Parables were a prominent genre used by the Rabbis of first century Israel to teach spiritual truths and tenets to their students. Jesus in telling his parables is simply using a familiar method of teaching as he seeks to tell his followers about the kingdom of God. The beauty of stories is they have many different messages and teachings contained within them. You can enter into a story through any of the characters and ensure that you will find a different interpretation from each of the character’s perspectives. For this reason, Rabbis did not give interpretations to their stories, but let the listeners seek their own message and insights from what they heard. This is why some biblical scholars question whether the interpretation that follows this parable is truly one Jesus gave, or if it was one that the writer of Luke gave to the story to address an issue the community he was writing to was facing. Today, we ask that you listen to just the parable, and to do so from the perspective of the sower hearing its message from this perspective.

Read Luke 8:4-8

When we read scripture, it is easy to place the Pharisee in a bad light as they often seem to be the antagonist in the stories of Jesus. But the reality is they were devout practitioners of their faith. They tried to follow Torah the best they could. Torah was seen as a gift from God. Sadly, the Pharisees had lost the original basis for Torah. They saw Torah as a list of laws that they followed to please God, rather than Torah as a gift from God to be followed to receive the blessings of life. Yet, in their hearts they believed that they were in fact walking in the life God called them to live, and being in the grace of God was indeed a blessing. So as you listen to this parable, place yourself in the character of the Pharisee, and listen as one who truly believes they are blessed.

Read Luke 18:9-14

Several churches back, one of the ministries I would do on a weekly basis was go to the local nursing home with my guitar and do a sing-a-long with the clients for about an hour. The favorites were the old-time gospel hymns. A person may be sitting in a wheel chair and appear fast asleep, but as soon as we sang, “How Great Thou Art,” something deep within the person was touched and they would become animated and they would bellow out the words with the rest of us. I did this for well over three years far outlasting the numerous activities directors employed by the home. In fact I am not sure many if any of the staff even knew my name. I was simply listed every Wednesday morning on the activities calendar as “The Music Man.” Needless to say that after three years I became close to many of the people, but I became especially close to one young man I will call Paul. Paul was in his early thirties, but had epilepsy so severely he was crippled by it. Consequently he was confined to a wheel chair and truly could not provide much assistance to anyone who was caring for him. His mom, who was widowed, did not have the strength to care for him so she placed him in the home. You can imagine how hard this was for a bright young man to be with a whole home of seniors, some who had dementia, some who were so physically disabled they could not even get out of bed. Many who were just waiting to die. Often I would stay after I finished playing and just chat with Paul if for no other reason just to give him a respite from his usual routine and environment.

Every year the local food pantry would have a walk-a-thon to raise money to buy food. Paul asked if I would be willing to help him participate. So every year I would go by the home and get him and push him around the route in his wheelchair so he could participate. Paul was our biggest fund raiser by far. He would be on the phone for weeks calling everyone he knew getting pledges from them. As we did the walk, we would have a couple of hours of laughs as he simply enjoyed being away from the home. And every year as we came close to the end of the route, he would all of a sudden get very quiet and even somewhat withdrawn, as he knew it was getting close for him to return to the home.

One day, as we talked after I had lead the singing, Paul told me he had set a goal of going back to college and getting his degree and then finding himself a job. I was surprised by his announcement and asked him what his mother thought about the idea. He said she was not particularly supportive, but he was convinced he was going to do this. As I left, I knew in my heart of hearts that Paul was about to face another disappointment in his short life. As I returned to my office at the church, and thought about what I had just heard, I cried for Paul and the many like him who face the constant disappointments life can offer. I have taken the time to share all of this, to show you that what happens next is truly an expression of experiencing another’s life for an extended period of time and feeling grateful for my life. After my cry I said a phrase that may be familiar to many of you. “There but for the grace of God go I.” Then I prayed the prayer of the Pharisee. “Thank you God for not making me like Paul, unable to fully participate in this gift of life.” And again, I truly meant it as a prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude for receiving the many blessings of life.

But, I had no sooner said my prayers to God as one of heartfelt thanksgiving for the life I have, when I had this thought, which I am convinced was God’s reply to me. “You have just placed more value on your life than you have on Paul’s. You are blessed and I am glad you are grateful for this, but Paul’s life is just as important to him as yours is to you, and his life is just as valuable to me as your is. Love knows no bounds.” I truly felt humbled and somewhat ashamed for my thoughts and my prayer.

