The Sower in full stride, a black bronze statue created by Albin Polasek for the Art Institute of Chicago, and donated to the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Sermon preached for the opening worship of “Seasons of the Soul,” a retreat for Pastors of Color Networking Group II, on October 25, 2010, at the Cenacle Retreat Center, in Chicago. Event sponsored by The Common Ground Project, McCormick Theological Seminary.
By Magdalena I. García
Galatians 6:1-18
7Do not be deceived; God is not mocked,
for you reap whatever you sow.
8If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh;
but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.
9So let us not grow weary in doing what is right,
for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up.
10So then, whenever we have an opportunity,
let us work for the good of all,
and especially for those of the family of faith.
One of my favorite places in the Chicago area
is the Botanic Garden, located way up north,
beyond the city limit,
on the borderline between Cook and Lake counties,
in the community of Glencoe.
I became a member years ago, so that I have no excuse for not going,
and I get out there at least every couple of months.
I have lots of photos of the garden in all seasons:
spring, summer, fall and winter.
As you walk through the Botanic Garden,
you discover that it is really many gardens in one.
For example, there is a rose garden, a Japanese garden,
an English walled garden...
And the garden continues to grow.
One of the newest sections of the garden is the Esplanade,
which includes my favorite statue: The Sower.
Here is what the Botanic Garden’s website says about it:
Nestled into a green niche of spruces in the Esplanade
is the black bronze statue of The Sower in full stride.
Created by Albin Polasek for the Art Institute of Chicago,
which in turn gave it to the Garden,
it symbolizes the importance
of sowing seeds of knowledge as well as plants.
Located outside the steps to the Regenstein Center,
which houses the School of the Chicago Botanic Garden,
it reaffirms the Garden’s commitment to scientific education.
Well, as you might suspect,
I like this statue not only because of its beauty,
or because I endorse the importance of knowledge.
I love the statue because of its connection with the "Parable of The Sower."
And I love the statue because of what it teaches us
about the act of sowing.
The statue shows a strong, muscular, dark-skinned,
attractive male sower,
who walks with energy, with ease, with open hands...
sowing seeds.
The theme for this retreat is “Seasons of the Soul,”
and the reading chosen for this opening worship
offers us the following well-known words of admonition:
7Do not be deceived; God is not mocked,
for you reap whatever you sow.
What do we make of these words?
ON THE ONE HAND...
We like these words.
It’s not so much that we enjoy knowing
that “you reap what you sow.”
It’s more like...we delight in reminding others
that “you reap what you sow.”
And we usually say these words under our breath,
or waving our index finger in the air!
We like these words
not so much because they are a friendly admonition,
but because they can be fiery ammunition!
ON THE OTHER HAND...
We feel uneasy when we hear these words.
“You reap what you sow...”
Is that so? Perhaps! Or perhaps not!
There’s too much linear thinking here.
Too much of a cause-and-effect theology.
And we know enough to know
that things don’t always add up so neatly
in ministry and in life.
So what do we make of this catchy saying
in this season—or in any season—of our lives?
Paul himself can help us, if we look at the context of the saying.
He goes on to say in verse 8:
8If you sow to your own flesh,
you will reap corruption from the flesh;
but if you sow to the Spirit,
you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.
What’s this flesh and Spirit talk all about?
We need to remember that these are Paul’s closing words.
for a letter where he is primarily concerned
with the controversy surrounding
Gentile Christians and the Mosaic Law.
A quick review of the outline of the letter reveals this:
Chapter 1 and part of Chapter 2:
Paul defends his apostolic authority.
Chapters 2, 3, and 4:
Paul shows the influence of the Judaizers
in destroying the very essence of the gospel.
Chapter 3:
Paul exhorts the Galatian believers
to stand fast in the faith as it is in Jesus,
and to abound in the fruit of the Spirit.
Chapter 4:
Paul concludes with a summary of the topics discussed
and with the benediction.
Chapters 5 and 6:
Paul teaches about the right use of Christian freedom.
Along with the Epistle to the Romans,
Galatians is the most influential writing in Protestant thought,
because of its emphasis on salvation by grace
(instead of salvation by work),
and salvation for freedom in Christ.
Next weekend the Protestant church will celebrate Reformation Sunday.
Isn’t freedom in Christ what that day is all about?
Therefore, the context for our saying is...
salvation by grace and freedom in Christ!
But when we extract these words from the text and read them
in the context of a retreat about the seasons of the soul,
and in the context of the season of fall,
which is traditionally harvest time,
it becomes very easy and tempting for us
to fall into the linear-thinking trap!
And so, we start beating others over the head with these words:
“You see, I told you so, you reap what you sow.”
Or worse yet, we beat ourselves over the head with these words!
“It’s my fault...because you reap what you sow.”
Did you do any gardening this past summer?
My husband and I always grow a few tomato plants and some herbs.
And the church I serve, Ravenswood Presbyterian, in Chicago,
a year ago started an organic garden,
a partnership with a sister congregation, Lakeview Presbyterian.
The Organic Faith Garden just concluded its second season,
and we have delighted in the harvest,
as well as the lessons the garden has taught us.
