William H. Willimon - "Some Way to Run a Farm" (July 22, 1990)

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	(organ music)	0:00
Reverend Nancy	Grace and peace to you in the name	2:32
	of the Lord Jesus Christ.	2:33
	We welcome you to this service of	2:35
	worship here at Duke University Chapel,	2:37
	on the seventh Sunday after Pentecost.	2:39
	If you are a visitor to the Duke Campus,	2:42
	we wish you a very pleasant stay and	2:43
	if we may be of any assistance to you,	2:45
	here at the chapel,	2:47
	please feel free to let us know.	2:48
	Our Preacher for this morning's service	2:51
	is the Reverend Doctor William H. Willimon,	2:52
	Dean of the Chapel, and our lector is	2:54
	Ms. Miriam Hage, member of the congregation at Duke Chapel.	2:57
	I'm pleased to introduce to you this morning,	3:02
	two members of our undergraduate student body,	3:04
	Miss Allison Best and Miss Caroline Light,	3:06
	who are Co-Directors of Project BUILD.	3:10
	Today's offering, will go in its entirety,	3:12
	to Project BUILD and I've invited them to	3:15
	tell you briefly about their program.	3:17
Allison	Project BUILD is a one week	3:20
	pre-orientation program for incoming new students	3:21
	that's based on community service.	3:23
	The program is in its second year and	3:25
	this summer it will involve about 70 students.	3:26
	We'll all be working with Habitat for Humanity	3:29
	and the North Carolina Land Trust doing	3:30
	construction work and also in smaller groups	3:32
	we'll be working with eight other agencies	3:34
	in Durham addressing a wide variety of needs	3:36
	from child care to the needs of chronically, mentally ill.	3:38
Caroline	BUILD is actually an acronym.	3:42
	It stands for building undergraduate involvement	3:43
	in the Durham community.	3:45
	Basically that's a pretty good summary	3:48
	of the goals of the program.	3:49
	Project BUILD encourages these students to	3:51
	become informed about the city they live in	3:53
	and to take an active role in	3:54
	trying to better the community.	3:56
Reverend Nancy	Thank you.	3:59
	Hope you'll give generously.	4:01
	And now let us continue our worship.	4:03
	♪ Blessed Jesus, at Thy word ♪	4:12
	♪ We are gathered all to hear Thee ♪	4:19
	♪ Let our hearts and souls be stirred ♪	4:30
	♪ Now to seek and love and fear Thee ♪	4:38
	♪ By Thy teachings sweet and holy ♪	4:49
	♪ Drawn from earth to love Thee solely ♪	4:58
	(organ music)	5:15
	♪ Glorious things of Thee are spoken ♪	6:05
	♪ Zion, city of our God ♪	6:10
	♪ Thou whose word cannot be broken ♪	6:16
	♪ Formed thee for his own abode ♪	6:22
	♪ On the Rock of Ages founded ♪	6:29
	♪ What can shake Thy sure repose ♪	6:35
	♪ With salvation's walls surrounded ♪	6:41
	♪ Thou may'st smile at all thy foes ♪	6:47
	♪ See the streams of living waters ♪	6:55
	♪ Springing from eternal love ♪	7:01
	♪ Well supply thy sons and daughters ♪	7:07
	♪ And all fear of want remove ♪	7:13
	♪ Who can faint, when such a river ♪	7:20
	♪ Ever flows their thirst t' assuage ♪	7:26
	♪ Grace which, like the Lord, the giver ♪	7:32
	♪ Never fails from age to age ♪	7:38
	♪ Round each habitation hovering ♪	7:47
	♪ See the cloud and fire appear ♪	7:52
	♪ For a glory and a covering ♪	7:59
	♪ Showing that the Lord is near ♪	8:05
	♪ Thus deriving from our banner ♪	8:12
	♪ Light by night and shade by day ♪	8:18
	♪ Safe they feed upon the manna ♪	8:24
	♪ Which God gives us when we pray ♪	8:30
	♪ Blest inhabitants of Zion ♪	8:39
	♪ Washed in the Redeemer's blood ♪	8:45
	♪ Jesus, whom their souls rely on ♪	8:51
	♪ Makes them kings and priests to God ♪	8:57
	♪ 'Tis His love His people raises ♪	9:04
	♪ Over self to reign as kings, ♪	9:10
	♪ And as priests, His solemn praises ♪	9:17
	♪ Each for a thank off'ring brings ♪	9:23
Reverend Nancy	Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom,	9:36
	you know our necessities before we ask,	9:41
	and our ignorance in asking.	9:44
	Have compassion on our weakness,	9:47
	and mercifully give us those things	9:49
	which for our unworthiness we dare not	9:51
	and for our blindness we cannot ask.	9:55
	Through the worthiness of your Son,	9:58
	Jesus Christ Our Lord, who lives and reigns with you	10:00
	in the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever, Amen.	10:04
Miriam	Let us pray.	10:17
Congregation	Open our hearts and minds oh God,	10:20
	by the power of your Holy Spirit,	10:23
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed,	10:26
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day, Amen.	10:29
Miriam	The First Reading is taken from	10:35
	the Book of Exodus.	10:37
	Now Moses was keeping the flock of his	10:38
	father-in-law, Jethro, the Priest of Midian,	10:41
	and he led his flock to the west side of	10:45
