Beginning the Growing Season
May 09, 2010
May 9, 2010
The Rev. Susan E. Gilbert Zencka
Frame Memorial Presbyterian Church
Texts: Ephesians 3:14-21; John 15:1-11
One thing about the long, lovely Wisconsin winter is that spring is really welcome. Although winter can always make a surprise return, as yesterday’s snowfall makes clear. Nonetheless, in our front yard, our garden beds have been full of blooming daffodils and grape hyacinths, and now the other perennials are emerging.
But this spring we received a notice from the local village department of public works explaining that our street is one of many that will be rebuilt during the coming summer, and that on the village right-of-way, the first full twelve feet of our yard, the village will be constructing a wide and shallow swale, a 12 foot wide, 12 inch deep ditch in order to redesign the drainage patterns of the neighborhood. From now on, each home will keep its rainwater on its own property, rather than all the rainwater flowing to the street and eventually into the storm sewers.
OK, we can keep our rainwater. But wait – 12 feet of our yard? The same twelve feet where the prior owner established three perennial beds to which we have added, among many other plants, 125 daffodil bulbs and 50 grape hyacinths? And did I mention that they were beautiful this year?
So this summer, Carl and I will be spending a lot of time watching the flowers come up, and then transplanting them to a backyard garden where we hope they will flourish and be even more beautiful. We don’t want to do it – we like the gardens just as they are. But we will pull up roots, and replant, and the reconfigured garden will grow, although it might suffer some losses in the first year or so. Change can be hard on a garden…and on a congregation.
Both of our readings today use the metaphor of horticulture to describe our growth as communities of faith – the metaphor won’t always hold, but there are a number of ways that we can learn from the gardening metaphor in thinking about congregations.
First, although they are natural, gardens require intentional cultivation to be at their best. So do faith communities – it is natural for us to gather with people who share our sense of what is most real in the world, but just like many natural things, it’s not always easy. And this is why so much of the content of Paul’s letters is explaining how we should behave. In this morning’s reading, we are reminded to be “rooted and grounded in love” and to love one another as Christ as loved us. We should understand that this will sometimes take intentional work – choosing a gentle word or no word, listening more than speaking, understanding that others have as much of a stake in the community as we do, and being willing to do the routine tasks of cleaning the church oven, taking out the trash, and collating the newsletter. Being a community takes a lot of work, and it is work to which we are all called – weeding the garden is not as much fun as arranging the flowers, but it is necessary.
Second, sometimes a little thinning, or pruning can lead to growth. I’m not suggesting getting rid of people, but we all might choose to get rid of some deadwood. And if people have left, or do leave, we can realize that it can be OK – even the most beautiful plant, if it is removed from a garden, may leave a place where other plants can flourish. Communities, like gardens, if they are alive and growing, will look different in different seasons. What is the deadwood we should get rid of? In a garden, we get rid of dead branches – those plants or limbs that aren’t alive. In a church, we might get rid of programs that are no longer life-giving and resulting in growth, personal or otherwise. I knew a church that had a wonderful Christmas program, a lovely Maundy Thursday seder, and a thoughtful Good Friday Tenebrae service. So they repeated those same programs every year – the same Christmas pageant, same Maundy Thursday seder liturgy, same Tenebrae service, year after year. How can we celebrate the newness God wants to bless us with if we are doing the same thing year after year after year? Traditions are fine, but there should be space to experience new things, too.
Third, it’s best for plants to be in the ground – potted plants can grow, but tend to get root-bound. Likewise, it’s best for congregations to be in the world, not just concerned with themselves. In a hothouse, everything may be just perfect, and yet a plant can only grow so much. When a congregation is spending more of its energy on itself than on reaching out in love and care to others, it may be living, but it is not in the environment God intended. Think about it – how many stories do we have of Jesus doing his ministry within the synagogue? And out in the community, he reached out to those on the margin. A church that is focused on itself is like a football team that stays in the huddle.