What are some learnings from Organic Faith?
Lots of them!
MOST of the time, you indeed reap what you sow.
But A LOT of the time you also reap things you did not sow!
Like weeds! Lots of them!
Or all sorts of unknown and unwanted growing things
that sprout up from composting seeds!
So the first point I want to make this evening is this:
No matter what season of life you are in,
stop being so hard on yourself;
stop beating yourself with guilt and regrets,
because we do not always reap what we sow.
The second point comes also from the larger context of the saying.
Paul reminds the Galatians—and us—that it is not harvest time yet;
it is merely sowing time!
Paul reminds us that no matter what season we are in,
be it a calendar season, a life season, or a soul season,
as long as we are ALIVE,
it is MERELY sowing time!
Paul writes in verses 9 and 10:
9So let us not grow weary in doing what is right,
for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up.
10So then, whenever we have an opportunity,
let us work for the good of all,
and especially for those of the family of faith.
Friends, we’re NOT talking about being workaholics!
Workaholics DO grow weary,
and they destroy themselves,
and they bring others down with them!
I just attended a mandatory training event on clergy sexual misconduct,
and we were all reminded of just how dangerous we can be,
if we don’t take good care of ourselves.
But doing good without growing weary
is not about having no limits,
or working oneself to destruction and death.
Doing good without growing weary
means working with appropriate pacing.
Doing good without growing weary
is perhaps living by a modified version of the John Wesley code:
“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can...”
And (I would add)without burning the candle at both ends!
And doing good without growing weary
means working with unwavering determination
for the good of all.
Let me tell you about someone who did not grow weary
of doing the right thing for the good of all.
Here is something he wrote:
“Our conviction is that human life is a very special possession given by God to man and that no one has the right to take it for any reason or for any cause, however just it may be. We are also convinced that nonviolence is more powerful than violence. Nonviolence supports you if you have a just and moral cause. Nonviolence provides the opportunity to stay on the offensive, and that is of crucial importance to win any contest. If we resort to violence, then one of two things will happen: either the violence will be escalated and there will be many injuries and perhaps deaths on both sides, or there will be total demoralization of the workers. Nonviolence has exactly the opposite effect.
“If for every violent act committed against us we respond with nonviolence, we attract people’s support. We can gather the support of millions who have a conscience and would rather see a nonviolent resolution to problems. We are convinced that when people are faced with a direct appeal from the poor struggling nonviolently against great odds, they will react positively. The American people and people everywhere still yearn for justice. It is to that yearning that we appeal.
“But if we are committed to nonviolence only as a strategy or tactic, then if it fails our only alternative is to turn to violence. So we must balance the strategy with a clear understanding of what we are doing. However important the struggle is and however much misery, poverty, and exploitation exist, we know that it cannot be more important than one human life. We work on the theory that men and women who are truly concerned about people are not violent by nature. These people become violent when the deep concern they have for people is frustrated, and when they are faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. We advocate militant nonviolence as our means of achieving justice for our people, but we are not blind to the feelings of frustration, impatience, and anger that seethe inside every farmworker. The burden of generations of poverty and powerlessness lies heavy in the fields of America. If we fail, there are those who will see violence as the shortcut to change.
“It is precisely to overcome these frustrations that we have involved masses of people in their own struggle throughout the movement. Freedom is best experienced through participation and self-determination, and free men and women instinctively prefer democratic change to any other means. Thus, demonstrations and marches, strikes and boycotts are not only weapons against the growers, but our way of avoiding the senseless violence that brings no honor to any class or community. When victory comes through violence, it is a victory with strings attached. If we beat the growers at the expense of violence, victory would come at the expense of injury and perhaps death. Such a thing would have a tremendous impact on us. We would lose regard for human beings. Then the struggle would become a mechanical thing. When you lose your sense of life and justice, you lose your strength.
“The greater the oppression, the more leverage nonviolence holds. Violence does not work in the long run and if it is temporarily successful, it replaces one violent form of power with another just as violent. People suffer from violence. Examine history. Who gets killed in the case of violent revolution? The poor, the workers. The people of the land are the ones who give their bodies and don't really gain that much for it.
“We believe it is too big a price to pay for not getting anything. Those who espouse violence exploit people. To call men to arms with many promises, to ask them to give up their lives for a cause and then not produce for them afterward, is the most vicious type of oppression.
“Most likely we are not going to do anything else the rest of our lives except build our union. For us there is nowhere else to go. Although we would like to see victory come soon, we are willing to wait. In this sense time is our ally. We learned many years ago that the rich may have money, but the poor have time.”
His name was César Chávez, an untiring defender of farmworkers,
who is featured in the book Architects of Peace,
a photo essay that documents the visions
of seventy-five of the world’s great peacemakers.
Friends, may we live not so much
by a harsh interpretation of the principle
“you reap what you sow,”
but by a graceful interpretation of the principle
“one sows and another reaps.”
And may these words encourage us
when we sow with little fruit to be seen.
And may these words humble us
when we reap where we have not sown.
And may these words challenge us
when we forget that our fulfillment is tied to the wellbeing of others.
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