	the wilderness and came to Horeb,	10:48
	the Mountain of God.	10:49
	And the Angel of God appeared to him in a	10:52
	flame of fire out of the midst of the bush,	10:54
	and Moses looked and low, the bush was burning,	10:57
	yet it was not consumed.	11:01
	And Moses said, "I will turn aside and see this	11:04
	great sight, why the bush is not burnt."	11:07
	When God saw that he turned aside to see	11:11
	God called to him out of the bush,	11:14
	"Moses! Moses!"	11:17
	And he said, "Here am I."	11:19
	Then God said, "Do not come near.	11:22
	Put off your shoes from your feet,	11:24
	for the place on which you are standing,	11:27
	is Holy Ground."	11:29
	And God said, "I am the God of your ancestor.	11:31
	The God of Abraham.	11:35
	The God of Isaac.	11:37
	And the God of Jacob."	11:38
	And Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look at God.	11:40
	Then God said, "I have seen the affliction of my people	11:46
	who are in Egypt and have heard their cry	11:49
	because of their taskmasters.	11:52
	I know their sufferings and I have come down	11:55
	to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians	11:57
	and to bring them up out of that land	12:01
	to a good and broad land.	12:03
	A land flowing with milk and honey,	12:05
	to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites,	12:08
	the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.	12:11
	And now the cry of the people of Israel has come to me,	12:15
	and I have seen the oppression with	12:18
	which the Egyptians oppress them.	12:21
	Come, I will send you to Pharaoh,	12:23
	that you may bring forth my people,	12:25
	the Children of Israel, out of Egypt."	12:27
	But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should	12:30
	go to Pharaoh and	12:33
	bring the Children of Israel out of Egypt?"	12:35
	God said, "But I will be with you and	12:37
	this shall be the sign for you,	12:40
	that I have sent you.	12:43
	When you have brought forth the people	12:45
	out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain."	12:47
	This is the Word of the Lord.	12:51
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	12:55
Reverend Nancy	Please stand as we join	13:00
	together in singing responsibly,	13:02
	Psalm 103 verses one through thirteen.	13:03
	♪ Bless the Lord, O my soul ♪	13:19
	♪ And all that is within me ♪	13:23
	♪ Bless God's holy name ♪	13:26
	♪ Bless the Lord, O my soul ♪	13:30
	♪ And forget not all his benefits ♪	13:34
	♪ Who forgives all your iniquity ♪	13:40
	♪ Who heals all your diseases ♪	13:44
	♪ Who redeems your life from the pit ♪	13:49
	♪ Who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy ♪	13:54
	♪ Who satisfies you with good ♪	13:59
	♪ So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's ♪	14:02
	♪ The Lord who works vindication ♪	14:11
	♪ And justice for all who are oppressed ♪	14:15
	♪ Has made known God's ways to Moses ♪	14:20
	♪ God's acts to the people of Israel ♪	14:25
	♪ The Lord is merciful and gracious ♪	14:31
	♪ Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love ♪	14:36
	♪ The Lord will not always chide ♪	14:43
	♪ Nor harbor anger forever ♪	14:47
	♪ The Lord does not deal with us according to our sins ♪	14:52
	♪ Nor repay us according to our iniquities ♪	14:59
	♪ For as the heavens are high above the earth ♪	15:05
	♪ So great is the Lord's steadfast love toward the faithful ♪	15:11
	♪ As far as the east is from the west ♪	15:18
	♪ So far does he remove our transgressions from us ♪	15:23
	♪ As a Father shows compassion to his children ♪	15:32
	♪ So the Lord shows compassion to the faithful ♪	15:37
	(organ music)	15:45
	(chorus singing)	15:53
Miriam	The Second Reading is taken from	16:51
	Paul's Letter to the Romans.	16:52
	I consider that the sufferings of this present time	16:55
	are not worth comparing with the glory that	16:59
	is to be revealed to us.	17:01
	For the creation waits with eager longing	17:03
	for the revealing of the children of God.	17:06
	For the creation was subjected to futility,	17:09
	not of it's own will,	17:12
	but by the will of the one who subjected it in hope.	17:14
	Because the creation itself will be set free	17:18
	from it's bondage to decay, and obtain the glorious	17:21
	liberty of the children of God.	17:25
	We know that the whole creation	17:28
	has been groaning in travail together until now.	17:30
	But not only the creation, but we ourselves,	17:34
	who have the first roots of the spirit grown inwardly,	17:38
	as we wait for adoption as children of God.	17:42
	Redemption of our bodies.	17:46
	For in this hope, we were saved.	17:49
	Now hope that is seen is not hope.	17:52
	For who hopes for what is already seen?	17:56
	But if hope for what we do not see,	17:59
