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When Trees Speak

Text:  Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Theme:  “When Trees Speak”

7^th Sunday after Pentecost

July 27, 2014

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Denton, Texas

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds[a] of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

47 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51 “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.

“Yes,” they replied.

52 He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

He was always talking about the “kingdom of heaven.”  He was almost a Johnny-One-Note on that.  Out from His mouth came lots and lots of stories about “the kingdom of heaven.”  There’s not very much about the kingdom of Israel or the kingdom of Palestine – both of which are in the news these days.  There’s nothing about Libya (where the U.S. embassy was closed yesterday) or Ukraine.  The ethnic background, the political point of view, how much or how little money people made, the economy (whether it be free market or command and control) -- all of that was certainly touched on here and there by Jesus of Nazareth.  But what He kept rattling on and on about was the “kingdom of heaven.”   It must have been something important.  Kingdom of heaven!   It sounds almost otherworldly.

So here we are, and, to a person, we are very much in the world.  Otherworldly stuff is the domain of creative people, screenwriters.  Besides, all of this talk of heaven sounds so religious.  People don’t talk about that much in public anymore.  There are so many differences of opinion, and we don’t really want to start arguments or upset someone else’s applecart.  So it’s best to keep heaven and religion and all of that confined to Sunday mornings. 

Speaking of being in the world, our own Beverly Hoch is very much in the world.  But she’s in another part of it.  She’s in Israel.  A couple of weeks ago, I told the Old Testament story of Jacob’s well from this pulpit and wrote about it in the Celtic Cross.    Just a couple of days ago, through the marvels of modern technology, I get this email from Beverly:

Dear Pastor Paul:

Just read your Celtic Cross article and guess what…that location is on the Yitav property!  I will bring photos of a ladder an artist constructed at the spot.  We looked over the Jordan valley where Joshua crossed over, too…  This has been an amazing time..we are traveling with such heavenly protection, no doubt because of the faithful prayers being sent our way.

She’s due back on Thursday.  But, for the time being, she’s in the holy land because of the One who told all those otherworldly stories; she’s there because of that mustard seed, that yeast, that treasure in the field, that pearl of great price, and the net let down in the lake.  She’s there because she knows something of the kingdom of heaven and all its treasures.  And she knows the power of music when it comes to sharing the kingdom of heaven.  The same goes for Virginia Thomas.  At her memorial yesterday at Good Sam, her love of music and the church’s song was evident everywhere. 

When Jesus finished his stories on that day, today’s gospel reports that He asked His listeners a question:  “Have you understood all these things?”  “Yes,” they replied.  Jesus said:  “Every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

My friends, we cannot rush back to the old in reaction to the new or because we do not like the new; neither can we run, full throttle, to the new with little if any regard for the old.  We need BOTH the old and the new if we are to be disciples in the kingdom of heaven.

A number of years ago, I made the acquaintance of an American Indian.  I can’t remember which tribe he was a part of.  We were outdoors as I recall.  He pointed out some trees to me.  He said, “We call them ‘silent people.’ Without saying a word, they tell us much and are valuable to us.”

What if trees could speak?  I wonder what they would say.  When you leave church (and most of you do through the big, red, double-door), look to your left.  You will see the largest, oldest tree on our grounds.  It has a huge trunk.  Obviously, for years it has had that wonderful balance of food and water.  The shade it offers is wide.  Then turn to your right.  You will see, still supported by stakes in the ground, the youngest and newest tree at First Presbyterian.  I’ve glanced at it so many times since it was planted.  There was a period when I thought it wouldn’t make it.  But look at it today.  It’s thriving. 

Some hold on to the old and cling to the past because they are afraid of the new.  They are, thus, immobile – or, as some say of Presbyterians, they are the “frozen chosen.”  Others rush to the new because they think the old is of no value.  “Forget the past; it’s all about what’s happening now.”

Both are wrong.

We need the old; we need to remember who we are and where we came from.  And we need the new.  As disciples of Jesus Christ, we have a mission in this world and not just an hour a week to practice for the sweet bye and bye.

