The Planting and Harvest of our Lord Mark 4:26–34; Ezekiel 17:22–24; 2 Corinthians 5:1–10 

Grace, mercy and peace to you, from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

We’re going to talk about ourselves as the planting and harvest of our Lord, based on our Gospel, verses 26-29. 26 “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

And the parable of the mustard seed, verses 30—32: 30 “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

And Psalm 1, verses 3 and 4: 3 He (a godly person) is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

And our Old Testament from Ezekiel 17: 22 Thus says the Lord God: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. 

We’re in the season when the crops are mostly planted, and now comes the growth, and then the pollination and filling of the ears or pods, and then the harvest…

… which is why we plant… we plant crops for what they bear, what we can  harvest. 

If they bear nothing, then planting and caring for them was a waste. 

I remember one year in western Minnesota, when the corn crop didn’t mature because it was so cold in August; some of it didn’t even reach dent stage… it was just plowed under.

I remember another year where around Brookings, SD, it froze in late July, and killed the corn. A week or so later I was driving past it on the way to Sioux Falls, and it was black and rotting and smelled terrible.

What a waste. 

We are the planting of the Lord, not to be a waste of the grace He gives us, but that by faith we might bear abundant fruit, deeds of godly love and goodness in the world.

I think we all agree that our world badly needs more of what’s good and of God. 

As His baptized children, who by faith bear the righteousness of Christ as our own, who have the Holy Spirit as our Helper, we’re called and empowered to bear the godly fruit of the Spirit in the world.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

This is the fruit our world so desperately needs, and that God wants us to bear and share in abundance.

Psalm 1 teaches this to us with the analogy of a tree planted by the waters. 

Blessed is the man  who walks not in the counsel of the wicked…  but his delight is in the law of the Lord…  He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers (spiritually). 

Back in the day, when this land was homesteaded, this area was filled with many large oaks and maples, but as the pioneers moved west, the trees started to thin, giving way to grassland and prairie. 

The only trees were found along the rivers, or around lakes. Trees that could be used for building materials or fuel were very few, and highly valued.

In the Biblical lands which were arid or semi-arid, trees were also in short supply. There were some scrub trees scattered in dry areas, but the larger trees grew near the water, including date trees, their roots reaching down to the moisture, for the tree to thrive and bear fruit.   

God compares His people, not to scrub trees with little moisture, but to trees with abundant moisture, and therefore abundant fruit to feed and nourish people, and abundant shade to cool and refresh people.

In our Old Testament, God portrays His Church as a mighty cedar.

And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

Through His Son and His Spirit, God has done it, created His Church and grown it into a mighty place of grace, where truth is taught, and love is shared.

Isaiah 61 is a prophecy that the Messiah would bear and share the Holy Spirit, so that God’s people may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. 

In our Gospel, Jesus compares His Church to mighty tree born of a little seed… a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

From that tiny grain of seed, that grain of faith, planted in the hearts of God’s children at holy Baptism, grows a mighty Kingdom of faith, love, and truth, to make a major difference in this world by the power of God’s Word… 

… to bring salvation, forgiveness, life and love to all who will hear and believe, as the seed of the Gospel is planted and takes root in their hearts, and bears godly fruit in their lives…

… and they, too, become a part of this great and mighty, productive tree, or orchard, or vineyard, which we call the Church, the fellowship of Christ.

On this Father’s Day, we thank God for Christian fathers, who are like a tall tree to young children, that they look up to… 

… and not just when we’re young, but also when we’re grown, we still need our father’s love and example, and our mother’s…

… even if they’ve already received their heavenly glory, and we’re looking back at and remembering their example. 

May God empower and enrich our hearts and spirits, to be loving, godly parents, so that we bear abundant fruit for the good and the nurture of our children.

And may God bless us to be godly, loving children, that we may gladly obey and bear abundant fruit, to the glory of our Heavenly Father, and to the honor of our earthly parents. 

We are the Lord’s planting, to bear His fruit in the world.

And we will be His abundant harvest, when He returns and raises us in glory, and brings us to the unlimited abundance of His Heavenly home, for us to  bear fruit there and receive His blessings for all eternity.

Let us always and daily be nourished and renewed by God’s Word, that together, we, as a mighty and productive tree, might bear and share the abundant fruit of the Holy Spirit…

… that deeds of goodness and love may overcome the dark deeds of sin, greed, selfishness, corruption, and every manifestation of evil in our world.

By the grace of God, may the fruit and love of the Holy Spirit prevail.

And may His peace, which passes understanding, guard our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, in whose Kingdom we bear fruit and rejoice! Amen.