	we wait for it with patience.	18:02
	This is the Word of the Lord.	18:05
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	18:08
	♪ O Holy Spirit, Lord of grace ♪	18:29
	♪ Eternal source of love ♪	18:36
	♪ Inflame, we pray, our inmost hearts ♪	18:42
	♪ With fire from heaven above ♪	18:49
	♪ As thou in bond of love dost join ♪	18:56
	♪ The Father and the Son ♪	19:04
	♪ So fill us all with mutual love ♪	19:11
	♪ And knit our hearts in one ♪	19:25
-	[Reverend Dr. Willimon] The Gospel from Matthew.	20:01
	A parable he put to them saying,	20:04
	"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man	20:07
	who sowed good seed in his field."	20:10
	But while they were sleeping,	20:14
	his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat,	20:15
	and went away.	20:19
	So when the plants came up and bore grain,	20:20
	then weeds appeared also.	20:24
	And the servants of the householder came and said to him,	20:28
	"Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field?	20:31
	How is it then that there are weeds?"	20:35
	He said to them, "An enemy has done this."	20:39
	The servants said to him,	20:43
	"Then do you want us to go and gather them?"	20:45
	But he said,	20:49
	"No.	20:50
	Lest in gathering the weeds,	20:51
	you root up the wheat along with them.	20:54
	Let both grow together until the harvest and	20:58
	at harvest time I will tell the reapers,	21:01
	"Gather the weeds first and	21:05
	bind them in bundles to be burned,	21:07
	but gather the wheat into my barn.""	21:09
	Here ends the lesson.	21:14
	Thanks be to God.	21:16
	I would wager that the two predominant reasons	21:25
	that I have heard people give for why they are	21:31
	not active in a church are these:	21:35
	One,	21:40
	people in the church seem just as lousy as everybody else.	21:42
	And here they will cite some sin,	21:47
	which they assume they are innocent of	21:50
	(like racism, or materialism, or hypocrisy)	21:52
	and ascribe that to people in the church.	21:55
	Or, two,	21:59
	they say something like,	22:01
	"With the world in the shape it's in,	22:04
	"with so much evil and suffering in the world,	22:08
	"I think that belief in a good and loving God is silly."	22:11
	And here they cite some evil,	22:17
	which then is ascribed to God's ineptitude.	22:20
	And the implication of both of these charges is,	22:26
	"Just think of all the wonderfully, morally sensitive	22:29
	"people we could get in the church--	22:34
	"if we could just clean up our act."	22:36
	If God could clean up God's act.	22:39
	And from time to time,	22:43
	we have certainly tried to clean up both God	22:44
	and our act as the church,	22:47
	but we've never been quite able to pull it off.	22:51
	Throughout church history, there have been times	22:55
	when we've tried to purify the church.	22:57
	Let's get rid of the dead wood and	23:00
	pare this thing down to the really committed,	23:02
	really good people.	23:04
	And yet, such attempts often end up with a church	23:09
	full of people that look like more those who	23:13
	crucified Jesus than those who followed Him.	23:16
	You know the old saw about the two Puritans	23:19
	talking to each other, and one says to the other,	23:22
	"There is none so righteous as me and thee.	23:26
	"And sometimes I worry about thee."	23:30
	I know I greatly admire the tiny Mennonite churches.	23:34
	I admire their tight discipline and	23:38
	their pacifism and their courage.	23:40
	And I said out in Kansas about how much I admired	23:43
	the Mennonites and this Mennonite Pastor	23:46
	comes up to me, and says, "Look,	23:49
	"we Mennonites look a lot better at a distance.	23:51
	"We're pacifists except when it comes to fights	23:54
	"with other Mennonites."	23:57
	And in a way that describes everybody's church--	24:00
	it's a mess.	24:03
	Untidy,	24:06
	always only partly faithful.	24:08
	And then we've tried to defend God against	24:14
	the charge of moral ineptitude	24:16
	against those who wondered why if God	24:20
	is both all-loving and all-powerful,	24:22
	there is so much heartache, pain and evil in the world?	24:25
	We've tried a variety of defenses,	24:29
	but they're inevitably unsatisfactory.	24:33
	Philosophers call it theodicy,	24:36
	which means justifying the ways of God to humanity.	24:39
	And there's never been any theodicy that really worked.	24:42
	Because evil remains evil,	24:47
	and the very essence of evil is it's a mess.	24:50
	Things are still in a mess.	24:55
	One day Jesus told a parable,	24:59
	which, while it may not offer much help to people	25:03
	who question the messiness of the church--	25:06
	or the messiness of life--	25:10
	may be of some help to those of us who've got to live	25:12
	with the mess in the church and in life,	25:16
