“The Park Map and the Person Who Insists You Have a Plan”

Mark 4:26-34 (The Message)

We have all been there. There is the visit to the amusement park. And the person in your party who insists that you get the map and follow a specific plan to navigate the park. And there are even super gung-ho people who read up on the best strategy to navigate the park and insist that you follow the 'unofficial guide' plan of action. There is a whole series of "Unofficial Guides" to famous amusement parks especially written for these super uber planners.  I might even be guilty of having more than one of these guides in my own library.

The Park Map is valuable. The plan is valuable.  It might prevent you from spending a lot of unwelcome time waiting in lines in the heat of the day.  You can ride five rides with a guide and a plan in the time it takes someone else without a guide and a plan to ride one and stop for pictures.

THis week's scripture focuses on the planner and the one surprised by what happens. In The Message version we read:

Then Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain. When the grain is fully formed, he reaps—harvest time!

The man throws his seeds down and forgets about them and suddenly they grow.., but not without help. It is the earth who shows up and helps the seed grow into a grain to be harvested. 

A clear indication that nothing happens without someone playing a role in what happens.  Perhaps following God's plan for you might mean not mapping anything out, just letting life unfold... and that does have its own value, but some plan is still happening, whether or not you are aware. Someone is standing in your corner guiding you... prompting you... encouraging you... loving you.

The disciples thought that Jesus was a miracle worker. And in many ways he was. But the reason he told parables like the parable of the mustard seed (or as it's called in The Message, 'the pine nut'), is to  show how one life works in conjunction with another, and the 'miracle' is in the ways various lives grow together.  THe seed is so small and yet it grows into a giant pine tree that an eagle can rest in.  But not without sunshine and rain. And the seasons. And later, the community of other trees and the homes that are developed within their branches.

Nothing happens without touching something else. Nothing happens in a vacuum. We are all connected. We might be roaming around the map wasting valuable park time looking at the sidewalk, but we are headed somewhere.  Sometimes we want to waste time.  Sometimes we don't.  It is our job as people of faith to figure out when it is right to be following the UBER GUIDE of getting a ton of stuff done and feeling accomplished and when it is right to slow down a little and worry less about what gets done.   But it is important to always notice, whether we are moving slow or fast, that we all affect one another.  We are here to be with and support one another. We are branches for someone's nest. Someone is the rain for our plant. Jesus tells us that God's kingdom is happening in just that sort of connection. Jesus wants us to see that nobody is going it alone.  

What are your thoughts on touring amusement parks with or without a map?  What are your thoughts on connectivity leading to growth?

Email me at peverhart@niwotumc.org or comment below.