July 16: The Compost Bin

THE WORD IN THE GOSPEL

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Jesus went out of the house and sat down beside the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he climbed into a boat and sat down. The whole crowd was standing on the shore.

He said many things to them in parables: “A farmer went out to scatter seed. As he was scattering seed, some fell on the path, and birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on rocky ground where the soil was shallow. They sprouted immediately because the soil wasn’t deep. But when the sun came up, it scorched the plants, and they dried up because they had no roots. Other seed fell among thorny plants. The thorny plants grew and choked them. Other seed fell on good soil and bore fruit, in one case a yield of one hundred to one, in another case a yield of sixty to one, and in another case a yield of thirty to one.”

[Jesus continued,] “Consider this parable of the farmer. Whenever people hear the word about the kingdom and don’t understand it, the evil one comes and carries off what was planted in their hearts. This is the seed that was sown on the path. As for the seed that was spread on rocky ground, this refers to people who hear the word and immediately receive it joyfully. Because they have no roots, they last for only a little while. When they experience distress or abuse because of the word, they immediately fall away. As for the seed that was spread among thorny plants, this refers to those who hear the word, but the worries of this life and the false appeal of wealth choke the word, and it bears no fruit. As for what was planted on good soil, this refers to those who hear and understand, and bear fruit and produce—in one case a yield of one hundred to one, in another case a yield of sixty to one, and in another case a yield of thirty to one.”

THE MESSAGE   “The Compost Bin”

I have found that there are several ways of getting people’s attention right at the beginning of a sermon. One it to tell a joke. Another is to offer a bit of really interesting information. But perhaps the best way to make people sit up and take notice is to start the sermon with a confession. So, I have a confession to make to you today: I kill plants. I don’t just hurt plants – I outright kill them. I have the opposite of a green thumb. A brown thumb, maybe? No matter how hard I try, plants don’t stand a chance with me.

In my attempts to redeem myself from the horrible legacy of all the plants I’ve managed to kill over the years, I’ve tried to learn about gardening. I’ve read books, I’ve gone to local garden club meetings, I’ve talked to people who are good gardeners. But it doesn’t matter. I simply cannot keep plants alive. In fact, in the last two weeks alone, I’ve managed to kill two plants and grievously wound two others. 

So, when I saw this week’s gospel reading, Jesus’ parable about the farmer who sows seeds in different kinds of soil, it kind of hit home for me. Three-quarters of the seed that the farmer sowed didn’t grow into healthy plants. The seeds that fell on hard, packed ground, or on rocky ground, or on ground filled with thorny weeds didn’t make it. Only those few seeds that fell onto good soil were able to sprout, grow, and produce an abundant harvest. By today’s farming standards, that farmer had a pretty poor batting average, but it was still better than mine.

I have a friend who is a certified Master Gardener. He grows all kinds of flowers and vegetables, and I’m so impressed by his garden. He loves to talk about plants and gardening techniques, and to share his wisdom. But you know what he love to talk about more than anything else? Compost.

He is totally devoted to the idea of making and using compost. He makes his own compost by taking all kinds of peelings and scraps from his kitchen – stuff that I just send down the garbage disposal – and trimmings and clippings from his garden, and then he puts them in a compost bin that he built in his backyard. He says it can take a year or more for this garbage and this messy waste, to finally turn into dark, rich matter with a wonderfully deep, earthy smell.

He told me that the resulting compost contains essential nutrients that can help turn regular garden soil into good, fertile ground for plants, and, when it’s mixed with other materials, it can be especially good for starting seeds.

It simply amazes me that, under the right conditions and with the proper care, messy pieces of garbage can be turned into something so useful and productive.

Now, back to Jesus’ parable. Jesus explains to his followers that the only soil in which the seeds could grow into strong and healthy plants – the “good soil” –  refers to people who hear the good news of the gospel, receive it, understand it, and then go and bear good fruit.

