Good Enough
“Good Enough” by Pastor Rosanna McFadden
Good morning! This Sunday and next Sunday we’re going to be considering parables of Jesus. Just as a reminder, a parable is a story which tells the listeners something about the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven. There are parables in the Old Testament, especially in the book of Proverbs, but parables are most associated with Jesus’ teaching, and New Testament parables are found in Matthew, Mark and Luke. The parables we are going to consider for the next two weeks are from the gospel of Matthew; both of them are from Matthew 13, a chapter which is almost entirely about parables: the stories, the explanation of the story, and Jesus explaining why he speaks in parables.
Chapter 13 opens with Jesus leaving his house and sitting by the Sea of Galilee, teaching. The crowd which gathers becomes so large that he teaches from a boat, and the crowd spreads out along the beach to hear him. The 12 disciples are part of this crowd, but there are many, many more there on the beach than simply the disciples. There is a sense — borne out by the rest of chapter 13–that this teaching includes a whole lot of parables, but the first one which we encounter is an agricultural image of planting and harvest. You may have heard it called or have it titled in you Bibles The Parable of the Sower.
You are probably familiar with this parable. Even though it isn’t prefaced with the usual “The kingdom of heaven is like . . . or The kingdom of heaven can be compared to . . . there is no doubt that Jesus is launching into a parable. He begins the way many preachers are tempted to, and some actually do, by saying “Listen!” a way of saying “What I’m about to say is important! Pay attention!” That is my hope for every sermon, but ya win some, ya lose some.
In any case, once he has gotten their attention — or not — Jesus tells a story about a farmer going out to plant seed. This is not a parable about best practice agriculture, because the farmer apparently does nothing to prepare the soil ahead of time, and drops seeds on places where it is unlikely to grow: a beaten down path, rocky soil, shallow dirt, among weeds. None of these seeds does very well — they are eaten by birds, choked by weeds, dried up by the sun. But the seeds which fall on good soil yield 30, 60, or even a hundred fold. I am not an agriculturalist, Jerry Snyder can correct me (later) but my research says a good yield for soybeans is 50-60 bushels an acre; a great yield is 80 bushels per acre. A good yield for field corn is 195-205 bushels per acre, with a great yield being 230-250 bushels per acre. I don’t really understand how those figures translate into 30, 60 or 100 fold — lack of understanding is a running theme in Matthew chapter 13. We’ll get back to that.
This parable, from the opening Listen! to the closing Let anyone with ears listen! is about receptivity — if the seed is the Word of God, the message of the gospel, the teaching of Jesus — however you want to describe it, are we rocky soil, shallow soil, weedy soil, or good soil? This is my paraphrase of Jesus’ explanation of this parable in Matthew 13:18-23. But this morning, I want to consider the part of the parable which Jesus doesn’t really explain: that part about the yield as 30, 60 or 100 fold. For us consider this, I want to use a tool which gives us some variety, and is sure to rivet your attention. I’m talking about, of course, punctuation. That’s right, punctuation. I would direct your attention to the title of this sermon as listed in the bulletin. The Media Center has also created slides for our reference.
Good Enough For those of you joining us online, this is the sermon title, which is kind of a blank slate, since it doesn’t include any punctuation.
Good enough. This really needs a bit more expression to go with it — either Meh, good enough, or good enough, I guess. I saw a T-shirt with a drawing of a carved Greek bust with the caption “Mediocrates — eh, good enough.” This version implies a minimum amount of effort and lukewarm results for something which is probably not that important. How did it go? Good enough.
Good enough! This version is more of an affirmation that we have heard the instructions and are cheerfully on an assignment which we should be able to complete: I want you to get those weeds pulled by 10 o’clock this morning. Good enough!
There is a third option to consider: Good! Enough. This one is a bit different because it refers not to our effort or attitude, but to the need which we are addressing. How much food did we collect for CCS today? Good! Enough.
What if we think of this parable, especially the yield at the end, in terms of what is good enough? There is certainly an evangelistic feel to this parable: not only are we good soil? And if we are,by how much are we multiplying the harvest? How do you even quantify whether you’re a 30 fold, 60 fold, or a 100 fold hearer of the Word? Do I have to have brought at least 30 other people to Christ in order to be considered “good” soil? What is good enough? Who is responsible for that seed growing, anyway — is that our work or God’s work?
I think the answer is Yes; here’s where this growing and harvest image works for me. We don’t control the climate and the rainfall in which seeds grow — at least not if they’re planted outside. You might really really want to pick fresh tomatoes in November, but if you live in N Indiana, it’s probably not going to happen. But farmers and gardeners work within the conditions which exist to prepare the soil, water, weed, stake, fertilize, whatever to give those seeds the best chance we can to grow and flourish. We are partners with the Lord of the harvest; working within the mission of God. A mediocre effort on our part — eh, good enough — does not honor God, and will probably not lead to much of a harvest, either. A good faith effort to do the work before us — good enough! — is better, for sure. But if we make our work the goal, we have missed the mark. The kingdom of heaven is not about how many tasks we complete or how many hours we spend; the kingdom of heaven is about participating in the work of God with the humility to know that God is the one to make things grow. We can be church planters, but that doesn’t make it our church.
I believe that the deeper question which is often not asked directly about out work for the kingdom of heaven is Are we good enough? Will we ever be strong enough, busy enough, good enough for God? Sisters and brothers, Jesus gave the resounding answer to that question; not in this parable but in the work of the cross. Jesus put paid to all questions of whether we are enough: not our own merit, but his sacrifice and grace extended to each person through the work of the cross. Good! Enough. We cannot receive that grace unless we are receptive soil. Is acknowledging Jesus’ salvation the end goal of a Christian life? Of course not; that’s just the seed being planted. We are called to be good soil which allows things to grow and multiply. Throughout my life and especially as a pastor I have wrestled with the questions Is there something more I could do? The answer is almost always Yes. Are there still needs? The answer is always Yes. But as I have heard from many of you and worked with Pathfinder Team to consider direction for ministry in the coming years, it is clear to me that it is not our task to do everything. We need to focus our efforts and our resources in places where there is a need and where we think we can make a difference. We need to worry less about whether we might fail, and have a deeper sense of God’s ability to make things grow, even if our gardening is imperfect. We need to trust that our most faithful effort will be what God requires of us, and that we can proclaim: Good! Enough.