Fourth, what we’re planted in matters. Grass grows from the roots. My bulbs have a season of blossoming, and then a time of putting their energy into the roots – we need that too. We are to rooted and grounded in love – not in ‘niceness’. Love takes courage and energy and honesty and care. Love doesn’t run away from conflict, but is willing to hang in there, listening with care, and speaking the truth, yes, in love. Good rich soil often has a lot of composted matter in it – things we might have regarded as just waste and thrown away, but if we allow the garbage to work out, and over time to break down, it can become rich matter for growth. In a church this might be, conflict, differences between people, grief over things and people we cared about who aren’t here anymore. When we allow ourselves to work through these hard times, holding onto God and to one another, we may find a richness that would have been absent if we didn’t let the garbage in.
Fifth, what we’re planted with matters. Companion plantings can support one another, or interfere with one another. Tomatoes benefit from being planted with marigolds or onions, but they are incompatible with potatoes. Carrots do well with peas, lettuce and tomatoes, but they do badly with dill. Who knew? Unlike plants, we can choose which to do – we can choose to be supportive in our community, or to contribute to conflict. I went to a workshop on spiritual disciplines in youth ministry once, and I remember so well the presenter saying “You know it’s a Christian committee you’re on if you find yourself serving with someone you really don’t like.” We don’t have to like one another. Nowhere in the Bible are we told to like one another. There are always people we won’t like. That’s OK…as long as we love them. I spoke a little about love earlier and need to speak more about it now. We need to be very clear – Biblically speaking, love is not describing a feeling, it is describing our actions and commitments. We don’t have to like the people we love – if so, Jesus would not have told us to love our enemies. He’s not commanding us to have warm feelings toward them – we can’t choose our feelings He’s telling us to make loving choices, to choose loving words and actions, to commit to relationships with people whether or not we like them. And in the passage from John, he commands us to love one another, not only as we love ourselves, but even as Jesus loves us! These choices create real freedom for us! We are no longer captive to our feelings, but we choose our actions from the free space of our own integrity. Remember, we are commanded to love as Jesus loves – Jesus doesn’t love in a manipulative way, in order to make us do or not do something. And Jesus doesn’t love us because of anything we have done or not done, or because of who we are. Jesus loves us because of who Jesus is – and we are called to become people who love in that same way. Choose to be companions to one another – com-panions, people who break bread together, people who love as Jesus loves.
Sixth, gardens grow. We are called to grow, to become mature, to put down roots and commit to one another and to the place we find ourselves. This can be hard for some of us if we have been hurt before, or if we harbor cherished memories of another church, even this church at another time – but we need to be fully where we are in the present moment. Let this place nourish you. Grow together, and bloom where you are planted. In order to grow, we might have to give up some habit, or idea, that has been important to us in the past – growing involves changing. And, in order to grow in faith, we need to be intentional about engaging our faith, engaging each other, engaging God, and engaging the world – and this is one way in which the metaphor fails: unlike plants, we don’t automatically grow. What is that saying? Aging is mandatory, maturity is optional.
Seventh is that both are collective enterprises: the garden isn’t about the individual flower, and the Church is not about the individual believer. While many individual flowers are beautiful in a garden, and most churches have a number of outstanding individuals, both are more than the sum of their parts. The Church’s mission isn’t to make each of us happy, it is to gather us into a community that represents the Kingdom of God. Each of us should be asking the question – “am I connecting with others to serve the world God loves?” not “did I get anything out of church today?” It is hard, in our profoundly individualist culture, to fully understand the connectional, community nature of the Church. And we are hampered in our understanding by English grammar which does not distinguish, in the imperative, between the 2nd person singular and plural. Most of the teachings of Jesus and of Paul are written in the plural – so we are being told to abide in Jesus…together…and to obey his commandments…together…and we are assured that we will bear his joy, together. Just as a garden is made of many different flowers – tall, short, spring-blooming, late blooming, some with interesting foliage or texture, we in the Church are young and old, single and families, Democrat and Republican, wealthy and struggling, gay and straight – and together we are the church.
