“Planting Seeds of Faith”

Mark 4: 26-34

Pastor Deb Troester, STHPC, June 16, 2024

Last Sunday I attended a graduation party for a member of our church, who just graduated from high school with honors. Many of you have known him since he was a toddler. We are really proud of him, as we are of all our young people who recently graduated, whether from kindergarten, middle-school, high school or university. Congratulations!

Several people who spoke at the graduation festivities mentioned that “it takes a village” to raise a child. He was reminded that he has many people he can turn to if he needs help or advice. I hope that is true for all of our children. I would guess that everyone here today wants all of our young people to succeed in life and most of us would go out of our way to help them in whatever way we can.

Growing up, I was blessed with a village, too – my church, school, neighbors, and extended family. My grandparents lived nearby for my entire childhood.

I thought about all this today, since it’s Father’s Day. Men sometimes get a bad rap nowadays – a lot is heard about “toxic masculinity,” and so on. But, thankfully, my experiences in life have been just the opposite. I have been extraordinarily blessed by good men all my life, including my brothers and my husband, all of whom have loved and respected me and have always encouraged me in whatever I tried to do.

Most of all, I would not be the person I am today without the positive influence of my dad and my two grandfathers, one of whom was a doctor, and the other a carpenter. My dad gave me a strong sense of right and wrong, and instilled in me the value of trying to make the world a better place. He served on our local schoolboard, and often wrote letters to the editor, for which he earned the “golden pen” award from our local newspaper. He was a civil engineer, who took pride in making life better for everyone by designing and building roads, reservoirs, and water and sewage treatment plants.

While I inherited the value of service to the community from my dad, my grandfathers taught me what it was to be loved unconditionally.

Both of them were always ready to give me a hug, or a kind word. My grandfather who was a doctor was always telling us how proud he was of us grandchildren. Every Easter he bought all the women in the family a beautiful corsage to wear to church – including me! He took me to see my first musical when I was 6, South Pacific – I fell asleep after the intermission. He treated us to restaurant dinners and vacations when my parents were young and couldn’t afford such luxuries. He and my grandmother loved to travel and they always brought us trinkets from the exotic, faraway places they visited.

My grandfather who was a carpenter always welcomed us in his garage workshop, to watch him build whatever project he was working on. Sometimes we could even help! He showed me how to make rough wood smooth by rubbing it with sand paper. He gave me rides on his Cushman scooter, which was like an early-model golf-cart. He built a swing set for us to play on. Everyday after school I would wait anxiously for him to get home from work, when I would run to him and hug him, shouting “Swing me, Grandpa! Swing me!” and he would.

He would pick me up in his sporty Karmann Ghia to take me to Sunday School, which started an hour earlier than church. Years later I found out that he had built the chairs, pulpit, and communion table that stood in the front of our church.

Growing up, there was never the slightest doubt in my mind that I was valuable, and I was loved. I realize now what a precious gift that was, that not everyone grows up that way. Maybe that is why Jesus said, “If any of you cause one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.”

Fathers have a huge part to play in the upbringing of their children. Grandfathers, uncles, and other men can serve as role models as well, and can help fill in when fathers are busy or absent. Never underestimate the impact your life may have on a child – for good or for bad.

Many people in my family loved to garden. My grandmothers loved flowers. Both of them had lovely rosebushes in their yard.

One grandmother loved pansies, and the other had planted fragrant magnolia trees that bloomed every spring. They both let me pick flowers from their gardens – just to play with, or to make a bouquet and pretend I was a princess or a bride. My doctor grandfather had a sizeable vegetable garden – he grew corn, tomatoes, potatoes, and cucumbers, from which he made delicious homemade pickles. Never mind how a doctor with a busy private practice had time to garden – somehow he just made the time – and we kids were always welcome to help him pull weeds! Of course, we might get some ice cream afterwards.

In our two parables today, Jesus talks about gardening - specifically planting seeds, seeds that sprout and grow – we know not how – but that, when full-grown, yield a bountiful harvest. He says that the Kingdom of God is like this. He also talks about the mustard seed – one of the smallest seeds there is, yet it grows into a tree tall enough for birds to build a nest in. Planting small seeds can have big results. I was blessed that many people planted seeds of love and kindness in my life when I was little. My parents and grandparents nurtured those seeds.

You could say that they fed and watered me, and protected me from the elements till I was old enough to stand on my own. They also planted seeds of faith in my life – by taking me to church and Sunday School, by reading me Bible stories, by setting a good example in how they lived. Who are the people who planted seeds of faith in your life? Who are the people who showed you what it meant to follow God? If they are still alive, Father’s Day is a good day to thank them. If they are not still living, give thanks to God for putting them in your life.

And now, that we are no longer children – in fact, many of us are getting on in years, with the gray hair to show for it – Father’s Day is a good time to ask ourselves, “What seeds are we planting in the lives of those around us?” Especially in the lives of young people who look up to us for guidance and for role models? The seeds of faith we plant now, we may never see to fruition, but someone has to plant in order for a seed to grow. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” Yes, God gives the growth, but God depends on us to plant and water.

Teaching Sunday School, helping out with youth activities, participating together with your kids or grandkids in service opportunities, such as the Santa Maria Urban Ministry work day, reading Bible stories to your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, just welcoming little ones in our church service, even if they wiggle or make some noise – all are ways of planting seeds of faith. Watch Veggie Tales or other Christian cartoons together, pray together at home before meals or before bedtime, share what God has done in your life; just spend time with your kids – these are things that will stick with them forever. Believe me, they will remember fondly all of the love you give them.

And what other seeds of faith are we planting? Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to the mustard seed, a tiny seed that grows bigger and bigger, until it provides shelter for birds and shade for humans. In my recent trip to Peru I saw many people planting small seeds of hope. Only fifty years ago, the Chillón River, just north of the capital city of Lima, was a source of drinking water and fresh fish. You could swim in it.

Unfortunately it is now a source of pollution, with both industrial and human waste pouring into it. People dump their garbage on its banks. We met a group of local citizens who have been working to clean up the river and its banks. They have created a green space running along the riverbank where they have planted trees and placed benches for people to sit in the shade. Children have made colorful signs with slogans such as “Whoever plants a tree plants hope,” “Let’s take care of nature,” and simply “Don’t throw trash here!” The problem seems overwhelming, but these small seeds of faith and hope for a better future can bear fruit as more and more people become aware of the importance of protecting the environment.

Also on our trip, we met German, a lawyer who has been helping families of persons murdered or “disappeared” during the 20 years of political violence in Peru between 1980 and 2000, mainly associated with the Shining Path Communist movement and its repression by the Peruvian government. Both sides were guilty of atrocities.

As a young law student, German was inspired to accompany these families and seek justice for them and their loved ones. To this day he continues the fight to bring the guilty to justice; some of the perpetrators are still alive, yet have never been brought to trial. His Christian faith has motivated him to stick with this task, and not abandon it, after so many years. He exemplifies Paul’s exhortation: “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.”

Not everyone is called to be a human rights lawyer, or even an environmental activist, but we can all do something. Some plant roses. Some plant pansies. Some plant and water trees or mustard seeds. What is God calling you to plant? Where is God calling you to plant your seeds of hope and faith? Small seeds can yield big harvests. Seemingly insignificant acts, done in faith, can have big results. Don’t give up. Keep on planting, watering, weeding, watching, and waiting. The harvest will come. Amen.

©Deborah Troester 2024