I started thinking about that good soil, and I realized that what makes soil good for growing plants might just be the same thing that makes the soil of our lives good so we can receive and respond to the seeds of God’s good news. What makes good soil in the garden is those composted ugly scraps that most people would throw in the garbage bin. And what makes good soil in us is sort of the same thing: the messy stuff, the scraps, the garbage, the pain, the guilt – all the stuff we’d prefer to throw away and forget. It seems that the kind of stuff that’s good for garden soil can also good for us.

One of the main themes in the Bible, and especially the Old Testament, is that life is full of messy stuff. The Old Testament is packed with stories about messes: the challenges, the problems, the sin, and the unfaithfulness that the people faced day in and day out. The stories of Abraham’s dysfunctional family, of King David’s unfaithfulness to God, of the people’s turning away from God again and again – all really messy stuff. But the people of Israel understood that being faithful in their relationship with God meant not trying to skim over, get rid of, or forget all that messy stuff.

The people of Israel understood that the God of Life is the God of ALL of life – not just the happy parts, not just the neat parts. When God invites us into relationship, God expects us to bring everything into that relationship: the good and the not-so-good, the neat and the messy.

And yet, I’ve known too many people who want to check the messiness of their lives at the door, especially when they come to church to worship. They want to hide the garbage and the scraps from themselves, from their friends, and from God.

But whenever we approach God, especially when we gather together to worship, we need to bring all of who we are, the good, the bad, and the messy.

If we come to worship without our messes and our problems, then our worship – and our relationship with God – can become empty and meaningless. Don Saliers is the author of a book called Worship as Theology, and he writes, “unless we, as a gathered community, can confront and live honestly with [the realities of life], our worship becomes a self-serving flight from what is real.” And, I would add, a flight from God.

You see, our worship and our faith can transform us and help us grow in faith, but ONLY if we approach God in vulnerability and with our messiness – only if we allow God, the Master Gardener, to work in us and through us. Because God can take our pain, our grief, our sin, our guilt – whatever – and turn it all into something rich and fertile, like the good garden soil that seeds need in order to become healthy plants. God can take the messes that we’ve made and mix them into the soil of our lives so we can produce an abundant harvest of love and mercy and compassion.

And that’s another thing about this parable of the seeds and the soil. It seems clear that Jesus expects that once the seeds that God has sown in our lives start to take root and grow, then we are called to go out and sow seeds of good news in the lives of others.

And that’s where the messy stuff matters again. Because I believe that sometimes, we are the most effective at spreading God’s love when we’re hurting or when we’re going through tough times. God can take our pain and use it to make the seeds that we scatter take root and grow in incredible ways, and sometimes in ways we would never expect.

I remember one time, many years ago, when I first felt called to ministry. My pastor at the time was very supportive of my call, and he graciously invited me to do things like hospital and home visits. One day, I was in a very bad mood. My ex-husband and I were going through a horrible time, and we must have had a big fight that day. The last thing I felt like doing was going on a visit, but my pastor asked me to go see a woman who was having a really bad day herself.

I really didn’t want to go, but I dragged myself there, wallowing in the pain and mess of my own life. But I was amazed at what happened once I got there. Because of the messes in my own life at that time, I was better able to relate to and feel compassion for the messiness of this woman’s situation. I was better able to listen to her, respond to her, and care for her. After spending almost an hour with her, I walked out of her house thanking God for first preparing good soil and planting seeds in me so that I could in turn share those seeds of love with this woman.

Sometimes, we can do our best seed-scattering in the midst of our messes. Because when we’re hurting, we can better understand other people’s pain. When we’re going through challenging and difficult times, we are better equipped to respond to other people’s situations with empathy and compassion.

So, as we all know, life is full of messes, garbage, things we’d prefer to just throw away and forget about. But it is those things, those experiences, those messes, that God uses to make us both good soil and good seed-sowers.

We just have to be vulnerable enough and patient enough to let the Master Gardener take our messes and our scraps and turn them into a rich and beautiful compost that will empower us to produce an incredible harvest of love.