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Listen, a sower went out to sow” … we all know Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23, it is the parable of the sower. We tend to interpret it, however, as the parable of the soil. We wonder about our own soil: is our faith shallow like rocky ground? are we too choked with the cares and concerns of the world like thorny ground? We wonder even more about our neighbours’ soil: we compare and have opinions about who is bearing much fruit and who is bearing little. But it is the parable of the SOWER. It has something to say, not about us, but about God. Whilst we are busy judging whose soil is best and whose lives are the most fruitful, the sower blithely carries on scattering seed everywhere.
Today we celebrate Pride Sunday.
What kind of God do we want? Whatever God we hope for, we are likely to have expectations disappointed at some point or other.
In the gospel, Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30, Jesus lambasts the crowd for never being satisfied: when God sends John, they complain that he is too serious; when God sends Jesus, they complain that he is too joyful.
God comes to us in many forms and most of them do not fit our expectations.
The banner outside out church reads: “Everyone welcome, no exceptions.”
“Everyone” is an easy concept to grasp but what do we mean by “welcome”?
In Biblical society, the practice of welcome, could be the difference between life and death. If the widow or the orphan could not find a household to welcome them, they were destitute.
Windrush Day celebrates the arrival of the SS Empire Windrush on 22nd June 1948 bringing the first group of Caribbean migrants to Britain. The nation was suffering a labour shortage and invited migrants to resettle in the UK to help with the post-war rebuilding.
Windrush day honours the contributions of migrants to the post-war economy and to our culture and society. Today it is a day of thanksgiving for the courage, resilience, and contribution of the Windrush Generation and their descendants. It is also an opportunity to lament the injustices they endured and to commit ourselves to building a society where all are welcomed and valued.
Our readings today begin with God commanding us, in Leviticus 19:33-34, to treat foreigners the same as native born. God shows no partiality and we too should make distinction between people based on place of birth, heritage or skin colour, we are all neighbours.
Despite this command, the questioner in Luke 10:29-37 still asked Jesus to define “neighbour”. In reply Jesus tells the story of the good Samaritan. A story which turns the question on its head: it is the native-born Israelite who is in need of a neighbour and is healed and saved by the compassion of a foreigner.
Throughout scripture we are reminded that we need one another. We are, of course, asked to offer hospitality and welcome to the stranger and the foreigner but also to realise that are as much in need of them as they are of us. Without them we are like the man who fell among thieves and is left for dead.