The 4th Sunday after Pentecost 2024
Texts: 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13; 2 Corinthians 5:6-17; Mark 4:26-34
The lessons today show us that sometimes the mysterious power of God is at work in the smallest of things, so we should never dismiss the smallest, the ordinary, or the unexceptional.
On the other end of the spectrum, on Friday millions from all around the world, the former British Empire, turned their attention to the ‘trooping of the colors’, the celebration of the birthday of the English monarch, King Charles III.
In the lesson from the Old Testament last week the people of Israel were begging the prophet Samuel to give them a king. There was a man who was tall, handsome, and noble—like George Washington. People would certainly follow him. But Samuel was reluctant to anoint any person to be the king of Israel because he knew Israel was called to follow God, not a king.
Yet, the people were insistent, so with the Lord’s direction, Samuel anointed Saul to be the first king of Israel. However, Saul was immediately disobedient to God, so he lost God’s favor. Saul went crazy with power and he did not trust God. Saul was in a battle in which he would lose three of his sons, and in despair he fell on his sword, he committed suicide during the battle.
The Lord then led Samuel to the family of Jesse to find Israel’s next king.
Like many in his time, Samuel would have assumed the Lord would choose the older, the more experienced, the wiser of Jesse’s sons. But Samuel, listened to the voice of the Lord, he was patient, he kept at his task, asking God to confirm the one. After Jesse had presented all of his sons, Samuel insisted, “Are all of your sons here?” “There remains the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” Perhaps Jesse too assumed the youngest would be least likely to be chosen by God.
David was the last son of Jesse—the youngest, after Eliab, Abinadab, Shammah, and all of David’s other sons. He was the last one Jesse would have thought to be a king. David was the one doing the most menial thing, tending the sheep, keeping them together while they grazed.
Well, the Lord chose the least likely son of Jesse to be anointed king. In monarchies it is usually the oldest who is supposed to be the next queen or king. However the boy who kept the sheep, David, the one who was not even considered by Jesse to present to Samuel, would go on to become the greatest king of Israel. And years later, Jesus, the Son of God, would come into the world as a descendent of David, through Mary’s marriage to Joseph, and possibly through Mary’s own lineage too.
There is a connection between the lessons from First Samuel and Mark’s Gospel—God chose the least through whom to accomplish the greatest feats—the greatest King of Israel, and through David the Messiah who is bringing the Kingdom of God. From the least likely in the world God is bringing the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God is mentioned 55 times in the New Testament. It is the topic about which Jesus taught most often. He primarily used parables like the two in the lesson this morning to describe it.
In the first parable Jesus describes the kingdom as seed growing secretly, quietly, without expectation. It is scattered on the ground, it sprouts overnight, and eventually produces grain, something useful.
The seed is the Gospel, the essence of the Word of God. It is read and taught to us from a very early age, we take it in, but it does not immediately, dramatically change us. The sprouting overnight is sometimes over the course of a lifetime. It is gradually taking root in us as we live and grow, and experience life—but only if it is nurtured in the company of fellow believers who study, and pray, and worship, and mentor one another. We do not just hear the Gospel once and understand it, just as Jesus did not just tell one parable to describe the Kingdom of God. Often that seed is planted deep within us and, if it is given the nutrients it needs, if it is steadily nurtured, it is growing silently, impacting us in subtle ways, forming us to see the world as Jesus does.
The second parable has to do with the smallest of seeds, the mustard seed. How can something so small become such a useful thing?
A former parishioner of mine was attending a family birthday party with his wife. His children and their spouses, grandchildren and their spouses, and a great grandchild were all there. It suddenly occurred to him that all of the lives and the life he was enjoying came from just one small seed of life. Through the life of even just one person, so much life had come into the world. There is great potential in the smallest of things, but it is God who brings it to be, who protects it and sustains it, quietly growing while we are busy attending to the details of daily life.
The mysterious power of God is growing the Kingdom, the time and place where the love of God will rule all hearts. Jesus does not give a complete, detailed description of what will be. He gives us glimpse of it, as we are able to understand it, using common images that are familiar to us—like seeds, and yeast, and fishing nets.
In Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians he wrote, “we walk by faith, not by sight”, meaning that we can have confidence that God is working in the world even when we cannot see it. Perhaps it is because so often we overlook the smaller things, like giving some change to a panhandler on the 30th time we see them standing at the stoplight, or one child forgiving another for taking a toy by deciding to share it with them, or feeling the nudge to pray for a friend without request. The goodness of God is at work in the world in quiet ways for those who have eyes to see.
So, even while the world around us seems to be chaotic, we can trust God, that good things will continue to come from him—peace, and joy, and true communion among people, life-giving and self-less love that is endless. God is still at work in his creation, bringing good through small things, the ordinary, the unexceptional. May the Holy Spirit give us the eyes to see the potential for goodness in the small thing, and the patience to wait. Amen.