Eighth is exciting – in both gardening and the Church, we are part of the mission of God, joining in God’s continuing creation of the world. In the garden we are midwives, bringing new life into view. And in the Church as well, helping justice to emerge, compassion to be born, love to find new forms – and we are continually re-created ourselves, both as individuals and as the community of the Church.
The Church takes its mission from Jesus – just as God sent Jesus into the world to reveal God’s radical love for the world, so God sends the Church into the world to continue to bear witness to that love. In Jesus, we are called to be the new reality of the kingdom of God, being a people radically formed by love, and reaching out in that inclusive love to others. We are called to live out in the world the values of Jesus, the prophetic vision of God, a vision grounded in justice, characterized by love, and borne in joy. We are no grim reformers – we are people of joy, of vitality, of purpose and calling in a world that is hungry for meaning. The church is the mission of God , and I’ll be talking more about that mission over the next two weeks.
Finally, gardens can thrive and bear fruit, and so does the Church. Plants do best in what is real – sunlight is better than gro-light – being in God is different and better than talking about God. I love this passage from John. Abide in God…. We are called to remain in the living God. It is great to serve on committees, to do work for the church, to make friendships within the Christian community, to learn, and study, to give, to reach out, to be stewards, to care for creation. All of this is good. But, what set the early church apart was that people could see that the disciples were experiencing the power of the living God. Are we a memorial society or is God alive to us, and alive to others through us? Are we being formed by God as a people of God? Do we trust God? Is the kingdom of God is our primary reality? Do we understand that we are men and women of the living God, called to bear God’s love, God’s truth, God’s spirit in our lives and ministries. Abide in God, trust God, know that the living God loves us, delights in us, claims us and calls us to be alive in and for the kingdom, here and now. Thanks be to God. Amen.
The Rev. Susan E. Gilbert Zencka
Frame Memorial Presbyterian Church
Texts: Ephesians 3:14-21; John 15:1-11
One thing about the long, lovely Wisconsin winter is that spring is really welcome. Although winter can always make a surprise return, as yesterday’s snowfall makes clear. Nonetheless, in our front yard, our garden beds have been full of blooming daffodils and grape hyacinths, and now the other perennials are emerging.
But this spring we received a notice from the local village department of public works explaining that our street is one of many that will be rebuilt during the coming summer, and that on the village right-of-way, the first full twelve feet of our yard, the village will be constructing a wide and shallow swale, a 12 foot wide, 12 inch deep ditch in order to redesign the drainage patterns of the neighborhood. From now on, each home will keep its rainwater on its own property, rather than all the rainwater flowing to the street and eventually into the storm sewers.
OK, we can keep our rainwater. But wait – 12 feet of our yard? The same twelve feet where the prior owner established three perennial beds to which we have added, among many other plants, 125 daffodil bulbs and 50 grape hyacinths? And did I mention that they were beautiful this year?
So this summer, Carl and I will be spending a lot of time watching the flowers come up, and then transplanting them to a backyard garden where we hope they will flourish and be even more beautiful. We don’t want to do it – we like the gardens just as they are. But we will pull up roots, and replant, and the reconfigured garden will grow, although it might suffer some losses in the first year or so. Change can be hard on a garden…and on a congregation.
Both of our readings today use the metaphor of horticulture to describe our growth as communities of faith – the metaphor won’t always hold, but there are a number of ways that we can learn from the gardening metaphor in thinking about congregations.
