Wednesday 9 July 2014

Extravagance

Matthew 13:18-23
The Parable of the Sower Explained
 “Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

How awful
How obscenely extravagant
How indiscriminate of God
To throw open the gates of the kingdom
So that anyone might find a way in
No standards
No safeguards
But a generosity
That is sure to be abused
And just as scandalous today
As was this message
To those who listened to Jesus
Still there are those
Who do not want to believe
Who want to rewrite
The story of God’s unconditional welcome
Who want to maintain standards
And conditions
And limit the sphere
Of the impossible kingdom of God
Thankfully the God of the Universe
Knows no bounds
And cannot be subdued
But carries on regardless
Sowing and reaping
Shuffling and  shoogling, 
Making space for all
Throwing wide the doors
And gathering us in.

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