	and in ourselves.	25:20
	"The Kingdom of Heaven may be compared	25:23
	"to a man who sowed good seed in his field.	25:25
	"But while they were sleeping, his enemy	25:29
	"came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.	25:31
	"When the plants came up and bore grain,	25:34
	"weeds appeared also.	25:38
	"Servants of the householder came and said to him,	25:40
	"'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field?	25:43
	"'How is it, then, that there are weeds?'	25:49
	"He said to them,	25:52
	"'An enemy has done this.'	25:53
	"The servants said,	25:56
	"'Then do you want us to go and gather them?'	25:58
	"But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds,	26:01
	"'you root up the wheat along with them.	26:06
	"'Let them both grow together until the harvest.'"	26:08
	Now, what kind of farmer is this?	26:15
	Is this any way to plant a garden?	26:19
	This parable of the wheat and the weeds is preceded	26:22
	by another agricultural fiasco.	26:28
	"A farmer goes out to sow seed," says Jesus.	26:32
	"And this farmer	26:36
	"cultivates the ground,	26:40
	"and then he makes the rows, all in straight rows,	26:42
	"one right after the other.	26:46
	"He prepares his furrows and	26:47
	"then he puts in one little seed	26:49
	"and then six inches beyond he puts in another seed,	26:51
	"and then another, and then he carefully covers it up."	26:53
-	-No!	26:55
	Jesus said, "A sower went out to sow,	26:58
	and he just started slinging seed everywhere.	27:00
	And he's just throwing seed everywhere,	27:03
	and of course some of the seed lands on rocks.	27:05
	And most of the rest of seed is gobbled up by birds,	27:11
	but amazingly enough, some of the seed,	27:14
	considering this sloppy method of sowing seed,	27:17
	hits on good soil and it grows up.	27:21
	Now what you'd think is a careful farmer would	27:27
	cultivate the earth and be a bit more careful in the sowing.	27:29
	But no, Jesus said, this sower just comes out and	27:34
	just starts slinging seed everywhere.	27:37
	And it falls on earth both good and bad.	27:39
	And if that parable did not confuse you enough,	27:44
	Jesus follows it with another.	27:48
	And I think it's a parable about the very same farmer.	27:50
	He sows seed in his field, but when the seed germinate,	27:54
	and the wheat first appears,	28:01
	weeds also appear--	28:04
	darnel, which I am told looks like wheat at first,	28:06
	but as it matures,	28:10
	it bares nothing.	28:14
	It's just weeds.	28:15
	"Well, what happened?" asked the farmer's servants.	28:18
	"Sir, did you not sow good seed?"	28:21
	The farmer says, "An enemy must have done this.	28:25
	"It must have come in at night and sowed these weeds	28:29
	"in this perfectly good wheat."	28:33
	Enemy, my eye.	28:36
	I mean, you've watched this farmer at work before.	28:38
	Last field he planted,	28:41
	there were a lot of weeds in that field, too.	28:42
	And birds, and rocks.	28:45
	You get that kind of result when you get	28:47
	this slinging seed in every direction.	28:51
	Here's a farmer that doesn't need enemies	28:55
	sneaking around at night to ruin his harvest;	28:57
	he's perfectly capable of ruining it himself.	29:00
	And then the servants ask, "Okay, Master,	29:03
	"do you want us to go out and try to pick up those,	29:06
	"pull up those weeds so that that wheat can grow?"	29:09
	And the farmer replies, "No, no, just let the weeds	29:14
	"and the wheat grow together.	29:18
	"I just love to see stuff grow and	29:20
	"it's too much trouble.	29:24
	"You go out there weeding that garden,	29:25
	"you're gonna slip up, pull up some wheat with the weeds.	29:27
	"Just leave it, we'll try to sort it all out in September."	29:31
	Can you believe this kind of agriculture?	29:36
	Well of course you can, because you've watched	29:40
	this farmer at work before slinging seeds	29:42
	all over everywhere, rather than	29:45
	taking the time to do it right.	29:47
	And as it turns out, he's not much better	29:49
	at hoeing than he is at sowing.	29:51
	"Just let them all grow together,	29:54
	we'll worry about it later."	29:56
	And Jesus says the Kingdom of Heaven	30:00
	is just like that.	30:02
	Now it's a surprising story, and it's particularly	30:06
	surprising to hear a story like this from Matthew.	30:10
	Because Matthew is not a gospel of permissiveness,	30:13
	it's a gospel of judgment.	30:17
	There's never any permissive little pat	30:19
	on the head in Matthew.	30:21
	His gospel is just full of stories about	30:24
	judgment and the separation,	30:26
	the separation of good trees	30:28
	from those that don't produce fruit	30:31
	and the perils of building a house on	30:33
	the sand as opposed to building a house on rock.	30:35
