This sermon can be listened to here.
One of the most powerful things I have ever seen in my life was watching Tibetan Buddhist Monks slowly tap colored sand out to paint a giant ten-foot by ten-foot mandala at the Parliament of the World’s Religions held in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2015. Each time I passed, three or four monks dressed in their saffron yellow and deep maroon monk robes were leaned over intently and prayerfully focused on their portion of the mandala, working tiny bit by tiny bit. This was my first experience with a sand mandala, and so when I learned that over the course of 3-4 days, these monks would work sunup to sundown in shifts to finish this work, I began to wonder what would happen to it when the conference ended. And then I learned that when the monks finish the mandala, they almost immediately sweep it all up together into a big pile. The intricate work that took many men several days is prayerfully swept up by one person in a matter of seconds; it is a practice of impermanence and of gratitude for the things that we cannot hold onto. But when I heard that this was how all this beautiful work was going to end, I was taken aback – what is the point if that’s how it’s going to end, really? From the outside looking in it can appear almost foolish.
But point of the sand mandala is a prayer tool that has been used to try to teach a central tenant of the Buddhist faith: non-attachment; it is a reminder that no matter how large and grand or intricate the sand mandala was, once it is swept up, the world goes on. And today our Gospel texts center around one of Jesus’ greatest teaching tools: parables; parables, like the sand mandala offer one thing on the surface and a whole deeper and different meaning underneath. Our parables today teach us that God is a work in this world to bring about the kingdom of God, even if we don’t know exactly how.
First, Jesus compares the kingdom of God to someone who scatters seed, goes to sleep, wakes up, doesn’t really know how things like this work, and when it fully grows, harvests it anyways. It is an overly simply story where not a lot happens. And then Jesus says the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, sown into the ground, the smallest of all seeds, which then grows and grows and grows into the greatest of all…shrubs. Normally a shrub isn’t exactly something to write home about, but when a shrub is so tall that it can provide shelter for God’s creatures after being a tiny pin prick of a seed, that is quite the journey. But, in truth, both parables about the kingdom of God don’t exactly conjure visions of grandeur and success, and they aren’t even the complex parables that have layers of meaning that need deep analysis, they are more simple stories about the kingdom of God.
I’ve been thinking all week about what our mustard seed/kingdom-of-God-like-shrub in Southcentral Kentucky would be, and I’m convinced that the kingdom of God is like pokeweed. Pokeweed, if you aren’t familiar by that name, maybe you call it inkberry or poke sallet, or maybe if you are a farmer or tend to your yard or landscaping you have a few other choice names for this exceptionally persistent plant.
The kingdom of God is like pokeweed because once it takes roots, it is pointless to try to stop it, because any expectations you put on it – how to contain or control it, should all be chucked out the window. The kingdom of God is like pokeweed because it can survive no matter what happens around it. Smothered under oppressive forces, like a sidewalk or maybe an upcoming national election? Pokeweed and prayer can get through.
And the kingdom of God is like pokeweed because it annoys some and delights others, and it all depends on your perspective. I think that the kingdom of God is not something that everybody’s going to be excited about because, similar to pokeweed, it’s got some draw backs, but for those that find rest and care, it is absolutely worth it.
Whether it’s the scattered seeds, or the mustard seed, or even the pokeweed, these are all metaphors that are not about helping us understand literally how the kingdom of God works, but trying to teach us deeper lessons about the intrinsic nature of what the kingdom of God is like, much like the practice of the sand mandala for the Buddhist Monks. What we learn from our gospel lesson and the parables of the seed scatterer and of the mustard seed shrub is that not all of Jesus’ parables need to be dissected and analyzed; these are simple stories about the frivolous, foolish work of the kingdom of God.
Now, hear me out—it’s not that the Kingdom of God that is foolish, rather it is our assumption and belief that it’s our job to make it happen. The person who scatters the seeds in Jesus’ parable? Absolutely clueless, but still played a vital role in the work of the kingdom of God. Somehow there is a narrative in modern-day Christianity that we must carry so much more than Christ asks of us, which is a convenient excuse to get out of the work we don’t want to do. There is no way for us to prove our worthiness to God, there is no audition for the job of kingdom of God seed scatterer. What if instead of wearing ourselves out with the heavy lifting making sure everything is in alignment or trying to make sure that we are good enough or Christian enough to partner with God, that we instead engaged in the frivolous, foolish work of the kingdom of God and began joyfully and prayerfully scattering seeds?
Church, this our job, our only job as Christians is to believe fully that when we scatter the seeds of the kingdom of God – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – that somehow, we will go to sleep, the seeds will sprout, and the harvest will come. It is frivolous, foolish work to believe that in light of all the heaviness of the world around us that things as simple as this could have an impact without us forcing a way forward, but with Christ, all things are possible. And if there is one thing I’ve learned while living in Southcentral Kentucky, there’s no stopping pokeweed, and what I’ve learned in my time here at Christ Church is that there is no stopping the kingdom of God. Amen.
A sermon delivered to the people of God on June 16, 2024 for Proper 6B on Mark4:26-34 at Christ Episcopal Church in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Becca Kello 
Wonderful, and so encouraging to me!