First, although they are natural, gardens require intentional cultivation to be at their best. So do faith communities – it is natural for us to gather with people who share our sense of what is most real in the world, but just like many natural things, it’s not always easy. And this is why so much of the content of Paul’s letters is explaining how we should behave. In this morning’s reading, we are reminded to be “rooted and grounded in love” and to love one another as Christ as loved us. We should understand that this will sometimes take intentional work – choosing a gentle word or no word, listening more than speaking, understanding that others have as much of a stake in the community as we do, and being willing to do the routine tasks of cleaning the church oven, taking out the trash, and collating the newsletter. Being a community takes a lot of work, and it is work to which we are all called – weeding the garden is not as much fun as arranging the flowers, but it is necessary.
Second, sometimes a little thinning, or pruning can lead to growth. I’m not suggesting getting rid of people, but we all might choose to get rid of some deadwood. And if people have left, or do leave, we can realize that it can be OK – even the most beautiful plant, if it is removed from a garden, may leave a place where other plants can flourish. Communities, like gardens, if they are alive and growing, will look different in different seasons. What is the deadwood we should get rid of? In a garden, we get rid of dead branches – those plants or limbs that aren’t alive. In a church, we might get rid of programs that are no longer life-giving and resulting in growth, personal or otherwise. I knew a church that had a wonderful Christmas program, a lovely Maundy Thursday seder, and a thoughtful Good Friday Tenebrae service. So they repeated those same programs every year – the same Christmas pageant, same Maundy Thursday seder liturgy, same Tenebrae service, year after year. How can we celebrate the newness God wants to bless us with if we are doing the same thing year after year after year? Traditions are fine, but there should be space to experience new things, too.
Third, it’s best for plants to be in the ground – potted plants can grow, but tend to get root-bound. Likewise, it’s best for congregations to be in the world, not just concerned with themselves. In a hothouse, everything may be just perfect, and yet a plant can only grow so much. When a congregation is spending more of its energy on itself than on reaching out in love and care to others, it may be living, but it is not in the environment God intended. Think about it – how many stories do we have of Jesus doing his ministry within the synagogue? And out in the community, he reached out to those on the margin. A church that is focused on itself is like a football team that stays in the huddle.
Fourth, what we’re planted in matters. Grass grows from the roots. My bulbs have a season of blossoming, and then a time of putting their energy into the roots – we need that too. We are to rooted and grounded in love – not in ‘niceness’. Love takes courage and energy and honesty and care. Love doesn’t run away from conflict, but is willing to hang in there, listening with care, and speaking the truth, yes, in love. Good rich soil often has a lot of composted matter in it – things we might have regarded as just waste and thrown away, but if we allow the garbage to work out, and over time to break down, it can become rich matter for growth. In a church this might be, conflict, differences between people, grief over things and people we cared about who aren’t here anymore. When we allow ourselves to work through these hard times, holding onto God and to one another, we may find a richness that would have been absent if we didn’t let the garbage in.
Fifth, what we’re planted with matters. Companion plantings can support one another, or interfere with one another. Tomatoes benefit from being planted with marigolds or onions, but they are incompatible with potatoes. Carrots do well with peas, lettuce and tomatoes, but they do badly with dill. Who knew? Unlike plants, we can choose which to do – we can choose to be supportive in our community, or to contribute to conflict. I went to a workshop on spiritual disciplines in youth ministry once, and I remember so well the presenter saying “You know it’s a Christian committee you’re on if you find yourself serving with someone you really don’t like.” We don’t have to like one another. Nowhere in the Bible are we told to like one another. There are always people we won’t like. That’s OK…as long as we love them. I spoke a little about love earlier and need to speak more about it now. We need to be very clear – Biblically speaking, love is not describing a feeling, it is describing our actions and commitments. We don’t have to like the people we love – if so, Jesus would not have told us to love our enemies. He’s not commanding us to have warm feelings toward them – we can’t choose our feelings He’s telling us to make loving choices, to choose loving words and actions, to commit to relationships with people whether or not we like them. And in the passage from John, he commands us to love one another, not only as we love ourselves, but even as Jesus loves us! These choices create real freedom for us! We are no longer captive to our feelings, but we choose our actions from the free space of our own integrity. Remember, we are commanded to love as Jesus loves – Jesus doesn’t love in a manipulative way, in order to make us do or not do something. And Jesus doesn’t love us because of anything we have done or not done, or because of who we are. Jesus loves us because of who Jesus is – and we are called to become people who love in that same way. Choose to be companions to one another – com-panions, people who break bread together, people who love as Jesus loves.
