The Parable of the Tomato Seed
Jesus told lots of parables about seeds – just about every time he spoke of the Kingdom of God he talked about seeds. That’s how it starts and then it grows into something quite out of proportion with its humble beginnings. And we have little participation in that miracle and even less understanding of it. Our preacher last Sunday raised up two of those parables, the second one about the mustard seed that is a tiny seed yet produces a large shrub, home for the birds and shade for the lizards. I don’t know that Jesus ever told a parable about a tomato seed; that’s our personal parable. That tomato plant comes up every year in the planter out front, unbidden and unexpected. The only thing we do to encourage it is to instruct the gardeners not to pull it up as a weed. First thing you know it is larger than the shrub that is supposed to be the occupant of that space. Then it produces and almost endless stream of sweet little tomatoes long after other tomato plants have withered and died. Is there a parable there or does it do that just to torment me? I have a wife who loves tomatoes, so being the eager-to-please husband. I keep trying to produce some at home. “Here Honey, look what I grew just for you.” And I don’t start with a seed – are you kidding? I start with a plant. Not one of the little ones but a gallon size with yellow blossoms on it. Then if I get a couple of puny little hard, bug eaten fruits, I feel proud. My wife is politely appreciative of my efforts, then goes to the store to buy some real ones. But, I keep trying because there are only two things that money can’t buy, true love and homegrown tomatoes. Then I come down to the church and there is that tomato plant that nobody planted or tended and it still has fruit even after a frost. There must be a parable there. Could it be that sometimes the things you work hardest on fail and the things you don’t work on at all succeed? Maybe it means that since you never know what is going to succeed, just keep flinging seed. A sower went forth to sow – recklessly! – on the sidewalk, in the brush, where the birds feed. Preachers often use that parable to explain why things don’t work. “Well it was a great idea but the weeds sprang up and choked it.” “It looked promising at first but it had no depth so it withered.” But, the parable wasn’t told for that reason; it was supposed to be an encouragement – If you sow enough seed some of it will grow and produce a crop. If it ain’t happening, you need to fling more seed. Or perhaps we could farm smarter. These days, farmers have to buy their seed, special hybrids and such. Too expensive to sow it indiscriminately. My grandfather used a planting machine that not only put the seeds exactly where he wanted them but buried them so the birds wouldn’t get them. Jesus did both kinds of planting. With the crowds who followed him he distributed the blessings and the teachings like a sower. Just fling it out there. You never know when you might hit some fertile soil and something will take root. But, he had his own private garden that he cultivated in a whole different way - much more hands on and deliberate. These are the ones privileged to meet with him privately after the crowds dispersed. We ended the reading at the ninth verse; in the next ten verses the disciples come to Jesus and ask for an explanation and he patiently gives them one. The private victory garden that must bear fruit if the ministry was going to continue and the message continue to be propagated. Why did Jesus pick these twelve, such an eclectic group really. Except they had something in common; they were all young. They were fertile soil. Old people don’t throw down their nets and follow with no guarantees or even an explanation of what “follow” might entail. Old people finance such operations and wait and see from the comfort of home. Most of the people camped out in those tents in the “occupy” movement, braving the cold and the rain are young people. The old hippies from the 60s wish them well from the comfort of their retirement homes and their 401-Ks. Young people change the world. Jesus was 30. Tradition has it that Nathaniel was the youngest of the disciples – perhaps only 17. Let me remind you what it was like to be 17. At 17 is when you hit the most favorable ratio you will ever accomplish between what you know and what there is that is worth knowing. At 17, you pretty well have it figured out. After that, every door of knowledge you open, opens on a room full of ignorance and the ratio turns negative exponentially. When you are seventeen you can still get your mind blown and your heart set on fire. Philip told Nathaniel, “We have found the Messiah.” Nathaniel was unimpressed. It’s part of the character of seventeen year olds that they are largely unimpressed. “Oh yea, where did you find him?” “Nazareth.” It’s like saying Barstow – Pico Rivera – Trona. Philip is undeterred, “Come and see for your self.” But Jesus sees beyond Nathaniel’s youthful brashness and sees a depth of spirit – fertile ground for planting seed. He planted a whopper. He said, “Stick with me and I will show you the angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. What did that mean? Nathaniel knew what it meant and Jesus knew that Nathaniel knew what it meant – because Nathaniel had grown up going to Sunday school, learning Bible stories that he didn’t understand the meaning of but that were preparing the soil for the seed. That’s what Sunday school is for. Jesus sowed the seed in that prepared soil and a light came on in Nathaniel. It was that old story about Jacob and his dream about the ladder extending from earth to heaven and the angels going up and down. Except