When I was a member of the Western New York Conference our presiding Bishop had obviously had a very profound personal experience. I say obviously because I only heard him speak at Annual Conference and he told this story twice. A family he was very close to had a tremendous personal crisis. They had five children, four girls and a boy. The boy was the youngest and they kept having children until they had the blessed son to round out the family. The crisis was that one night the son was killed in a car accident. The Bishop, as a close friend was called and he went to be with the family. As he sat with the distraught parents the father in his terrible grief said, “If only it had been one of the girls. If only it had been one of the girls.” To which his wife simply replied, “Which one? Which one?” At first I kind of dismissed the story as simply the expressions of deep grief, for no one would be so arbitrary in their feelings for their loved ones, but then I realized it, too, is a parable. A parable that reflects the idea that at times we ask God to make a decision about life between those God loves. That one person or child in the family should receive more consideration than some other child in the family. And I picture God, in God’s love asking, “Which one? Which one?”

Today is designated Health Care Sabbath. It is a time we raise the issue of the disparity we see in our country as it relates to healthcare. But the reality is we could choose any number of subjects. For we see there is a great disparity in many places between the lives we live in our own country and around the world. And many of us, in our deepest sense of gratitude lift up our prayers and say, “Thank you for not making me one of those who does not face that issue in my life.” There but for the grace of God, go I without insurance coverage for me and my family. There but for the grace of God go I without enough resources to support my family. The list continues and sometimes seems endless.”

We had a roundtable discussion this past Wednesday on the issue of healthcare. One of the questions was, “Is healthcare a human right?” As we talked about this, someone raised the issue that our own Constitution says that all are created with inalienable rights. So the next question came, what does that mean? To which many said, “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Of course then we tried to figure out if healthcare, and again I would say many issues fit into these categories. I would simply say that when I think of an inalienable right, I define it as a God given right. But I am not sure it is the right question as we, as Christians, wrestle with the issues that so impact the lives of our brothers and sisters, the children of God in the family of God.

As we look at the parable that is often labeled the Parable of the Seed and the Soil, I had a purpose for asking you to take on the role of the sower. The Sower is often seen as God, or at the very least the one who is bringing the word of God, the teachings of God’s kingdom to others. In the interpretation, we are asked to understand the parable as the ones who hear the word and act upon it. But as we look at the parable, one must wonder about the sower. Surely the sower in the planting of this precious seed would have been careful with this seed crop. Yet, the implication is he sows the seed indiscriminately and freely everywhere. The seed lands in the rocks, in untilled soil, even in weed fields. Surely the sower has a little better aim than this? It seems to me that the parable suggests the sower does not withhold this seed, this good news from anyone. So I believe a very viable and very biblical interpretation of Jesus’ teaching is God’s grace is lavishly given to all.

As we have been looking at what it means to experience God’s kingdom, where we would look to find it in our midst, what we would see if we found it, we have utilized a definition by Marcus Borg that states, “The kingdom of God is what life would look like if God were king and not the rulers of this world.” And as I look at this parable, I wonder if we are asking the right questions about healthcare, and about issues that affect the children of God. The question does not seem to be, “Is this a right, or a human right, but is it a place where we should sow grace to all the soils, all the peoples in life?” How do we ask God, how do we say to ourselves, “Which ones? Which ones?” Which people deserve to receive grace and blessings and which do not?

In his book, Evangelism In The Wesleyan Spirit, Wesleyan scholar Albert Outler reflects upon the historical question of “Why did England not go through the same social revolutions experienced by both France and America?” He responds, “They did, but it was a different kind of revolution. It was the Methodist Revolution.” England went through tremendous changes as the Methodists introduced education, healthcare, labor unions, etc to the nation. In this country we have started dozens of universities and built numerous hospitals, healthcare facilities with the understanding that salvation in its deepest meaning means bringing healing to the whole body, to the whole person. The biggest question, Outler suggests is, “How did such a politically conservative, pietistic, me and God theologian start one of the greatest social revolutions of history? Outler’s answer is, “Once people understood how precious they were to God, and then realized that God loved all of God’s children just the same, they could do no less than make sure they had access to the best, quality of life possible.” Outler ends his thought with one more question. “Do e, as United Methodists, have one more revolution left within us?”

I do not have all the answers to how we make things happen, but I want to believe that I can at least find biblical understanding of how the kingdom may look and that I would recognize it when I see it.  My faith statement is, “It is not there but for the grace of God go I, but there is a life deserving the same grace from God I have received.” The kingdom of God would never ask the question, “Which one? Which one?”

Sermon delived by Rev. George Cushman on September 17, 2006.