January 20, 2008

Open Minds

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Opening Words: Webster defines a pilgrimage, “a journey to a holy place, undertaken for religious reasons.” I left for my pilgrimage on January 7 and returned home on Wednesday, January 16. There were seven in our little group from Western Reserve. We were part of a larger group of three hundred United Methodists from East and West Ohio Annual Conferences. We were led by the two bishops of those conferences, John Hopkins and Bruce Ough.

We began our pilgrimage on the Sea of Galilee in a town called Tiberias and finished in the Golden City of Jerusalem. We went to some amazing places! We went to Nazareth where Jesus lived as a boy. We went to Capernaum, Jesus’ second home. We went to Cana where Jesus preformed his first miracle. We sailed on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus walked on the water. We went to Jericho where Jesus talked to a tax collector named Zaccheaus. We went to the Dead Sea and Massada where the Jews made their final stand against the Romans in the year 72. We went to Bethlehem where Jesus was born. We went to the Holy City of Jerusalem where Jesus completed his earthly ministry. So many people have asked me, "Did you feel safe?” I must admit I never felt unsafe but I felt privileged to make this pilgrimage. Not everyone can make such a trip!

I would love to show you the pictures today and give you some details but I am going to wait until February 5. That is Shrove Tuesday and I will be the program with my slides. Today, I am going to talk about my trip in sermon form. My experiences are going to be my illustrations. I have called this morning’s message, What Happens in Tiberius Stays in Tiberius. Our scripture reading for this morning is a parable from the thirteenth chapter of Matthew. Let us hear these words together.

I love the story of the two psychiatrists who met at their 20th college reunion. One is vibrant, while the other looks withered and worried. Their appearance was shocking. "So what's your secret?" the older looking psychiatrist asks. "Listening to other people's problems every day, all day long, for years on end, has made an old man of me." The younger looking psychiatrist replied, “It is really quite simple, don’t listen!” Do you listen to everything that everyone tells you?

Perhaps this is a better question. Why is listening such a complex thing? It should be easy. We are born with two ears and only one mouth. So why do we spend so much more time talking than listening? Sometimes we don’t hear someone because we are preoccupied. We have a long list of things to do and stopping to listen to someone is not easy. Sometimes we don’t hear because of preconditioning. Our prejudices are built on preconditioning. The simple act of listening is really quite complex. It is not just our generation that has had a hard time listening. This listening problem has been with us since mankind began to communicate. The Master confronted this listening problem in his generation. It is this communication breakdown issue that is at the very heart of this morning’s parable.

According to the story, a farmer went out to sow his seed. He did not apply modern agricultural methods of our time. He used the modern agricultural methods of his day. He walked through a field, stuck his hand into a sack of seed and threw the seed onto the dirt. The intention was that all the seed would germinate and grow. The intention was that all seed would produce. However, the intention and the reality did not match up. Not all the seed did produce. The problem was not the farmer. He did his job, he sowed the seed. The problem was not the seed. The quality of the seed remained the same. The only thing that determined the success or the failure of the seed was the soil. For that reason we call this simple story the parable of the soils.

So what is Jesus trying to teach us in this simple story? There is just one point. The story tells us that our attitudes will affect how productive we will be for God in this world. If you have an open mind God will use you. If you have a closed mind then God will not be able to use you. The only variable in this story that changes is the condition of the soil. The farmer did not change. The seed, itself, did not change. The only thing that changed was the condition of the soil. So let me ask you today’s question, “What is your response to God’s word?” Do you have a good attitude about God’s leading or do you need a little attitude adjustment?

This morning I am going to make three observations based on this parable. Each one will help force you to evaluate your attitude about living out the faith in our time. Let me say this clearly. God wants us to reach our full potential. Sometimes we don’t reach our full potential because our minds are closed. Sometimes we don’t reach our full potential because our minds are too emotional. Sometimes we don’t reach our full potential because our minds are too crowded. These observations are based on my experience in the ministry. So if you are ready to listen to my three observations say, “Amen!”

God can’t use a closed mind.

Jesus said the farmer threw the seed and some of the seed fell on hard ground. It never penetrated the earth so it never grew. The seed just laid on the surface so it never had an opportunity to germinate. It just could not penetrate the surface so it became bird seed. Have you ever called somebody a hard head? They have a closed mind. They just don’t get it. Their theme for life is, “Don’t confuse me with the facts my mind is made up.” Churches don’t need closed-minded people. God can only work with an open mind.

The Holy Land is an amazing place! The city of Jerusalem is an amazing place. It is not always a happy place. You can feel the tension in the air. The locals have grown used to that tension but to me it was something new. God is truly doing something special there. Just think about it. Three major world religions began in the Holy Land. Each one (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) can trace their roots back to Abraham. It is one thing to be a Christian in Youngstown, Ohio. Christianity still dominates! It is something else to be a Christian in Jerusalem. No one religion dominates. They are equal and their followers are passionate.

Each group has strong feelings about the other religions. Here is the truth. Orthodox Jewish despise the religion of Islam. They are seen as too aggressive. The Muslims despise the Jews. They are seen as new comers. They have only really returned in great number since 1948. The Christians believe they are both wrong. In the end they are both wrong. The only one way to heaven is accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. . Both Islam and Judaism admit Jesus was special but don’t see him as the son of God. The tension is high and the pride of each group is intense. The end result is everyone’s minds are closed. The problem is the parable teaches us God can’t use a closed mind. God has never been able to use a closed mind. How many examples do you need?