	And choosing God or mammon,	30:39
	and entering the narrow gate,	30:42
	and sorting out the goats from the sheep,	30:44
	and not throwing pearls before swine...	30:48
	Wheat and weeds.	30:53
	In Matthew, it's when first meet Jesus for the first time,	30:56
	through the words of John the Baptist,	30:59
	who says of Jesus, "His winnowing fork is in his hand,	31:02
	"and he will clear his threshing floor and gather wheat	31:06
	"into the granary, but the chaff he is going to throw	31:10
	"into unquenchable fire."	31:13
	Separate.	31:16
	Purify.	31:18
	Purge.	31:20
	But the maddening thing that is also in Matthew's Gospel,	31:24
	that we're told about a marriage feast.	31:28
	Where the servants are sent out to invite to the feast,	31:32
	"As many as you find, both bad and good."	31:35
	And it was Matthew who told the story about	31:41
	these fishermen who have this great dragnet	31:44
	and they pull it to shore.	31:47
	And when they pull it to shore, tied between two boats,	31:48
	they dragged in "fish of every kind."	31:52
	"Master, you want us to make up an invitation list	31:59
	"on the basis on the New York social register?"	32:02
	"No, just send an invitation to everybody who's	32:06
	"listed in the Manhattan telephone book."	32:10
	"Master, you want us just to fish for tuna this time?"	32:14
	"No, sting rays and sand dollars taste good, too."	32:18
	What kind of way is that to party?	32:24
	What kind of way is that to fish?	32:26
	I believe these parables originally spoke	32:31
	to the messiness of the church.	32:34
	The messiness involved in a Lord who says to the church,	32:40
	(Matthew 28) "Go, make disciples of all nations.	32:45
	"Go, preach this gospel" (Matthew 24)	32:52
	"throughout the whole world."	32:56
	And you go do that kind of thing	33:00
	and you'll be surprised at who shows up for baptism.	33:02
	The church casts its dragnet across the whole world,	33:06
	and look at the creatures we caught.	33:11
	The invitation to the party was issued,	33:15
	and look who showed up to party.	33:17
	It's a mess!	33:20
	But I think the story says, it's God's mess.	33:23
	Because when this God starts to sowing,	33:27
	or inviting, or blessing, or calling,	33:31
	this God just doesn't know where to stop.	33:37
	And it is not for us to judge	33:41
	which seed will take root,	33:42
	which tree will bear fruit.	33:46
	It's not for us to distinguish between wheat and weeds--	33:49
	that's God's business.	33:54
	And yet I expect this parable also spoke	33:58
	to a larger issue.	34:01
	The larger issue of the messiness,	34:06
	not just in the church, but in life, in the world.	34:10
	If you think it's a mess in the church,	34:15
	then you look at the mess in the world.	34:17
	If this is God's world,	34:21
	then one would expect that maybe God would have	34:23
	done a better job of making it seem	34:25
	more like God's world.	34:27
	Here we've got war, we've got injustice,	34:30
	pain, suffering, sickness,	34:33
	you can make your own list.	34:37
	And I think that's the question	34:41
	caught up in the servants' query to the Master:	34:45
	"Lord, did you not sow good seed in your field?	34:48
	"Lord, on that early morning of creation,	34:55
	"when you looked at your world,	34:59
	"and you said, 'That's good, that's real good.'	35:00
	"Were you talking about this world?	35:07
	"Why are there weeds?"	35:13
	"Well this enemy, this enemy slipped in at midnight	35:16
	"and he probably sowed these weeds among the wheat."	35:19
	And that's possible, but you gotta admit,	35:23
	that's rather improbable.	35:25
	Nowhere in Near Eastern Literature	35:28
	is there any story about somebody	35:30
	getting back at somebody else	35:32
	by sowing weeds amidst their wheat.	35:34
	There were quicker, cheaper, nastier ways	35:38
	to get even with somebody.	35:41
	But how alike that is to try to pin	35:44
	evil that we experience,	35:46
	and particularly--the evil we do--on somebody else.	35:49
	"The devil made me do it."	35:54
	I think that's a rather lame explanation for this evil.	35:57
	I don't buy that bit about the nocturnal enemy.	36:03
	I think though that this a parable which struggles	36:08
	with the problem of evil.	36:11
	I mean maybe evil does come from some	36:14
	supernatural force set loose in the world,	36:17
	sneaking around at night and making mischief.	36:19
	Some Satan, who roves about in the darkness,	36:21
	working mischief in this otherwise benign creation.	36:25
	Perhaps.	36:29
	But whether or not that be the source	36:32
	of suffering, and evil, and pain of injustice,	36:34
	one thing we know, and that is:	36:38
	evil is real, it's here.	36:39
	The world is a mess.	36:42
	There is bad seed growing right alongside the good.	36:44