Jesus was saying the He, the Son of Man, was that ladder, the one who would connect the temporal and the eternal the mundane and the holy. Jesus spread the seeds of the gospel far and wide and commanded his disciples to do likewise – even farther and wider – “unto the ends of the earth.” But, he also carefully cultivated a private garden – twelve young people and also some young women who were caught up in the possibility of what he represented. He sowed the seed and nurtured its growth and something grew out of it out of proportion with the simple beginnings – the Kingdom of God. The seed took root and changed their hearts and they changed the world. This year, even given the tight financial situation the church faces, we voted to increase the hours and the salary of our youth director. Several asked, correctly, “How many youth do we have?” Is it good stewardship to invest that much in a couple of dozen teenagers compared to 350 older people? What if, because of our commitment to this ministry to youth, a dozen or so are introduced to the life changing encounter with the living Christ. What if they became real disciples – not just talking the talk on Sunday but throwing down their nets and following – where-ever? What if they caught a vision of what is possible directly from the living Lord himself? What if that happened because we paid special attention to tending the garden that is growing up right before us, and nurturing the miracle? Then some day it would be like that tomato plant out front, bursting into life and productivity to the surprise of everybody. Maybe the parable of the tomato seed is that while we are planning, prioritizing and putting in place all these valuable ministries, the ones churches are expected to produce, there is growing up among us, right before our eyes, largely unnoticed, a tender yet tenacious plant that could bear fruit beyond any of our official priorities or private imaginations. Maybe we only produce one or two. Look at the picture on the cover – beautiful and powerful even though only two. Someday, maybe after all of us have shuffled off this mortal coil – maybe after this church is closed and the land sold for condos – an interviewer from CNN will be asking this question, “Senator, congresswoman, ambassador, admiral, doctor, professor, your honor, Mr. Chief Justice, superintendent, principle, CEO, Fed Chair, mayor, governor, community organizer, mentor, Madam President – tell us why in a world so dominated by the quest for power and wealth, where honesty, character, virtue, even faith are easily set aside in favor of public opinion, popularity and elect-ability, you seem to have held onto those values that formed you and have influenced the world on the side of honor, justice, reconciliation and equity and peace? How has that been possible in your life and career? And that person will pause and smile and say, “Well I was part of the youth group at Covina United Methodist Church back in the early part of the century.” And the interviewer will say, “Oh yes, I’ve heard of them. They were famous for putting all their energy into forming young lives in the image of Christ. So you came from there – you need say no more.” It would have only taken one to make all the difference at Penn State. Just one person who really believed that morality was more important than football, and crimes committed against a decades worth of ten year old boys are more egregious that a besmirched career. They took to the streets in support of their beloved coach, but did anyone rally in support of all those children? At least Herman Cain caught a break, his sexual scandal got trumped. And when a debate moderator asked a question about morality and the presidency, the audience booed the question. What if we could sow into this amoral society, a few young people who are committed, really committed to the way of Christ? Wouldn’t that be some legacy for this old mainline church? This stewardship campaign we are in is not about paying the electric bill, it’s about changing the world – but, we have to pay the electric bill first. I don’t know how much longer this church will be here. Lots of our most committed members are getting old. Get’s more expensive every year to do business. New people coming in are not as able to keep up with the costs – many are barely making it themselves. I don’t know if we have what it takes to keep going indefinitely – but let me tell you what we do have – two dozen youth – something lots of churches dream of having. Nathaniels, Philips and Marthas and Marys, Peters, James’ and Johns – the sort of people Jesus chose to turn the world upside-down and bring in the kingdom of God.
Do you know what the bills in your wallet do while they are waiting to be spent? They exchange stories about where they have been so far. The 100 says, “I’ve been to Vegas, to Monte Carlo; I bought a first class ticket to Paris and a front row seat at the Mulon Rouge.” The other hundred says, “I do face lifts mostly and the occasional liposuction. The 20 says, “You guys are lucky, I’m always in and out of ATMs.” Another 20 says, “No, you’re lucky, I spent my life in a Mason jar on top of some guys refrigerator. Says he will let me out on a rainy day – must be a heck of a draught.” The last bill said, “I’ve been to church.” The others go silent. They meet so few who have been there. “So what did you do at church?” “I helped change young people into disciples of Christ and they changed the world.” There is a commercial that asks, what’s in your wallet. I ask, what is what’s in your wallet saying about their lives and purpose – and what are they saying about you, your life and purpose?
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