Jesus, that great storyteller, gave His life so that we might have His treasure.  His treasure includes the best of the old and of the new, the best of the past and of the future. 

It’s an incredible life, really – embracing the best of the past as you look to the future with hope.  It starts with knowing that you are, as Jesus said, a disciple in the kingdom of heaven.  Don’t let anyone tell you differently –even yourself.

Take a look at the trees right outside our door. One is on the right, and the other is on the left.    Say a prayer for Beverly’s safe return and a thanksgiving for Virginia’s life too.  And have a blessed week!

Amen.

Have You Come to A Certain Place?

Text:  Genesis 28:10-19a

Theme:  “Have You Come To A Certain Place?”

6^th Sunday After Pentecost

July 20, 2014

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Denton, Texas

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel.

Abraham, Isaac, and?  (Fill-in-the-blank)  Jacob!  That’s right.  It’s always Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  People tend to get lumped together in one way or another.   Recently, a billionaire got lumped together with a Beatle.  Warren Buffett was sitting next to Paul McCartney on a bench in Omaha.  A young boy was there to get a picture of it that has gone viral.   With these guys it’s not wealth or fame that connects them, it’s a generational lumping.  Jacob’s dad is Isaac; Isaac’s dad is Abraham.  That makes Jacob Abraham’s grandson.  Three generations. 

The Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob collection of stories comes from the first book of the Bible:  Genesis.  It goes way back.  And immediately, we moderns might legitimately wonder what we can get, what benefit can be derived, from dwelling on these ancient tales. My goodness!  They didn’t have Pinterest and Instagram back then.  There were no cell phones.  One notes the complete absence, in these accounts, of high-definition televisions in the family rooms.   Obviously, it was a different time and a different culture, so it’s easy to dismiss the stories as being woefully out-of-date and just plain irrelevant. 

This past week, I came across this lovely little exchange.  There’s someone out there in the world by the name of Reddit.  Reddit answers questions.  One question went like this:  “If someone from the 1950s suddenly appeared today, what would be the most difficult thing to explain to them about life today?

Here’s how Reddit answered:  “I possess a device, in my pocket, that is capable of accessing the entirety of information known to man.  I use it to look at pictures of cats and get in arguments with strangers.”  We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?

Back to Isaac’s son and Abraham’s grandson, Jacob.  Jacob wasn’t out to take pictures of cats.  Neither did he wish to get into any arguments – although he was having a bit of a problem, some dysfunctional family drama, with his brother, Esau  (That’s another story.)  Actually, he was away from home and out on a journey in order to get a wife.  Having a wife sets it up for the possibility of a newborn child, a fourth generation.  By the way, it was Joseph – who ended up in Egypt – that turned out to be Jacob’s son, Isaac’s grandson, and Abraham’s great-grandson. 

One of the great takeaways from the Old Testament is that the Lord is into having a family.  Yes, it’s a blood family.  But it’s also a blended family and an adopted family.  God’s family is all kinds of family, but they are all God’s family. 

Jacob comes to the end of the day; the sun is beginning to set.  It’s time to rest.  It says he “reached a certain place.”  The name isn’t mentioned, so we can assume he’s out there in the middle of nowhere.  There’s nothing about a tent, or a Coleman grill, or continental breakfast in the lobby. 

He lies down, and employs a rock for his pillow.  He has a dream while asleep.  It features a stairway.  Angels, those messengers of God, are going up the stairs and coming down the stairs.  Earth is connected to heaven.  

The Lord stood at the stop of the staircase, we are told.  From that point, he made promises to Jacob.  One of them was this:  “Through you and your offspring, all peoples on earth will be blessed.” 

When Jacob got up the next morning, he thought:  “Surely, the Lord was in this place and I did not know it.”  We are told that the dream scared him.  But it wasn’t a self-centered fear.  It was a godly one.  He exclaimed:  “How awesome is this place!  This is none other than the house of God and the gate of heaven.” 

Again, it was right out there in the middle of nowhere. 