	Weeds germinate just as well as wheat.	36:49
	And often you can't tell the weeds from the wheat,	36:54
	until they are full grown,	36:58
	and then it's too late to do to much about it.	36:59
	It was out of this mess that came	37:04
	the ancient biblical cry, "O Lord, how long,	37:07
	"O Lord, how long shall the wicked exult," Psalm 94.	37:11
	And we look at this, these weeds and this wheat,	37:19
	and that's our question--how long?	37:22
	When Duke lost the national basketball championship	37:27
	to a school, somewhere out in the desert.	37:31
	(laughter)	37:34
	I wrote our coach and advised him to look up	37:36
	Jeremiah 12:1 in his Bible.	37:38
	Jeremiah 12:1, "Lord, why do the wicked prosper?"	37:43
	(laughter)	37:48
	"Why do the treacherous thrive?"	37:50
	But, of course, it's no joking matter when it's your life,	37:55
	and evil sometimes flourishes and goodness withers.	38:01
	It's not funny.	38:07
	When those cancerous cells spread throughout the body.	38:10
	And good cells starve.	38:15
	When defenseless students stand before tanks in Beijing	38:19
	and are crushed.	38:23
	When drugs despoil our youth and enrich those who sell them.	38:25
	At such times, we're apt to ask,	38:30
	"Lord, did you not sow good seed in your field?"	38:33
	It's a mystery, and even by the end of the parable,	38:40
	it remains a mystery.	38:45
	By the end of the parable there are still weeds,	38:48
	just growing right along side the wheat.	38:51
	And you wonder what's gonna happen.	38:55
	We don't know, we got to wait.	38:59
	We've got to wait until the harvest, according to the story.	39:01
	Maybe what the farmer is doing is a good strategy.	39:06
	Yet everything dear to agriculture suggests	39:10
	this farmer is taking a big risk.	39:13
	He is headed for a tough harvest.	39:17
	He's putting a lot of good wheat at risk.	39:22
	"Do you want us to go gather up the weeds?"	39:28
	ask the servants.	39:31
	"We suspect that makes most sense."	39:34
	"No, no, let's wait," says the farmer,	39:37
	"Let's just wait, I'll risk it."	39:42
	Isn't that wasteful?	39:48
	Especially for conscientious,	39:50
	ethically sensitive religious people like us?	39:52
	Isn't that wasteful?	39:55
	What kind of way is that to run a farm?	39:58
	"Well", says this farmer,	40:02
	"I don't only do sowing,	40:05
	"I'm also into animal husbandry.	40:08
	"And I remember the time I had this one sheep that was lost,	40:11
	"this one sheep, and I went out and left	40:14
	"all the ninety-nine sheep in the wilderness,	40:16
	"risked that, went after one sheep,	40:18
	"and searched till I found him.	40:20
	"And then last year I gave this dinner party and	40:23
	"I told my servants, 'Go out and bring in	40:27
	"'everybody off the street, anybody you can	40:29
	"'lay your hands on, both good and bad.'"	40:31
	"It was rough on the furniture, but man,	40:34
	"did we have a party.	40:36
	"And then I had these grapes to harvest	40:41
	"and I went out and I needed other	40:43
	"people to harvest 'em.	40:45
	"I went downtown, I got people.	40:46
	"Went back downtown again,	40:48
	"End of the day, I was feeling so good,	40:49
	"I said heck, 'I'll pay everybody the same wage,	40:51
	"'even those who've only been here one hour."	40:54
	"And they grumbled and I said,	40:58
	"'Hey, (chuckles) this is my farm, isn't it?	41:00
	"'I'm gonna run my farm the way I run my farm, okay?'	41:04
	You can read about it in Matthew,	41:08
	but I tell ya, it takes patience to work on such a farm.	41:11
	It takes patience to endure such a wait,	41:17
	such a risk.	41:21
	At my last church,	41:26
	at the end of long day,	41:29
	I was tired.	41:32
	And one this that gets you as a preacher,	41:34
	you know, seems like there's so little results.	41:36
	So little progress.	41:40
	And at the end of some days,	41:43
	I'd be so tired, I'd just sit down,	41:45
	you know, I'd pour a cup of coffee,	41:46
	and then I'd pour the Lord a cup of coffee,	41:48
	and I'd say, "Now Lord, let's go over this one more time.	41:51
	"Why did you think it was a good idea to have a	41:55
	"Methodist Church up here on Summit Drive in Greenville?"	41:57
	And then I'd listen, but I'd never understand.	42:01
	I'd say, "All right, okay.	42:03
	"But why would you try to build a church with these people?	42:05
	"If I were going out and calling people	42:09
	"to be part of a church,	42:11
	"I could've done a better job than these people."	42:13
	And then the Lord would say,	42:17
	"Hey, wait, look, this is my farm, right?	42:19
	"And I'm gonna run my farm, the way I run my farm.	42:24
	"It's my farm."	42:29
	(organ music)	42:41
	♪ Be still, my soul, the Lord is on your side ♪	43:33
	♪ Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain ♪	43:42
