The Future of the Church

Isaiah 55:10-13; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

          Kelly and I went to Ireland a few years ago.  We were in the charming city of Galway on the Sunday of our trip and worshiped at St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church. The church was founded in 1320 and dedicated to St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors, or, as we better know him, the generous, gift-giving saint who gave rise to Sinderklass, Santa Clause. St. Nicholas’ Church is now 703 years old.  They operate a school, have numerous choirs, a mom’s club, and children’s programs.  During the time of greeting, a little redheaded boy with Downs’ Syndrome gave Kelly and me the warmest welcome.

          Seven hundred and three years.  Think of all the prayers that have been uttered there in 703 years.  All the sermons preached.  The baptisms.  Hymns of praise.  Think of all the people who have poured out their hearts to God there since 1320.  And know we belong to that.  And to Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, which we visited also.  It was founded in 1030, nearly 1000 years ago.  We belong to the Church, the universal Body of Christ, which has been growing and flourishing for over 2000 years.  Through those 2000 years, the Church has had its high points and its low points, its noble moments and its ignoble moments, those times when it was a pure reflection of Christ and those times when it looked more like the devil.  But the Church continues, and she will continue until time ends.

          Right?  The Church will continue, won’t it?  You may not think about the future of the Church very often.  I do.  I read about the downward trend in church attendance and participation in this country, and I’m tempted by despair.  Belief in God and participation in churches are at historic lows in this country.  Mainline Protestants—think Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, Baptists, and others—once the backbone of our society, are imploding.  It breaks my heart to see what is happening to our United Methodist friends.  Similar disruptions exist in the Southern Baptist Convention and other denominations.  We are fighting over gay rights, whether women can preach the gospel, abortion, clergy abuse, and many other things.  If I focus too much attention on this, I can become very discouraged.  When I get into one of those dark moods, I have to return to our text for today, Matthew 13, and re-read Jesus’ story of hope for the Church.

          We call this text the Parable of the Sower.  This would have been common imagery for their time, a farmer going out to hand-sow seed.  Today Jesus might have told of a computer engineer sitting down to write new software or a soccer coach corralling a group of boys and girls into a team.  Those are familiar images to us.  A farmer sowing seed was familiar to them.  Matthew notes that the crowd wanting to hear Jesus was so large that day that Jesus got into a boat and taught the crowd, which gathered along the shoreline.  What Jesus describes seems like a clumsy method of farming to us.  We are accustomed to farmers plowing their fields first and then planting seeds in orderly rows.  Palestinian farmers did it backwards from us.  They sowed the seeds first and then plowed them under.  So, the farmer wasn’t discriminating when he scattered the seed.  He scattered everywhere.  In this parable, Jesus said that the farmer cast his seeds onto four types of soil.

          First, Jesus said that he cast seeds onto “the path.” This path was likely made by traveling villagers during the winter season. As the farmer tossed his seeds left and then right, some seeds inevitably fell onto the path, but he was not concerned because the field and the path would be plowed under.  Then the seeds would germinate.  But Jesus said that before the farmer plowed under the seeds birds came and had a feast on these seeds. It seems like a waste of good seed, doesn’t it?  The farmer is not off to a good start.

          Second, Jesus said he cast seeds onto “rocky ground.”  The soil there was thin.  Jesus said that the seeds germinated and sprang up quickly.  But since the soil was so thin, the tiny seedlings had nothing to sink their roots into and could not withstand the scorching Palestinian sun.  These seedlings, though they sprang up quickly, soon died. Again, it seems like a waste of seed.  Things aren’t looking very good for the farmer.

          Third, Jesus said that the farmer cast seeds into a patch of “thorns.”  The thorns and the seedlings grew up together, but the thorns choked out the seedlings.  Poor, unfortunate farmer.  Surely those listening to this parable were beginning to wonder if the farmer would have any harvest at all.  It seems like all he’s done is waste his energy and the seeds.

