The Citizen, 2012-11-01, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2012.
By Rev. Tom Murray
Knox United, Belgrave
Paul David Hewson, best known
as Bono, the main vocalist of the
Dublin-based rock band U2 was
once asked: “Where would you
expect to find Jesus these days?” His
response: “If Jesus were on earth
you’d find him in a gay bar in San
Francisco and with people suffering
from AIDS. These are the new
lepers. If you want to find out where
Jesus would be hanging out, it’ll
always be with the lepers.”
A pastor, asked to describe how he
would grow a crop of corn, put it this
way: “Well the first thing to do is till
the land, remove the weeds and
rocks, then fertilize if needed and
make sure it got lots of sunshine and
water. Take out any weeds that grow
and chase away pests that try to eat
the crop. Finally, reap the harvest.”
The questioner looked at him with a
puzzled look and remarked, “All you
would have is a pile of wet dirt.” The
pastor had a quizzical look, but as he
rewound and replayed his words in
his mind. “Ah-ha,” as he added
sheepishly, “Oh, and I would have to
plant seeds.”
The first fact about harvests is
clear: “If you don’t plant the seeds,
you’ll have no harvest – never! Kids
may enjoy making mud pies, but
none of us likes eating them – ever!
The scripture is quite clear, “Don’t
be misled: No one makes a fool of
God. What a person plants, he will
harvest. The person who plants
selfishness, ignoring the needs of
others - ignoring God - harvests a
crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show
for his life is weeds! But the one
who plants in response to God,
letting God’s spirit do the growth
work through him, harvests a crop of
real life, eternal life; in others.” (Gal.
6:7)
If a man sows corn seed, he will
reap corn; and if cucumber seed,
he’ll reap cucumbers. However, if he
sows nothing, he’ll reap nothing . . .
at least nothing but mud. So what are
Christians and those of other faiths
supposed to sow?
The answer to that question can
only become obvious when the
question is asked. There is an
indisputable law governing the
return on the nest egg of our life and
work. Not only do you reap what
you sow, but unquestionably, you
have to eat what you reap. To put it
candidly, “Fruit pies taste much
better than mud pies.” Jesus tells us
about the parable of the sower. In
doing so the seed is interpreted to be
God’s word.
Stop for a moment and think about
the meaning of this for the church. In
telling this parable, Jesus says it is
the primary key to all the parables. If
we truly seek to understand Jesus’
mission then we must come to know
the significance of this one parable.
(Mark 4:1-20) I, among others,
firmly believe that much of what is
unhealthy and dysfunctional in our
faith today is rooted in our
misunderstanding of this first of all
of Jesus’ parables.
For if “the truth is the beginning,”
and God’s kingdom is reaped by the
maturing of the seed; then what are
we planting in the hearts and minds
of God’s people? Planting the right
seed in the right soil is not optional;
it is mandatory for the kingdom to
grow naturally. If the desired
outcome is to grow apple trees and
harvest apples, you will never
succeed by planting watermelon
seeds. Seed substitutes will not
work. The correct genetic code is
necessary for life to occur and
develop properly.
Most of us have heard the
common refrain of pastors and
church leaders that “Eighty per cent
of the work in the church is done by
20 per cent of the people.” You
know, I heard that common refrain
often when it came to describing the
church I was a part of in the 70s. It
seems like nothing much has
changed.
We are still chasing the basics for
Living Life – Kingdom 101.
Consequently, we’re not anymore
prepared for today, than we were
back in the 1960s and 1970s. You
want to hazard a guess as to why our
churches are largely in decline?
After 35 years of ministry, I’ve truly
come full circle, to where I was
when I started. In other words,
friends, I believe as I did then, that
we must start meeting the future that
is before us.
As an example: prior to ministry, I
was part of a research and
development team, building
Canada’s first electronic
telecommunications system.
Computer-driven, it took the actions
of the huge electro-mechanical
technology of earlier years into the
future. But before that system was
even installed, we had also designed
a micro-computer that was in
advance of computers of that day.
When its prototype, consisting of
two circuit boards the size of today’s
computer motherboards was
evaluated by our marketing
department it was deemed to have no
commercial value. They couldn’t see
the future because they still looked
to the past, rather than the present.
