Thorns & Crabgrass

I’m kinda miffed at AGWAY.  I bought seed packs from them in the Spring–sunflowers, zinnias & bush watermelons–and they’ve yielded (so far) two scraggly zinnias, no sunflowers, and only one watermelon bush.  Did I goof, somewhere, or were these seeds somehow defective?   I guess I’m glad for whatever DOES grow; but it seems as though I shoulda received a little bit better deal.  (I can report that my crabgrass and bindweed are thriving!)  This weekend’s lessons are for pondering our plantings–and those of God.

The story of Jacob & Esau is shared with us from Genesis 25 beginning at verse 21.  Their mother Rebekah had all sorts of labor problems, for “the children struggled together within her” and finally were born in tandem.  My conjecture is that “they” were opposite sides of Isaac & Rebekah’s blessing, the Yin & Yang of parenthood.  Whatever,  the elder macho guy sold his  “birthright” to the younger stay-at-home brother, thus launching another episode between the Hebrews (Jacob’s descendants) and the surrounding peoples of Esau’s children.  Jewish readers of the Torah would consider Esau’s clans as crabgrass in the lawn, thorns in the harvest.  What races of “Them” do we consider expendable, in need of being excised?

In Paul’s heavy treatise on Ethics, his Letter to the Romans, we read of his concern for separating the “flesh”–tendencies to make our own gods/values–from the spiritual.  In other words, weeding our gardens.   “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on things of the Spirit.” (8:5)  Again, the Yin-Yang model which exists in humanity; is there still this dichotomy today?  Living ethically with God seems to be a deep-down question within each church-goer.  CNN & MSNBC devote their entire programming to this.

Matthew’s Gospel, 13:1-9, remembers when Jesus told the parable of The Sower; and later explained it (vv 18-23).  My friends at our Lectionary group think that the Sower is US:  we scatter the Word of Life to all we meet, regardless of whether we think that it will grow and be received there.  Good point.  But I’d like to imagine the Sower as God, freely shoveling Grace to all corners of the world and hoping for a harvest.  All of this seed is good and bears the potential for growth; it prospers as the soil is prepared.  Each hearer needs to name their own thorns…can they be eliminated?

So sing along with me this little ditty from THE FANTASTIKS:  “Plant a carrot, get a carrot, not a brussels sprout; that’s why I like vegetables, you know what you’re about…But if your issue doesn’t kiss you, then I wish you luck–for once you’ve planted childeren you’re absolutely stuck!    Every turnip green, every kidney bean, every plant grows according to the plot; while with childeren, it’s bewilderin’, ‘cuz just as soon as you think you know what kind you’ve got IT’S WHAT THEY’RE NOT!  So life is merry if it’s very vegetarian:  a man who plants a garden is a very happy man!”   Aahhh…!

In the process of unfolding,                                   Horace Brown King

My reaction to the Scripture readings of the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at this space of Facebook; or at horacebrownking.com