MEDITATION – A Time of Growth

Refer to the annual report – all the ways in which growth was statistically evident at Knox in 2018.

We are prone to want to celebrate growth.

We assume, of course, that growth is the goal and purpose;

If we’re not growing, we’re stagnating – or worse, dying – neither of which are viable options.

And so we look at our numbers – numbers of people, numbers of activities, numbers of dollars and cents – and we compare our numbers against previous years’ and hope that the numbers are going up and not down.
And 2018 was a year of upward moving numbers – thanks be to God.

I will admit to a sense of relief when I looked at the numbers and saw the direction in which they were trending.

I interpreted these numbers to be indicative that our collective ministry was bearing fruit.

Upward, forward, measurable growth is the preferred option for any living entity – be it animal, vegetable or organizational.

The church is no different.

Church Growth has been the subject of books, articles, podcasts, conferences, lectures, workshops – for decades.

And still, despite all the Church Growth literature and programmes and efforts, churches are closing their doors because of declining numbers of people and dollars – and some are left scratching their heads wondering why, despite all their best efforts, the church stopped growing – indeed, it died.

To state the obvious – it’s a different world out there.
It is no longer the case that a good preacher, friendly people, age-appropriate programmes and sound financial stewardship will guarantee growth and long life for a church.

At one time, all the church had to do was open its doors and people would come in.

That day can only be seen in the rear view mirror.

So, what does the church need to do in these days?

How can the church hope to grow and thrive when what used to work no longer works?

There is a clue to be found in a close reading and consideration of the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven.

The clue is in looking beyond the obvious to the subtle – which is often where I think Jesus wants us to look.
The traditional – and seemingly obvious interpretation is in celebrating the tremendous growth that can come from tiny things.

Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree – so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.

Those in the crowd who paid close attention to Jesus’ words, and who knew their own sacred texts, would have heard echoes from passages in the prophetic writings of Daniel and Ezekiel, which spoke allegorically of a kingdom whose dominion extends to the ends of the earth – a kingdom which included the birds of the air – which was a common metaphor for Gentiles.

It is quite possible that Jesus was teaching his very Jewish listeners that the Kingdom of God was an expansive kingdom – inclusive of Gentiles, as well as Jews – a kingdom that would grow where it was least expected - and growth in this kingdom would come in surprising, unanticipated ways.

In looking at the parable of the leaven, I did some background reading that unearthed a surprising discovery.

Leaven, in the ancient world was NOT regarded as an agent of positive growth – but rather leaven was a symbol for moral corruption.

Bernard Brandon Scott, in his book “Hear Then, the Parable”, (p. 324-328) writes, “In the view of all antiquity, Semitic and non- Semitic, panary (having to do with bread) fermentation represented a process of corruption and putrefaction in the mass of dough…The physical characteristics of leaven support the metaphor for corrupting. Leaven is made by taking a piece of bread and storing it in a damp, dark place until mold forms. The bread rots and decays, -- unlike modern yeast which is domesticated….

In the (Old Testament) commands for the feast of unleavened bread, leavened bread must not be eaten and must even be cleansed out of the house…

The distinction between leaven as evil and the unleavened as holy is implied…”
And yet, here we have Jesus saying that the Kingdom of God is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour.

What are we to make of this?

Is it possible that Jesus is suggesting that the Kingdom of God might just come about through that which is presumed to be evil, unholy, hidden in that which is good?

How can that be? It seems obviously counterintuitive to our best understanding of what is right and good and proper – and Godly!

And yet, the parable of the Good Samaritan might support that view.

In that parable the boundary between Jew and non-Jew is destroyed.

It is the Samaritan, the presumed unholy, unclean, avoid-at-all-costs–foreigner who is the hero – whereas the presumed holy, clean, Godly Jewish man is the victim.

In the parable of the leaven, the expanding kingdom of God – the holy, the good – is pictured in terms of an intrusion of corruption, death and decay.

Jesus himself becomes a living parable of the kingdom of God in his constant association with the outcasts and sinners.

It’s not that he inserts himself into the world of the outcasts in order to bring holiness into the unholy – but rather, he enters the world of the outcasts in order to assure them that this, right here on the margins of society, is precisely where the kingdom of God is to be found.

Throughout the gospels, the Kingdom of God is present among the marginal – the least, the lowly, the outsider, the castaway.

“Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:14)

To quote again from Bernard Scott, “The parable calls into question ready attempts to predict on the basis of our knowledge of the holy and good where the kingdom is active.

Instead, it insists on the kingdom’s freedom to appear under its own guise, even if it be the guise of corruption.”(p. 329)

For our purposes today, considering the growth of Knox Presbyterian Church in Kincardine, I would encourage us to broaden and expand our understanding and expectation of where and how God is working in us, through us, and in the world around us – to open ourselves to new possibilities for the Kingdom to be evident in our midst – and to reaffirm the common vision that resides deep in our hearts – a vision of God’s kingdom of justice and peace for all of Creation – that might make its presence known to us in surprising, unexpected ways. Amen.