show is about to begin.
I've been following the tribulations and surprising self-doubt of my favourite garden designer, Diarmuid Gavin, as he prepares to be judged. So, with all that in mind, I thought I'd reflect on gardening this evening.
Gardening shows you the difficulty of improving on God's creation. You work like mad, and your plants die. You do nothing, and you find a carpet of yellow dandelions, which we call weeds because we didn't put them there.
Now, I am not one to interpret the Bible literally, but Jesus has some things to say about seeds and growth that I find comforting when I look at my garden. The parable of the seed growing secretly tells us that growth in God's kingdom is the result of divine activity, not human accomplishments. We don't make things grow, God does.
Even if I don't do anything, my garden will produce one red tulip, a few yellow daffodils and hundreds – maybe thousands – of dandelions. And there are two things to remember about this: one is that God grew it, not me; and the other is that the result, which in my eyes is a scraggly bunch of weeds, is God's idea of a bouquet.
But growth in God's kingdom has to do with our growth in holiness, our perfection in God's eyes. Have you ever tried a self-improvement programme? Then you know how hard it is. But growth in holiness isn't something we do, and so, in a way, it's easy. It's something we allow God to do within us. We have only to ask.
God plants the seeds that will transform us beyond anything we can hope for or imagine into the people of God's kingdom. These are seeds of patience, compassion and love, nurtured by the Holy Spirit who enables us to care for others, love our enemies and seek justice for all. This is God's will for us, and God's work in us, and like the seed growing secretly, like my bouquet of dandelions, it will grow and flourish. We have only to ask.
Rev. Dr Susan Graham is the training and development officer for the Methodist Church in the Bristol District and a tutor at Wesley College, Bristol. She is also an Anglican priest working in the Abbey Group of parishes in Glastonbury.
