Jesus the Guerrilla Gardener

Guerrilla Gardening started in the seventies, it’s an attempt by activists to counter the ever-present industrialization of our cities. These people live their days with seed in their pockets. They drop the seeds in crevasses between pavements, or plant it in garbage filled ground in the inner-city. Every seed is meant to be a project of hope, a story of potential redemption. Anna Hunter describes the effort,

"In the barren urban landscape of slate-grey concrete, a single blade of grass poking up through the pavement is a symbol of hope that demonstrates the power of nature to overcome all attempts to suffocate her. This restorative ability is inspiring activists to take back space from concrete and cars, to re-establish green surroundings and reconnect to our source of life, the land" 

We are called to be Guerrilla Gardeners, seed sowers in the kingdom of God. A prayer, a smile, a plea for forgiveness, an act of kindness, a generous heart, a sharing of resources, an act of subversion, an email of encouragement, the relieving of debt, sharing a meal – these are all seed in the kingdom gardeners’ arsenal. Seed on!

I think Jesus was a guerrilla gardener planting seed in hopeless places believing in the power

of God to bring beauty and life into dark places.

Relax and leave the weeding to me

For those of us who have been brought up to believe that weeding is an honourable duty, an absolute necessity and that a weed free garden is a virtue, such a statement seems almost sacrilegious, if not insane.  Surely the sensible thing to do is to get rid of weeds as soon as possible. They rob the soil, smother the legitimate plants and harbor pests. 

It comes as a surprise to us to hear that we may do better with those we don’t want in our midst than we would do if we tried to get rid of them.  Those we regard as mere weeds in society may be important companion plants in God’s gracious judgement, as precious as wheat.  It is made quite clear in the story that we are not in the position to judge the insiders from the outsiders, those who belong and those who do not, those who have a worth and those who are worthless, a fact that we are reminded of in the story of Jacob. It is not good to assume we are the wheat and the others are the weeds. God may see it differently.

Sometimes it feels a risk to let all things grow together, but God appears to like risks.  Why else did God choose Noah, Abraham, Sarah Jacob, Moses David, etc.  How do you allow those whom you believe to be wrong to grow along side you and those whom you love?  When my older son was fourteen, we were asked to take a fifteen year old boy who had been in trouble with the police, into our home. The request felt like we had been asked to transplant a weed into our crop. It took us so long to decide that by the time we said yes, they had found somewhere else for him.

We are just beginning to appreciate the benefits of diversity in bioculture and becoming aware of the dangers of monoculture. Today, in the Uniting Church around Australia, multiculturalism is being celebrated. May we, too, give thanks for diversity, enjoy being part of it and encourage others to be true to themselves as they grow around us. May God bless you all as Jacob was blessed by God’s words, “Know that I am with you and will keep you safe wherever you go.” In line with the parable, Christ has added to this, “Relax, and leave the weeding to me!”

Rev Julianne Parker (full sermon n sermons page)