	♪ Leave to your God to order and provide ♪	43:51
	♪ In every change God faithful will remain. ♪	44:01
	♪ Be still, my soul, your best, your heav'nly friend ♪	44:10
	♪ Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end ♪	44:20
	♪ Be still, my soul, your God will undertake ♪	44:30
	♪ To guide the future as he has the past ♪	44:40
	♪ Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake ♪	44:49
	♪ All now mysterious shall be bright at last ♪	44:58
	♪ Be still, my soul, the waves and winds still know ♪	45:08
	♪ His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below ♪	45:18
	♪ Be still, my soul, the hour is hast'ning on ♪	45:28
	♪ When we shall be forever with the Lord ♪	45:38
	♪ When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone ♪	45:48
	♪ Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored ♪	45:57
	♪ Be still, my soul, when change and tears are past ♪	46:07
	♪ All safe and blessed we shall meet at last ♪	46:17
Reverend Nancy	The Lord be with you.	46:32
Congregation	And also with you.	46:34
Reverend Nancy	Let us pray.	46:35
	Everlasting God,	46:47
	so often we bow our heads	46:50
	only in quiet meditation,	46:53
	when we also should be jumping for joy	46:56
	because you come to us as rescuer,	46:59
	as Savior,	47:02
	to find us when we are lost.	47:04
	Help us to rejoice in the miracle	47:08
	of your everlasting love for us,	47:09
	your wayward children.	47:12
	And so acknowledging our utter	47:16
	dependence on you we pray for the Church.	47:18
	Help us O God when we confuse absence of conflict	47:21
	with the peace of God.	47:26
	Help us when we imagine that our task is to preserve,	47:28
	at all cost, rather than to take a risk for your sake.	47:31
	Help us when we behave as though your presence in life	47:36
	were a past event, rather than a present encounter.	47:39
	Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.	47:44
	Help us redeeming God in the world.	47:50
	Help us when we use meaningless chatter	47:53
	to avoid real dialogue.	47:55
	Help us when we confuse privilege with responsibility,	47:58
	and claim rights when we should be acknowledging duties.	48:03
	Help us when we rationalize sinful behavior	48:07
	with deceptive reasoning.	48:11
	Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.	48:13
	Help us reconcile in God in our homes.	48:17
	Help us when exhaustion and preoccupation	48:22
	blind us to the needs of our loved ones.	48:25
	Help us when stubbornness and inflexibility	48:29
	prevent us from forgiving.	48:32
	Help us when a careless word or thoughtless action	48:34
	inflict hurt or pain.	48:38
	Help us when we are unable to recognize our own selfishness.	48:41
	Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.	48:46
	Oh eternal God, you have past through the test	48:51
	of suffering and are able to help those	48:53
	who must endure their own time of trial.	48:55
	We pray for all who suffer.	48:59
	We pray especially for those who suffer	49:02
	through their own folly or the folly	49:04
	or malice of others.	49:06
	May they know you as one who shares their	49:09
	agony and enables them to share your triumph.	49:11
	Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.	49:15
	We pray for those who cry out desperately for justice,	49:20
	for tyranny to be overthrown,	49:24
	for the despised to be given dignity,	49:26
	for the poor to receive a proper share	49:29
	of the earth's resources.	49:31
	You are the source of hope	49:34
	and the inspiration to action.	49:35
	Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.	49:39
	God of mercy you have promised to hear	49:43
	what we ask in the name of Jesus Christ.	49:45
	Accept and fulfill our petitions,	49:49
	we pray, not as we ask in our ignorance,	49:51
	but as you know us and love us,	49:54
	in Jesus Christ Our Lord, Amen.	49:57
	As a forgiven and reconciled people,	50:03
	let us our offer our gifts and ourselves unto God.	50:06
	(organ music)	50:14
	(chorus singing)	51:42
	(organ music)	56:18
	♪ Praise God, from whom all blessings flow ♪	56:38
	♪ Praise Him, all creatures here below ♪	56:44
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	56:50
	♪ Praise God, in Jesus fully known ♪	56:57
	♪ Creator, Word, and Spirit one ♪	57:03
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	57:08
	♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪	57:14
	♪ Alleluia ♪	57:21
Reverend Nancy	Our gracious God,	57:31
	creator of the universe,	57:33
	and giver of all good things,	57:35
	we thank you for our home on earth	57:37
	and for the joy of living,	57:40
	for the challenges you give us each day,	57:41
	and for the work we have to do.	57:43
	We thank you for young people who	57:46
	have the vision of the world as a better place	57:47
