1 Samuel 15:34-16:13  Psalm 20  2 Corinthians 5:6-10,[11-13],14-17  Mark 4:26-34

The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.

We have followed the prophet Samuel since early childhood when he was serving in the temple under the guidance of Eli; we read of his being called by God to lead the people of Israel as judge and prophetic seer. Just last week we learned that the people of Israel demanded an earthly king – so they could “be like of other nations.”  Thus, under Samuel’s guidance, Saul was anointed the first earthly king over Israel.  

Fast forwarding to Chapter 15 of 1Samuel, we learn that Saul’s kingship did not go well; our lesson tells us ‘the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king of Israel;’ and Samuel was much aggrieved.  But, God tells Samuel to get over it and move on. Samuel is directed to fill his horn with oil and go to the home of Jesse in Bethlehem where God would show Samuel the one who is to be anointed king of Israel.  

Samuel, with some trepidation, journeys to Bethlehem where he is entertained by a parade of seven handsome, impressive sons of Jesse – none, to the surprise and consternation of Samuel and other witnesses, being the one God has ordained.  

“Are all your sons here?”  Samuel asks in frustration.

“There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.”  

David was summoned, and at last Samuel heard the words of the Lord for which he had been waiting, “’Rise and anoint him; for this is the one’… and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.”  David was to become the most celebrated earthly king of Israel.  Until this day, Jerusalem is the City of David and the Star of David remains the symbol of the Jewish people, just as the Cross is the symbol of the Christian faith.  “Yet the youngest,” the bottom of the pecking order, the keeper of the sheep, David would be the king God had ordained.

Samuel, the great seer, could not see with his earthly eyes all that the Lord had planned, but he persevered in trust that God would provide.  Our earthly eyes and minds and hearts cannot see as God sees.  As for Samuel, we are called to set aside our arrogant earthly assumptions that too often cloud our vision of God’s plan; we are called to wait patiently and quietly for God’s kingdom to be revealed.

In our Gospel lesson, Jesus uses agrarian references to help those gathered in his audience visualize the reality of God’s providence and the need to trust that providence, as did Samuel.  In the agrarian society of the first century, Jesus’ listeners could relate easily to the process of planting seed and working the soil. They knew well the engineering necessary for the selection of healthy seeds and the best location for their planting: How deeply should they plant the seed?  Would there be adequate sun and access to water?  Was there rocky soil that required digging out the rocks?  How would they best keep out the weeds?  How would they protect against predators or flocks of sheep grazing nearby?  And, what about the family cow who might enjoy a tasty treat from the new sprouts?  There was much to consider as planting began. 

Yet, after all that effort invested in thought and labor, their human efforts would not ultimately determine their yield.  In the end, the seed would be entrusted to God to give the increase.  It is not man’s engineering that makes that seed sprout and grow; that increase is nurtured within the mystery of God’s kingdom.  

A tiny seed is very insignificant in appearance.  We scatter the seed; we sleep and rise; the seed sprouts and grows.  Even the smallest of seed bears the great mystery that allows it to grow into an enormous shrub that provides shelter and comfort for God’s creation – a tiny seed encompassing a great mystery.

The tiniest, most apparently insignificant seed that becomes the haven of sustenance for God’s creatures; the youngest, most apparently insignificant keeper of the sheep who becomes the most exalted earthly king of God’s chosen people; all is the result of trusting the great mystery that lies in the depth of God’s kingdom.

Daily, we observe this great mystery; we see this reality of the seed sprouting and growing all around us – even the weeds that, irritatingly, seem to be the most prolific serve to keep us humble.  We are well aware that we don’t make this happen; God makes this happen.  

And yet, that trust – that same trust that inspires us to plant the seed with faith and confidence that God will supply its increase – that same trust is so very difficult to accomplish in our day to day living. How difficult it is to relinquish trustfully our need to control; how difficult it is to plant ourselves in the fertile soil of God’s kingdom and wait quietly and patiently for God to lead us to delight in his will and walk in his ways.  Why do we choose to hold on to so much fear and anxiety?  Our all-loving, all-powerful God has promised our provision and protection, asking only that we trust him.

Our earthly fathers, whom we celebrate today, have a lot to do with our understanding of our heavenly Father’s abiding trustworthiness.  We look to the ideal of the human family for this glimpse of the kingdom.  It is my prayer that your earthly father is or was one from whom you were best able to learn to trust.  Fathers, after all, (and, in actuality, all parental figures) have this enormously important responsibility to model the abiding trustworthiness and unconditional love of our heavenly Father.  As children, our earliest understanding of trust is defined by our earthly fathers.  As adults, we too easily forget the critical impact we have on shaping a child’s image of God – shaping a child’s understanding of trust in a greater power.

The 19^thcentury monk, Brother Charles of Jesus offers us a prayer for daily nurturance of our trust in God’s Kingdom.  It is entitled the Prayer of Abandonment. 

Father,

I abandon myself 

Into your hands;

Do with me what you will.

Whatever you may do

I thank you;

I am ready for all,

I accept all.

Let only Your will

Be done in me

And in all Your creatures,

I wish no more than this,

O Lord.

Into Your hands

I commend my soul;

I offer it to You

With all the love of my heart,

For I love you Lord,

And so need to give myself

Into Your hands,

Without reserve,

And with boundless confidence,

For You are my Father.

Amen