He took the pillow/rock and set it up as a monument – out there in the middle of nowhere.  He poured oil on it in an act of consecration and worship.  He called that place “Bethel” (meaning:  “house of God”).  That’s where the Lord caught up with him – out there in the middle of nowhere.  That certain place became, for him, the house of God.  He would never forget it.

Where has the Lord caught up with you?  Like Jacob, have you ever come to a “certain place” where you’d least expect the Lord to show up?  Can you look back upon your life and think:  “The Lord was with me in that place, and I didn’t even know it.”  Have you arrived at a certain place that has become your Bethel?

You may have been lost and all alone.  But something dawned upon you; something happened to you that reassured you that you were found and you were not alone.  You weren’t disconnected.  With the image from Jacob’s dream in mind, God was only a staircase away.  Angels came down with God’s messages for you, and angels went back up the stairs with your prayers.

Without a certain place like that, without a Bethel, we may be resigned to looking at pictures of cats and getting into arguments with strangers.  In other words, without connection to God there is the prospect of endless existential despair.  There is no Bethel; there is no staircase; there is no connection.  We’re out there alone and dangling and disconnected – from God, from others, from family.  Life is about looking out for number one – no one else will.  You’d better make the most of it now because you might be fertilizing daffodils tomorrow.  “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.”  If there is a god, god is good only insofar as he dulls our pain receptors.  At least give us a comfortable pillow and not rocks to lay our heads on at night. 

Years after Jacob came to his Bethel, a promised offspring of Jacob’s family – generations removed – said:  “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has no place to lay his head.”  His Name was Jesus.  To one of his followers named Nathanael, he said:  “You shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”  Said differently, you aren’t disconnected now and you won’t be disconnected in the future.  You are family.

That descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that Son of Man and Son of God named Jesus, went to great lengths – all the way through cross and grave – to assure and reassure us that we are God’s family. 

Join me this summer Sunday in remembering, in treasuring, in cherishing those moments in life where we have come to a certain place.  And there in that place, sometimes out in the middle of nowhere, we are reminded that we are not alone.  We are God’s family and we are blessed.  Oh, what a beautiful morning!  Welcome to Bethel.

Amen.

With All Thy Getting, Get Understanding!

Text:  Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Theme:  "With All Thy Getting, Get Understanding"

5th Sunday after Pentecost

July 13, 2014

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Denton, Texas

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. ² Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. ³ Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. ⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.²⁰ The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. ²² The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²³ But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

He "went out of the house and sat by the lake," it says.  Summer is good for that sort of thing -- getting out of the house and going to the lake.  Some did that on the 4th of Jly!   Were there mosquitoes?  We are not told.   "Summertime -- and the livin' is easy.  Catish are jumpin' and the cotton is high," says Gershwin.  We're in those Gershwin-esque days in the calendar year and the church year.  Where are we at -- at about the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost?  That's right; that's it.  After awhile, the Sundays -- like watercolors --  all start to run together. 

Speaking of color, green is prominent for the days of summer.   Biologically, it's chlorophyll that makes things green.  Spiritually and theologically, it's the Word of God that does that.  It "produces a crop," says Jesus in our text, "yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."  Indeed, with the Word of God the church is going green in the Jesus way of going green.

During summer, the good folks who put together our lectionary give us a bushel basketful of the stories Jesus told.  Everyone loves a good story!  The church, in turn, sighs, sits back, and lets the Lord spin a yarn.  They've been called "parables".  People gobbled them up -- like tomatoes from a farmer's market or from a church friend's garden.  One of the things people said about Jesus was that He "spoke with authority".  Crowds would hear Him "gladly".  One of the reasons why is that He was such the story-teller -- Jesus the raconteur.

One of the big tales he told, arguably one of the most famous, is the "Parable of the Sower."  In agri-business today, they don't speak of "sowing" seed.  They don't call farmers "sowers of seed".  What the farmer does with the seed is plant it.  Sowing -- tossing seeds hither and yon -- sounds careless.  I suppose it's okay if you're just looking for ground cover, but this sower is looking for a crop. So what a waste of good seed we observe in this story.  Isn't it better to plow, till, and furrow the field?  You've got to test the soil and prep the ground if you want to take the best crop to the farmer's market come harvest-time.