Sixth, gardens grow. We are called to grow, to become mature, to put down roots and commit to one another and to the place we find ourselves. This can be hard for some of us if we have been hurt before, or if we harbor cherished memories of another church, even this church at another time – but we need to be fully where we are in the present moment. Let this place nourish you. Grow together, and bloom where you are planted. In order to grow, we might have to give up some habit, or idea, that has been important to us in the past – growing involves changing. And, in order to grow in faith, we need to be intentional about engaging our faith, engaging each other, engaging God, and engaging the world – and this is one way in which the metaphor fails: unlike plants, we don’t automatically grow. What is that saying? Aging is mandatory, maturity is optional.
Seventh is that both are collective enterprises: the garden isn’t about the individual flower, and the Church is not about the individual believer. While many individual flowers are beautiful in a garden, and most churches have a number of outstanding individuals, both are more than the sum of their parts. The Church’s mission isn’t to make each of us happy, it is to gather us into a community that represents the Kingdom of God. Each of us should be asking the question – “am I connecting with others to serve the world God loves?” not “did I get anything out of church today?” It is hard, in our profoundly individualist culture, to fully understand the connectional, community nature of the Church. And we are hampered in our understanding by English grammar which does not distinguish, in the imperative, between the 2nd person singular and plural. Most of the teachings of Jesus and of Paul are written in the plural – so we are being told to abide in Jesus…together…and to obey his commandments…together…and we are assured that we will bear his joy, together. Just as a garden is made of many different flowers – tall, short, spring-blooming, late blooming, some with interesting foliage or texture, we in the Church are young and old, single and families, Democrat and Republican, wealthy and struggling, gay and straight – and together we are the church.
Eighth is exciting – in both gardening and the Church, we are part of the mission of God, joining in God’s continuing creation of the world. In the garden we are midwives, bringing new life into view. And in the Church as well, helping justice to emerge, compassion to be born, love to find new forms – and we are continually re-created ourselves, both as individuals and as the community of the Church.
The Church takes its mission from Jesus – just as God sent Jesus into the world to reveal God’s radical love for the world, so God sends the Church into the world to continue to bear witness to that love. In Jesus, we are called to be the new reality of the kingdom of God, being a people radically formed by love, and reaching out in that inclusive love to others. We are called to live out in the world the values of Jesus, the prophetic vision of God, a vision grounded in justice, characterized by love, and borne in joy. We are no grim reformers – we are people of joy, of vitality, of purpose and calling in a world that is hungry for meaning. The church is the mission of God , and I’ll be talking more about that mission over the next two weeks.
Finally, gardens can thrive and bear fruit, and so does the Church. Plants do best in what is real – sunlight is better than gro-light – being in God is different and better than talking about God. I love this passage from John. Abide in God…. We are called to remain in the living God. It is great to serve on committees, to do work for the church, to make friendships within the Christian community, to learn, and study, to give, to reach out, to be stewards, to care for creation. All of this is good. But, what set the early church apart was that people could see that the disciples were experiencing the power of the living God. Are we a memorial society or is God alive to us, and alive to others through us? Are we being formed by God as a people of God? Do we trust God? Is the kingdom of God is our primary reality? Do we understand that we are men and women of the living God, called to bear God’s love, God’s truth, God’s spirit in our lives and ministries. Abide in God, trust God, know that the living God loves us, delights in us, claims us and calls us to be alive in and for the kingdom, here and now. Thanks be to God. Amen.