You see don’t you, we humans write
history by looking at the past. God
creates history ahead of time; never
forecasting, always back-casting.
Beginning with the end in mind,
for God, the future is always
emergent and emerging in the
present. When Paul encountered the
resurrected Jesus on the Damascus
Road, he realized the future had
been fast-forwarded. That changed
everything. It still does. In Jesus’
coming and going, the challenge
was, and still is, for churches of faith
to discover God’s plan of obedience
to his mission. If we have leadership
responsibilities and want to
challenge people to ask the right
questions, read Mark.
If we are willing to ask different
questions than most people in the
church, God is seeking us. But
where do we start? How do we
THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH
CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO ATTEND HOLY MASS.
OUR SUNDAY LITURGIES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Brussels:
St. Ambrose
Saturday
6:00 p.m.
17 Flora Street
Wingham:
Sacred Heart
Sunday
9:00 a.m.
220 Carling Terrace
Listowel:
St. Joseph
Sunday
11:00 a.m.
1025 Wallace Avenue N.
Worship Service & Sunday School at 11 a.m.
CORNER OF DINSLEY & MILL STREETS
MINISTER
Rev. Gary Clark, BA, M. Div.
All Welcome
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Floyd Herman, BA, M. Ed.OFFICE: 519-523-4224
NOVEMBER 4th ~ Have you Heard The One About...
NOVEMBER 11th ~ Please Come and Honour our Vets
at the Memorial Hall at 10:45
119 John’s Ave., Auburn
519-526-1131
www.huronchapel.org
Rev. Mark Royall, Sr. Pastor
9:25 a.m.
Sunday School for all ages
10:30 a.m
Morning Worship Service
New Sermon Series Begins...
“THE GOD QUESTIONS...Exploring
Life’s Great Questions About God”
at Huron Chapel
3rd Annual Auburn
All proceeds go to supporting HCHAN
(Huron County HIV/AIDS Network)
Friday, November 16th 4-8 pm
Saturday, November 17th 9 am-3 pm
Youre Invited
to come worship
with us
Sunday, November 4
Brussels Business & Cultural Centre
at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Sunday School for children
4 to 11 years of age at 9:30 a.m.
Childcare provided for infants and
preschoolers during the sermon.
Coffee & cookies after the morning service
For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621
Steve Klumpenhower 519.887.8651 Rick Packer 519.527.0173
BRUSSELS
Sandra Cable, Pastor
Church Office 519-887-6259
E-mail - beunitedchurch@gmail.com
SUNDAY SERVICE 11:00 am
Sunday School
Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship
United Church
Lunch to follow.
Special music by the Hiller Family.
November 4 ~ Anniversary Service
11:00 am
You’re Invited To Join Us In Worship
Hwy. 4, Blyth 519-523-4743
www.blythcrc.ca
SUNDAYS
Morning Service 10:00 am
Evening Service 7:30 pm
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
Rev. Elwin Garland
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4
Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available
519-887-9017
10:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship
- Sunday School
getlivingwater.org
Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848
Living Water
Christian Fellowship
Evangelical Missionary Church
10:30 a.m. ~ Worship & Sunday School
Wingham Bible Study - Tuesdays 7:30 pm
Youth Group - Tuesdays 7:30 pm (at CRC)
Women At The Well - 1st & 3rd Wednesdays 7:30 pm
“Beauty
for
Ashes”
at 308 Blyth Rd.
(NEW LOCATION!former Church of God Building)
November 4: Is. 61:1-3
Fri., Nov. 2 ~ 7:30 pm at CRC:
Audrey Bos Travelogue - free admission;
desserts by Youth Group
~ International Day of Prayer
for the Persecuted Church250 Princess St., Brussels
519-887-6388
www.bmfchurch.com
Interim Pastor Jim Whitehead
Guests Welcome
Jesus Is Lord!
Brussels
Mennonite
Fellowship
Worship Service 10:00 am
Sunday School 11:15 am
From the Minister’s StudySearching for Jesus? Look in the mirror
Continued on page 18