Sunday Service - 6/17/2012 - Meghan Feldmeyer
Published 1 year ago
A service of worship in Duke University Chapel. The Reverend Meghan Feldmeyer delivers a sermon entitled "The Good Earth."
Opening Excerpt from the sermon:(31:20)
"Not too long ago I heard a joke about some scientists who learned how to create a human being. So they call God to let God know. And God pays a visit to see what's up. The scientists go into their labs with all their equipment and materials and lo and behold...before too much time passes, out they come with a human baby! They thank God for the many years of service and assure the Creator of all time and eternity that they can take it from here. God pauses...reaches down and scoops up a handful of dirt and says, "No, no, no, you have to start with THIS."
I want to talk today about dirt. Because humanity has a relationship to dirt in the Bible. In Genesis, God gathers soil and breathes into it. Adam comes to life, and God calls it good. At creation, humans are this beautiful mix of earth and divine, planted in a garden of abundance, bounty, and plenty. The soil of the earth and the soil of humanity have a rich and bountiful and beautiful connection. You can feel the promise. But the beauty and harmony don't last for long. The Adam-and-Eve-apple-incident happens and God says to Adam, "cursed is the ground because of you."
Cursed is the ground. Boom. The curious kinship of earth and humanity is broken. I'm reminded of Paul's letter to the Romans in chapter 8 where he says that creation waits with eager longing...all of creation is groaning in labor pains, longing for redemption. The ground will now require toil and sweat...and even then it may not cooperate...it will put forth weeds and thorns and thistles. There is fundamental estrangement...the primal material from which we were created is now cursed beneath us.We haven't exactly been on good terms with dirt ever since. Cleanliness is next to Godliness, after all! You can
even hear the degradation of dirt and its synonyms in many common phrases. That family is dirt poor. My friend hit rock bottom. This information really muddies the waters. Oh man, I bit the dust. His reputation was soiled. She treated her employees like dirt".
Closing Excerpt from the Sermon: (47:10)
"Ours is an underground and mysterious faith...it involves patient waiting and hoping...for the God of mud and messes to breathe new life into the places where we struggle to see signs of hope. And in the parables of the growing seed and mustard seed, we can be assured of one thing: new life is gonna come. The mysteries of the automatic soil, messy though it may be, and the gift of the itty bitty mustard kernel won't let us down. The overwhelming, earth-shattering, life-transforming love of God is a love that will not stay buried. There is no place so dirty or muddy or wrecked that the roots of God's grace cannot reach. There is no place so dry or hardened or cold that won't soften and live and produce new growth. God is in the business of growing new and beautiful things out of the dirt of our lives. And our faith isn't only underground and mysterious, it is also vibrant and green, visible and growing...God is rooted in the dirt, but generates and nourishes a kingdom that grows and reaches out and extends its branches and shares itself with the world.
So if you're in a place where you know regret and shame, confusion and sadness...or if you are in a place of patient waiting through a long winter...I'm here to say: stay tuned. You might not be able to see it, but the mustard seed is there...nestled in your life in the dirt, waiting to hatch and grow...maybe already cracking open something new that you can't yet see. The soil is churning. The seed is turning. We may not understand how
the kingdom of God will come to life in us, or in what ways it will be unleashed...but grace, with all of its mystery, reveals that new life is ready to burst. The amazing, unmerited, overwhelming grace of Christ scatters and shatters the dirt as it enfolds and upholds the branches. All of creation has been groaning. The ground is being transformed. So are you. The next time you reach down and gather soil in your hands, remember you are the dirt nestled in God's hands, and God is nestled in you. Yes, yes, yes...recreation starts with THIS".
Mark 4:26-34
Sermon: http://bit.ly/LZCHkC
Bulletin: http://bit.ly/LfCQiT
Opening Excerpt from the sermon:(31:20)
"Not too long ago I heard a joke about some scientists who learned how to create a human being. So they call God to let God know. And God pays a visit to see what's up. The scientists go into their labs with all their equipment and materials and lo and behold...before too much time passes, out they come with a human baby! They thank God for the many years of service and assure the Creator of all time and eternity that they can take it from here. God pauses...reaches down and scoops up a handful of dirt and says, "No, no, no, you have to start with THIS."
I want to talk today about dirt. Because humanity has a relationship to dirt in the Bible. In Genesis, God gathers soil and breathes into it. Adam comes to life, and God calls it good. At creation, humans are this beautiful mix of earth and divine, planted in a garden of abundance, bounty, and plenty. The soil of the earth and the soil of humanity have a rich and bountiful and beautiful connection. You can feel the promise. But the beauty and harmony don't last for long. The Adam-and-Eve-apple-incident happens and God says to Adam, "cursed is the ground because of you."
Cursed is the ground. Boom. The curious kinship of earth and humanity is broken. I'm reminded of Paul's letter to the Romans in chapter 8 where he says that creation waits with eager longing...all of creation is groaning in labor pains, longing for redemption. The ground will now require toil and sweat...and even then it may not cooperate...it will put forth weeds and thorns and thistles. There is fundamental estrangement...the primal material from which we were created is now cursed beneath us.We haven't exactly been on good terms with dirt ever since. Cleanliness is next to Godliness, after all! You can
even hear the degradation of dirt and its synonyms in many common phrases. That family is dirt poor. My friend hit rock bottom. This information really muddies the waters. Oh man, I bit the dust. His reputation was soiled. She treated her employees like dirt".
Closing Excerpt from the Sermon: (47:10)
"Ours is an underground and mysterious faith...it involves patient waiting and hoping...for the God of mud and messes to breathe new life into the places where we struggle to see signs of hope. And in the parables of the growing seed and mustard seed, we can be assured of one thing: new life is gonna come. The mysteries of the automatic soil, messy though it may be, and the gift of the itty bitty mustard kernel won't let us down. The overwhelming, earth-shattering, life-transforming love of God is a love that will not stay buried. There is no place so dirty or muddy or wrecked that the roots of God's grace cannot reach. There is no place so dry or hardened or cold that won't soften and live and produce new growth. God is in the business of growing new and beautiful things out of the dirt of our lives. And our faith isn't only underground and mysterious, it is also vibrant and green, visible and growing...God is rooted in the dirt, but generates and nourishes a kingdom that grows and reaches out and extends its branches and shares itself with the world.
So if you're in a place where you know regret and shame, confusion and sadness...or if you are in a place of patient waiting through a long winter...I'm here to say: stay tuned. You might not be able to see it, but the mustard seed is there...nestled in your life in the dirt, waiting to hatch and grow...maybe already cracking open something new that you can't yet see. The soil is churning. The seed is turning. We may not understand how
the kingdom of God will come to life in us, or in what ways it will be unleashed...but grace, with all of its mystery, reveals that new life is ready to burst. The amazing, unmerited, overwhelming grace of Christ scatters and shatters the dirt as it enfolds and upholds the branches. All of creation has been groaning. The ground is being transformed. So are you. The next time you reach down and gather soil in your hands, remember you are the dirt nestled in God's hands, and God is nestled in you. Yes, yes, yes...recreation starts with THIS".
Mark 4:26-34
Sermon: http://bit.ly/LZCHkC
Bulletin: http://bit.ly/LfCQiT
