Roots to Branches

Luke 8:4-15

As many of you know, during the summer of 2006 Nancy, the kids and I were given the unforgettable gift of  a 2 week trip to Hawaii.   Somewhere in the middle of that vacation in paradise, we all celebrated my and Nancy’s 20th wedding anniversary by attending an authentic Hawaiian luau at a place called Paradise Cove.  Before the feast began the employees entertained and educated the guests with a series of rituals and demonstrations that showed us a little bit about the Hawiian customs associated with a traditional luau. 

There was  coconut picking, a fishing demonstration, music, and of course, my personal favorite, lots of hula dancing.  (My interest, of course, is only in  the historical and cultural lessons that can be learned by watching the movements of the dancers.)   Then, at the end of ceremony came the coup de gras, the pig roast.  The dancers all assembled in a central area and uncovered a pit that that had previously been concealed by a series of branches and covers.  Once uncovered, two of the big, strong Hawaiian fellows (that Nancy seemed to find of particular interest) reached down and  raised a huge roast pig from the pit.

There were smiles and rumbling stomachs all around as these fellows paraded our main course before us in ceremonial fashion.  Well, everyone but my daughter Hallie.  Hallie’s reaction was much different from the rest of us.  Instead of licking her lips and staring hungrily at that delicious hunk of roast pork, she was revolted.  Her eyes bugged out, her face turned white and she gasped in horror, “Is that a PIG??”   And in that moment Hallie Ann Hamby became a temporary vegetarian.    For that night and at least 2-3 months afterward Hallie did not so much as sniff one single slice of roasted animal flesh.  Not even what had previously been her very favorite food……bacon.  (How’s that for irony?) 

And we laugh, but I’ll just bet that  many of us are only a step or two away from finding ourselves in Hallie’s shoes if our circumstances were different.  Have you ever thought about how excited you’d be about eating that delicious steak this evening if you had to  raise and butcher the cow that it was cut from?  And how about something so simple as bread, the theme for our “Stewardship of Bread” emphasis?  Imagine if you had to  grow the wheat, harvest and mill the grain, then mix and bake the dough before you could sit down to eat that  peanut butter sandwich, which of course would have to be made with peanuts that you had grown, picked, shelled and mashed into that delicious luncheon spread.  

Like Hallie, the truth is that  most of us have little appreciation for all that goes into growing, harvesting and preparing the food that magically lands on our plates 3 times a day.  The problem is that we lack the perspective of the farmer.   If you’ve never been a farmer, then it’s difficult to appreciate all the hard work and sacrifice that enables us to simply go to the grocery store and buy a neatly wrapped loaf of bread or package of steaks.  Luckily for us there is someone here today that knows a little about the hard life of the purveyor of agrochemicals.  Yes, our own Deb Clark spent some of her childhood on a farm and she’s going to come now and tell us little bit about it. 

(Deb speaks.)

Deb’s done a great job of explaining to us the tremendous amount of sacrifice and hard work that goes into the discipline of farming.  This sort of sacrifice and hard work is also presupposed in  Jesus’ parable of the sower that we read this morning.  After telling this tale about the sower spreading the seed on a variety of surfaces and observing the varying results, Jesus went on to explain to his followers that it is really not a story about farming at all.  But instead it is a spiritual story, a story of the way in which God’s word is scattered in and through our lives like that sower spreading seed.  The upshot is, of course that  like in farming,  there are a certain set of attitudes and a tremendous amount of work required if we want God’s word to take root and bear fruit in our lives.

You see, in the same way that we are sometimes tempted to underappreciate the role of the farmer and the unbelievable amount of work that goes into putting food on our table, as members of a local congregation,  we are also sometimes equally guilty of selling short all that is required to carry on the ministry of our church, and what is required from us as individuals to support it and move that ministry forward.

Take this morning’s worship service for example.  Many weeks ago, our worship team gathered to begin planning.   Scriptures were chosen, themes were identified.   Donna’s display in the narthex was laid out.   Music was purchased and has been rehearsed for months.   The order of worship was planned, the information was typed into a computer and printed and copied into the bulletin that many of you are holding in your hand right now.   Deb and I spent many hours preparing the message that we are sharing, and even more time was spent  putting together the powerpoint slides containing song lyrics, announcements, and sermon highlights that are projected on the screen behind me.   Lots of people spent lots of time working hard in order to you to feast on this service this morning.

But if you didn’t have a hand in physically planning or carrying out this service, don’t feel left out.  Because there is another very real way in which pretty much every single one of you has contributed to this morning’s worship experience.  And that is  in the giving of your tithes and offerings.

Think about it.  The music that Deb bought had to be paid for.   The paper that your bulletin was printed on was not donated, and neither was the time that our church secretary put into typing, printing, and folding it.   In order for there to be music and a sermon,  Deb and I had to be paid, and in order for  the slides to be projected, and for  the lights and heat to be turned on, we had to pay our utility bill.  I could, obviously  go on and on and on to the most minute detail describing the many, various, and important ways in which your financial support of our church enables us to carry out the wide ranging ministry of our congregation.   And you see that without your support there would be little worship left.  Take my worship service example and allow that to be played out through all of our educational, fellowship and mission events and endeavors and you will begin to see that  from roots to branches your tithes and offerings are in a very real way the sun and water required to enable God’s word planted among us to take root and bear fruit in the ministry of the Quaker Hill Baptist Church.

And so it is my prayer that this week, and for the next three weeks as we join together in our “Stewardship of Bread” campaign, that you will prayerfully and carefully consider how it is that you can more effectively support the ministry of our church with your time and your tithe.  For if you do this, if you step forward in a powerful and meaningful way, then the fruit that the seed of God’s word will yield among us will be astounding.
Amen.