For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring
forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my
word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it
shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I
sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11)
{This passage is the first reading for this Sunday’s
worship service.}
The spreading of the Word of God is often
compared to the sowing of seed. The farmer sows, waters, weeds, and cares for
the crop in order to feed his/her own family as well as many others. The people
of St. John’s know more about farming than I ever will, so this should be
familiar. (For my part, I’ve bailed hay, dug potatoes, fed pigs, and got an
African violet to grow… which I hear is not easy. But I digress.)
God’s Word will not return to God without
accomplishing what it was sent for. If we take the Word of God to be the
message of the Scriptures, it will hit people in different ways and they will
accept it in different ways as well. If we take the Word of God to be Jesus, as
John’s Gospel does (“In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … And
the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory
as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”), we can see that
the Word of God is a living word, taking a place in our world just as we live
in it. Jesus has accomplished what he was sent to do and even said on the cross
“It is finished.” (John 19:30) Still,
he remains with us to continue his accomplished work in and for each of us.
As I write this, I’m reminded of the
things growing around us. I’ve been watching the corn in the fields while I
remember what I was told as a child in Pennsylvania – “If the corn is knee-high
by the 4th of July, it’ll be a good crop.” I saw some corn stalks
yesterday – some were almost knee high while one field was chest high! Now we
need a bit of rain… there’s been plenty of sun, hasn’t there?
As you pray for the Word of God to take
renewed root in each of us and in many other people, please pray for those who
work the fields and for Lord of the Harvest to send the good rain we still
need. Neither the rain for the Word of God will return to the Sender without
fulfilling their mission.
A simple prayer and a simple request, one
that means so much to many people since we all seem to enjoy eating on a
regular basis.
God bless you all. May God’s Word be ever
around and in us.
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