The Pharaoh, King Ahab, Queen Jezebel and Judas Iscariot had one thing in common. They all had a closed mind and God could not use them. Do you know anyone with a closed mind? Do you have a closed mind? God is speaking; we need to listen. The seed fell on hard ground and never produced. God doesn’t need closed-minded people. God needs open minds. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” Observation number one says God can’t use a closed mind. This is observation number two.

God can’t use an emotional mind.

Jesus said the farmer threw the seed and some of the seed feel on rocky soil. At first the seed began to grow! Things looked good but in time the optimism was replaced with depression. The reason was simple. The roots couldn’t sink deep into the soil because of the rocks below the surface. Have you ever met anyone who was truly excited about Jesus! That is a good thing! The problem is the emotionalism will only carry them so far.

One of the reasons I wanted to go to the Holy Land was we got to ride in a bus. When I turned fifty I permitted myself to ride on a bus. I must admit it was great. I learned a great deal. One of the things I learned was where you sit on the bus is important. Everyday we were asked to rotate on the bus so everyone would get a chance to sit in the better seats. I really didn't care where I sat on the bus as long as they didn’t leave without me. One woman by the name of Patsy did care. She loved her seat on the bus and refused to rotate to the next seat in the rotation. It became a point of contention within our bus. She was upset and some got upset with her. It was not pretty.

When we got to Bethlehem the bus took us to the Church of the Nativity. The church building is centuries old and has been visited by the multitudes through the years. There is a spot under the main altar where they say Jesus was born. You had to get down on your knees to touch the spot. It was humbling to get on your knees and touch the spot where Jesus was born. When Patsy touched the spot she began to cry. I thought she had had a break through. I thought things would change on the bus. I thought she had a true conversion. When she got back to the bus her tears had dried. She found two teenage girls sitting in her seat. She chased those two wonderful young people off with some ugly language. She made one of the teenage girls cry. The emotion of touching the spot of Christ’s birth didn’t even get her back to the bus. Emotions are fine but emotions aren’t long lasting. How many examples do you need?

Peter, James and John went to the mountaintop with Jesus. They saw Moses the great lawgiver and Elijah the greatest prophet. They were excited and asked the Master if they could build tents. They wanted to stay on the mountaintop. But they couldn’t stay on the mountaintop because life is lived in the valley. Emotions are a good thing but emotions are not enough. Some of the seed fell on rocky soil. The roots just can’t sink deep into the soil. God is looking for people who have sunk their roots deep, who are really committed to Jesus. Do you know anyone with shallow root system? God needs open minds. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” Observation number one says God can’t use a closed mind. Observation number two is God can’t use an emotional mind. This is observation number three.

God can’t use a crowded mind.

Jesus said the farmer threw seed and some of that seed fell among the thorns. The weeds chocked off the good plants. The soil was good but it needed to be weeded. There seems to be a lot of churches that need weeded. There are a lot of churches that are busy doing church work but they aren’t doing the work of the church! Do you know any churches that need weeded?

One of the last places we went was the Church of the Visitation. It was the place where Mary went to visit Elizabeth when she was carrying Jesus. It is on the hills outside of the city. In contrast to all the other holy spots it was simple. There were no great crowds. There was no incense or candles. It was just our little group walking through a simple garden. It was in that unimpressive place that I was really impressed. Without the crowds I could really think about Mary visiting Elizabeth. Without the crowds I could think about Mary’s emotions and situation. Without the crowds I could think about this church and ponder what God has waiting for us! Without the crowds I could think about Jesus and the difference he has made in my life. Without the crowd I could think about the future and question what I was going to do with the rest of my life. Without the crowd I had a true pilgrimage and made contact with God. Isn’t that why you came to church today?

I meet people all the time. They say to me your church is such a busy place. You are always doing something! That can be a dangerous thing. You can be so busy doing good things that you forget why you exist! The Western Reserve United Methodist Church does not exist just to collect food for the poor. The Western Reserve United Methodist Church does not exist to just send nice kids on a mission trip. The Western Reserve United Methodist Church does not exist to help you make friends or maintain old friendships. The Western Reserve United Methodist Church exists to make disciples. All those good things we do are nothing more than a tool to make you a disciple, to make you more like Jesus. Are you more like Jesus today than you were last year? Or do you have some work to do? And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Let me end by saying this. If you are going to travel to the Holy Land remember one thing. Don’t lose your passport. It proves you are a citizen of the United States. Your citizenship is valuable. If stolen, your passport will be sold for about $25,000. I am paranoid about my passport but I must admit I have one of the worst passport pictures ever to be taken. Everyone laughs at my picture. I hate to look at it. I always have a big red nose! Do you like to look at pictures of yourself?

When you look at your picture what do you see? I don’t mean the size of your nose or your thighs. When you look at your picture how is your attitude? God wants you to reach your full potential but you will never reach your full potential as a disciple with a bad attitude. God can only use an open mind. God can not use a closed mind. God can not use an emotional mind. God can not use a crowded mind. Let me ask you the question again. What is your response to God’s word? And all of God’s open minded people said, “Amen!”