	and are willing to give of themselves	57:50
	to make it happen.	57:52
	May these offerings assist in delivering	57:54
	your people from bondage and liberate	57:56
	the poor, the hungry,	57:58
	and the neglected from their oppression.	58:00
	We thank you especially oh saving God	58:03
	for your love in Jesus Christ,	58:04
	who was for us the way, the truth,	58:07
	and the life and in whose name we pray,	58:09
Congregation	Our Father,	58:12
	who art in heaven,	58:13
	hallow it be thy name.	58:15
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,	58:17
	on Earth as it is in heaven.	58:19
	Give us this day our daily bread,	58:22
	and forgive us our trespasses	58:24
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	58:26
	And lead us not into temptation,	58:30
	but deliver us from evil,	58:32
	for thine is the kingdom,	58:34
	the power and the glory,	58:35
	forever and ever, Amen.	58:37
Reverend Nancy	The peace of God	58:41
	which passes all understanding,	58:42
	keep your hearts and minds and the knowledge,	58:45
	and the love of God, and of God's Son,	58:47
	Jesus Christ our Lord.	58:50
	And the blessing of God Almighty, Father,	58:52
	Son and Holy Spirit, remain with you always.	58:54
	♪ Amen ♪	59:04
	♪ Amen ♪	59:10
	♪ Amen ♪	59:13
	♪ Amen ♪	59:16
	♪ Amen ♪	59:20
	♪ Amen ♪	59:25
	♪ Amen ♪	59:30
	♪ Amen ♪	59:37
	(organ music)	59:48
	♪ The Church's one foundation ♪	1:00:41
	♪ Is Jesus Christ her Lord ♪	1:00:44
	♪ She is His new creation ♪	1:00:48
	♪ By water and the Word ♪	1:00:54
	♪ From heav'n He came and sought her ♪	1:00:59
	♪ To be His holy Bride ♪	1:01:06
	♪ With His own blood He bought her ♪	1:01:11
	♪ And for her life He died ♪	1:01:17
	♪ Elect from every nation ♪	1:01:25
	♪ Yet one o'er all the earth ♪	1:01:30
	♪ Her charter of salvation ♪	1:01:35
	♪ One Lord, one faith, one birth ♪	1:01:41
	♪ One holy Name she blesses ♪	1:01:47
	♪ Partakes one holy food ♪	1:01:53
	♪ And to one hope she presses ♪	1:01:59
	♪ With every grace endued ♪	1:02:04
	♪ Though with a scornful wonder ♪	1:02:12
	♪ Men see her sore oppressed ♪	1:02:18
	♪ By schisms rent asunder ♪	1:02:24
	♪ By heresies distressed ♪	1:02:30
	♪ Yet saints their watch are keeping ♪	1:02:35
	♪ Their cry goes up, how long ♪	1:02:41
	♪ And soon the night of weeping ♪	1:02:47
	♪ Shall be the morn of song ♪	1:02:53
	♪ Mid toil and tribulation ♪	1:03:01
	♪ And tumult of her war ♪	1:03:07
	♪ She waits the consummation ♪	1:03:13
	♪ Of peace forevermore ♪	1:03:18
	♪ Till with the vision glorious ♪	1:03:24
	♪ Her longing eyes are blest ♪	1:03:30
	♪ And the great church victorious ♪	1:03:36
	♪ Shall be the church at rest ♪	1:03:42
	♪ Yet she on earth hath union ♪	1:03:50
	♪ With the God the Three in One ♪	1:03:55
	♪ And mystic sweet communion ♪	1:04:01
	♪ With those whose rest is won ♪	1:04:07
	♪ O happy ones and holy ♪	1:04:12
	♪ Lord, give us grace that we ♪	1:04:18
	♪ Like them, the meek and lowly ♪	1:04:24
	♪ On high may dwell with thee ♪	1:04:30
	(organ music)	1:04:35
Reverend Nancy	Let us go forth in the name of the Lord.	1:04:48
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	1:04:51
	(organ music)	1:04:59

Item Info

Title:

William H. Willimon - "Some Way to Run a Farm" (July 22, 1990)

Description:

Sermon start time: 21:25. Sermon end time: 42:34.
Preaching on the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, the preacher argues that Jesus commanded his church to "make disciples of all nations” by preaching this gospel "throughout the whole world". It is not for the church, but for God to judge where the seed will take root, and distinguish the wheat from the weeds. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: "When this God starts to sowing, or inviting, or blessing, or calling, this God just doesn't know where to stop. And it is not for us to judge which seed will take root, which tree will bear fruit. It's not for us to distinguish between wheat and weeds--that's God's business.

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4s17t73q

Date:

July 22, 1990

Speaker:

Willimon, William H.

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Matthew

Chapter and Verse:

Matthew 13:24-30

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0191
ref8814_18o
uachapelsermaud
duke:321506
dcrmv001183
ark:/87924/r4s17t73q
4da2db4c-3e66-45d2-83fb-70fcf84cda33

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Related Resources:

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Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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William H. Willimon - "Some Way to Run a Farm" (July 22, 1990)

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Duke University Archives