By the way, and just as an aside, this whole "soil testing" business was big in the Church Growth Movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s.  Churches were called upon to "test the soil" and "prep the soil".  Simply put, you target the seed -- the message -- to people who look like you, dress like you, make roughly the same amount of money as you, have the same politics as you.  In this way, you can produce a crop.  You can have church growth.  If you see sense something sinister in this, you're not the only one.

Back to the story.  There goes the farmer.  Seeds are flying everywhere!  "Look out!  He's getting too close to the path.  It's seed, not birdfeed!  Whoa, back up!  Don't fling that good seed over in that thorn bush.  Don't spray the seed over that rock pile.  Nothing can grow on that."  The farmer -- or sower -- is really quite reckless. 

"Reckless" wasn't my choice of words.   Martin Franzmann, a theologian and lyricist, put it this way.  Speaking of the seed of the Word of God, and, indeed, putting today's gospel in lyrical form, he writes:

Though some be snatched and some be scorched

And some be choked and matted flat,

The sower sows his heart cries out,

"Oh, what of that, and what of that?"

The sower sows his reckless love

Scatters abroad the goodly seed,

Intent alone that all may have

The wholesome loaves that we all need.

Parables aren't just yarns spun to a yawning audience.  They are earthly stories with divine meaning, with heavenly meaning.  And they always have a point of comparison.  "The kingdom of God is like...," said Jesus so often.  Then He would go on to make a comparison.  Here Jesus compares Himself to the reckless, careless sower.  The seed He spreads abroad is the Word of God, the good news of His Kingdom.

We are not ground cover.  We are created to bear fruit -- to carry the analogy through.  If there is to be fruit, there must first be the seed. 

It's not that the soil is unimportant.  Soil can be receptive or unreceptive -- as Jesus clearly pointed out.  "What kind of fool am I?"  No.  It's "What kind of soil am I?"  What kind of soil are we here at First Presbyterian? 

It's one thing to read the Word of God.  It's another thing to hear the Word of God.  It's yet another thing to study the Word of God -- alone or with a group.  Read it, hear it, or study it?  It makes no difference if it's not met with UNDERSTANDING!  Jesus says: 

The seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

I saw a fascinating picture last week; actually it was two pictures in one.  On the left side was a young woman.  Behind her was the American flag.  In her left hand she held the Bible.  In her right hand she held an AK-47 assault rifle.  On the right side was another woman wearing a veil.  In her left hand she held the Koran.  In her right hand she, too, held an AK-47 assault rifle.  Were I to caption that picture, I'd only need three words:  lack of understanding.

Far better than the picture, is a short Bible verse I came across again last week.  Actually, it's about half of a verse.  And forget all the fancy modern translations.  I like the old King James on this one, so I'll read it right out of Grandma's Bible.  It's Proverbs 4:7b:  "With all thy getting, get understanding."

We're all so very much into getting:  we want to get well; we want to get smart; we want to get rich; we want to get a tax refund; we want to get our country back on track; we want to get a job; we want to get a new car; we want to get someone or something that makes us feel better about ourselves; we want to get out of church on time to beat the Baptists to the buffet! 

The writer of Proverbs, likely King Solomon, takes them all on:  "With all thy getting, get understanding."

If we truly wish to produce a crop, to produce goodness for God, for others, and for ourselves, then we seek to understand the Word of God.

That Word will kill you.    "The Law kills," the Scriptures declare.  When a seed is sown in the ground, it dies.  "But if it dies," says Jesus, "it produces much fruit."  What emerges from the death of the seed is a new life altogether.  It is the Gospel that does that; it is the good news that God so loved the world that He gave that Son who told the parable of the sower.  He gave that Son into death and raised Him from the grave gloriously so that we might live free, live forgiven, and live to bear much fruit.

My hope and dream is that we always be a church that understands the Word.  "With all thy getting, get understanding."  When the Word is understood, a bumper crop will soon be ready for harvest.

Amen.