          Thankfully, Jesus said that the farmer finally cast some of the seed onto “good soil.”  You’ve seen it—rich, loamy soil, just crumbles through your fingers, perfect for crop production.  A farmer in their day could normally expect a garden of good, loamy soil to yield up to 10%.  That would have been a better than average yield.  But notice what Jesus said happened to this fortunate farmer.  Some of his seed that fell onto the good soil yielded a hundredfold.  Some of it yielded sixty-fold.  And some of it yielded thirty-fold.  By any measure, this was a bumper crop.  We were beginning to fear this poor farmer would not have a harvest at all, right?  Everything was going against him: birds, rocky soil, and thorns.  But in the end, he had a banner year.

          Why did Jesus tell this parable?  And what’s the story of hope for the church?  Here’s what some think might have happened the day Jesus got into that boat and told this parable.  Maybe the disciples were hearing negative, critical comments from the villagers.  “You foolish men are wasting your time with that Nazarene,” someone may have said.  “Nothing is ever going to come of this.  You gave up your fishing boats for this?  You left your families!  You’re certainly not off to a very good start.  You poor, unfortunate disciples!  What a waste of your life and efforts!”

          Maybe the disciples heard comments like that, and maybe they were beginning to believe them.  Maybe they were beginning to think their work with Jesus was all for nothing, just a waste of their time and effort. In response to these negative comments, Jesus told the disciples and the crowd this Parable of the Sower.  Some of their work, actually, a lot of their work, was not well received.  Like those seeds on the path, in the rocky soil, and among the thorns, it was not productive.  But some of their work was falling onto good soil.  That work would take root and grow beyond their wildest dreams.  Though they couldn’t see it at the moment, while it seemed like their efforts were a waste of time, their work would eventually produce a bumper crop.  So don’t grow discouraged, Jesus was telling them.  Don’t get frustrated.  Don’t let the negative, critical comments intimidate you because the Church of Jesus Christ will take root.  It will take root and the harvest will be beyond imagination. 

          And indeed it has.  Across this country, in Ireland, and around the world, the Church of Jesus Christ has taken root and flourished.  Let there be no mistake: there is a Christian witness in every nook and cranny of the world.  This parable, then, is a story of hope for the Church.

          However, we dare not ignore the downward trend we’re seeing today.  Our children and grandchildren are not taking our place in churches. They grew up in churches like ours.  Not only do they not attend a church like ours now; they likely don’t attend any kind of church. As a result, congregations in this country are growing older.  And the congregations that are reaching these young adults are much, much different than ours. Some do not meet in traditional church buildings.  Instead, they gather in bars or homes or warehouses.  Dress code is irrelevant.  Music is not churchy.  Their beliefs about social issues are wide open.  What were lines in the sand for earlier generations are non-issues for them.

          So, what are we to do?  Let me suggest two things.  First, we need to bless those congregations that are able to innovate and reach a new generation. They may have body piercings where we don’t, hair colored green or purple, and beliefs that don’t match ours.  But if they are able to reach a new generation for Christ and his Kingdom, we must bless them and pray for their success. They will be able to reach a population we will not reach.  At the same time, we will reach a population they will not reach. 

           And then the second thing we must do is distinguish between the Church and the churches.  The Church is the universal Body of Christ.  It has no buildings; it is a movement.  It has no budgets; it is people.  It has no membership; it is a fellowship of people who have committed their lives to the way of Jesus Christ.  The future of the Church is bright and vibrant.  The churches, on the other hand, are fighting, kicking each other out, aligning with political parties, becoming doctrinaire, and wringing their hands and talking about survival.  The future of the churches in this country, in my opinion, is not so bright and vibrant.  I fear the churches are going to experience a period of major disruption.  In fact, I think it has already begun.  While that sounds foreboding, maybe it’s not.  Maybe it will be an opportunity for the churches to be reborn, for new seeds to be cast and for the Church as a movement to take root again and flourish.

          The words of Jesus give us reason to be hopeful.  The future of the Church, like its past, is rooted in good soil.  The future of the Church, like its past, is as sure as the words of Christ.  So let us focus our attention on being faithful farmers, casting the seed of God’s love and expecting a bountiful harvest.

Closing Prayer 

Lord of the Church, casting seed generation after generation.  Help us to be faithful in our place at our time.  And may others be faithful in their place at their time.  Amen.