I was at St. John's in Lyons for the 10:30 worship service. This is a little skit I put together to be used in place of the sermon.
Cast: Jim and Gary using a microphone in front of the altar.
Thomas using a microphone in the
entrance room.
Jim and Gary walk to the front of the altar.
Gary – Hey Jimbo, I’ve been thinking…
Jim – That’s a dangerous thing for you to do!
Gary (pointing
to this script) – Pastor Jon gave us this thing to read while he’s away
leading worship at Lyons. Who’s to say
we have to do it?
Jim – “The cat’s away and the mice will play?”
Gary – Exactly! Instead of having a sermon, let’s just set up the projector and we’ll watch some YouTube videos of puppies and kittens. That’ll be more fun than this drivel he writes for us to do!
Jim – I’ll do you one better. Let’s skip the sermon altogether! We’ll cut worship short and get to the truly important part of Sunday morning – the goodies at coffee hour!
Gary – Works for me. I’m sure no one in the congregation will tell.
Thomas (with a big voice) - Jim and Gary!
Jim – Uh oh.
Gary – Is that you, Pastor Jon, coming to spy on us?
Thomas – Nope.
Jim – Is it you, God? Have you hacked into our sound system?
Thomas – Am I God? Maybe yes. Maybe no. But I’ve definitely hacked into your sound system! You have no choice but to listen to me.
Gary – I guess the cat isn’t actually away!
Thomas – You just read the Parable of the Sower. Are you guys good soil?
Jim – I know I am. I don’t think Gary is though.
Gary – Me?!? I know I’m good soil. I don’t think Jim is though.
Thomas – Tell me about the good soil.
Jim – It produces a good crop.
Thomas – Is that all?
Jim – I think so.
Thomas – Gary, do you have a better answer?
Gary – I’m with Jim on this one!
Thomas – Read it again. It says the good soil is the people who hold the word of God, “with an honest and good heart, and they bear fruit with patient endurance.” Are you showing patient endurance today?
Jim – I guess not.
Gary (reluctantly) – No.
Thomas – Let’s look at the other soils. The path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and snatches it away. These days most people in America have heard of Jesus. They know a bit but they aren’t interested. To them, faith in Jesus is for people who are simpletons or who are ignorant. Meanwhile, they think real, educated people don’t need Jesus. For most people, following Jesus just gets in the way of what they want to do. They don’t want to be bothered.
Gary – Whoever this Voice is, he’s got a point!
Jim – Yeah, I suppose we ought to hear what he has to say.
Thomas – The thing
is, God hasn’t spread the seed of his Word into this world in order to make it boring
or difficult. God spread it because it
is for our own good! All of what God
does is for our own good.
Margaret Young was
a singer and a comedian. But she wasn’t
joking when she said this decades ago:
“Often people
attempt to live their lives backwards.
They try to have more things or more money in order to do more of what
they want so that they’ll be happier.
The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do
what you really need to do, in order to have what you want.”
Who we really are is what God created us to be. The good soil is productive because it knows that it was created by God to do good works and bear fruit.
Gary – Let’s not forget that God also has a sense of humor. That’s why He created Jim!
Jim – …ha ha. Voice, talk about the other soils.
Thomas – Those who are the rocky soil hear the Word better than those who are the path. They receive it and are excited. But then when the excitement wears off they go somewhere else. They’re not really all that different than the path though. It seems to be that many people don’t stick to anything long. If something doesn’t fulfill them, just move on to the next thing. Ultimately they’re just lost in life. Lots of people who call themselves “spiritual but not religious,” are actually rocky soil.
Jim – William James said that most people never run far enough on their first wind to realize that they have a second!
Thomas – Indeed, sticking to something is the only way to become excellent at it. Our pianist, Will is excellent. Did he just crawl out of his crib one day and start playing his family’s piano with perfection? Certainly not! He’s worked, and studied, and practiced, and pushed through failures. What we hear from the piano on a Sunday is the result of hours of work and many failures behind the scenes.
Gary – Well Jim, you might think you’re being fancy because you quoted William James. I can do you one better! Proverbs 21:5 says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to want.”
Jim – (sarcastically) Ha! We just read that in the service earlier. You’re not clever.
Gary – At least that’s proof I was paying attention when the Bible readings were happening!
Thomas – (sternly) Gentlemen, discipline yourselves so we can move on! The longer you bicker the longer it will take for us to get to coffee hour. There’s one type of soil left to talk about.
Gary – Then proceed by all means!
Thomas – Finally
is the seed that falls among the thorns.
Jesus says these are the ones who hear, but as they go on their way,
they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit
does not mature.
These are people
who think faith is a part of being a well-rounded person. They do not make it the center of their
lives. They think being a Christian is
just about morality. That way they can still call themselves good people but
not actually be committed.
Also, we are all susceptible to this. It is easy to let our lives be determined by how much money we make and the standard of living we want. Or be driven by our retirement savings. Or be driven by children’s activities. Our world fills our lives with things that seem to be all-important. But all of these are really just weeds that choke our faith.
Jim – Life can feel like a garden where we are constantly fighting back weeds.
Gary – If it’s not one thing it’s another.
Thomas – Exactly. There are always lots of things that sap our energy and productivity.
Jim – So what would you say that we should do?
Thomas – It isn’t
easy. But if we want to truly bear fruit
for God we remember that we live in a secular, wealth-oriented, pleasure-seeking
society. We should not follow the world
because it will always just make weeds grow in our lives. Instead, just as
Jesus said, we keep listening to God. We
remember that what the world promises is a lie.
A life of faith needs patience, endurance, and ongoing listening to God. These are the ways for our lives to produce a good harvest.
Jim – Not to sound: impatient, un-listening, and not having any endurance… but we can have fun too!
Thomas – Of course we can. And we do! Sundays especially are a time to be together as Christians, to worship together, …and to enjoy coffee hour too!
Gary – That sounds like a plan to me.
Jim – We’ve also been here long enough that we don’t have to lie to Pastor Jon about skipping a sermon!
Thomas – Let’s move along so that we can enjoy the fellowship God creates for us.