In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

"RELIGION KILLS!"
These words were scrawled on the outer wall of the Presbyterian College in Montreal in the days immediately following the tragic events of September 11. They are words to which we ought to pay close and thoughtful attention in these anxious times especially in light of the recent bombings that took place in London, England and the murder of the Egyptian diplomat as well as numerous other hostages in Iraq.

If internet claims hold true concerning the perpetrators of these crimes they will only confirm once more the words of the theologian Douglas Hall who wrote, “most of the violence, death dealing, and terrorizing afoot in our world is inspired, if not initiated by some religion or another.” And certainly the advent of terrorism on a global scale has affirmed Hall’s words, especially the religion of Islam.

And yet for those of us who are Christians in Canada and who imagine that the message, “religion kills” has no application to us, then we are greatly deceived. For it matters little that we see ourselves as very nice people whose actions are on the whole generous and peaceful. Our own Christianity has known and continues to know its own violent history. The Crusades, the Inquisition, enslavement of native people, fundamentalist preachers calling joyfully for nuclear holocaust in order to usher in the coming of Christ.

It could also be argued that the violent forms of radical Islam in the world today are a reaction to Muslim humiliation at the hands of what is the most self proclaimed “Christian” nation on the face of the earth-namely the United States.
For what “kills” in religion is not just mission in the form of a crusading attitude and act. It is also the religious community who is convinced of its own superiority because it has possession of the Truth- with a capital T. A truth that is used to uphold and sustain a particular manner of lifestyle, or government policy that carries its own seeds of violence, exclusion and injustice.

"Religion kills" These two words sadly and tragically capture the feelings and sentiments of many people around the world today. And yet it is in this “field” where we are called to “sow the seeds of the good news of the kingdom of God. 

So let us turn then to our reading from Matthew- the parable of the Sower. It is a rather earthy little story- no pun intended. And in light of this weeks events dealing with both global poverty and international terrorism, there seems to be little to grasp on to in this story of a farmer who simply went out to sow some seed.

But if we move beyond the veneer of familiarity, we see that the parable is addressing a number of themes, these include mission-going out to sow the seed, context-the various places where the seeds fall, despair-seeds among the thorns and finally hope- the attitude found in the sowing practice itself.

Now this parable is addressed to two different audiences. The first audience are hearers of the word- meaning that are different ways of accepting the word of God. This is often the traditional interpretation of this parable. The second audience is those who plant the “seeds”. In the original context- this would be the inner circle of disciples but it also includes us- the church in the world.

So then let us briefly explore our own context. What does the field or fields look like in which we are to sow the seed? Here in our own backyard of Canada as I have mentioned to you before we face a secular society which is marked by material wealth but also a growing gap between rich and poor. Christianity has traditionally been the “cultural” religion but this is no longer the case. And perhaps if that graffiti at Presbyterian College is an indication, there is level of hostility towards religion in general because of its twisted manifestations.

And yet at the same time there is a degree of despair within our context, a sense of hopelessness. It is a “covert” despair not readily available at first glance. But we see this “despair” manifest itself in the empty pursuit of consumerism, the cult of the body, the quest for status and position. It marks a spiritual poverty that comes with the breakdown of the modern project of progress. Perhaps our context is best captured by the image of the field that is choked with thorns of worry and wealth.

There is, I think, no easy answer to this problem for human despair is notoriously hard to counter especially when it is a despair that is denied at such a deep level within our society. And yet our context has a major impact on how we see our mission- as we seek to sow the seeds.

Traditionally we have evisioned our mission as winning the world for Jesus complete with that crusading attitude and act. We have spoken in terms of truth that was upheld and sustained with political and military power. We proclaimed a gospel of glory through the church triumphant. But now we feel confused. In this global village our mission neither seems clear, concise or triumphant.

But if we look at the interpretation of the parable of the sower, we see that the mission is simply announcing the message of kingdom of God in a spirit of love. It is a mission that find’s its foundation not in territorial expansion, power and prestige but in God’s peace and justice and hope for the world. Like the very seeds we sow, it is a mission that is marked by littleness and humility, service and sharing.

In the fall of 2000 at Columbia Theological seminary five international theologians and two Presbyterian ministers were brought together to discuss and consider one question; “What is the mission of the church in the twenty-first century?” Over a period of two months, various papers were presented and in the end a common statement was adopted which declared that “ The mission of the Christian movement in the twenty-first century is to confess hope in action.”

Now our mandate for mission, is not to judge the past so much as let the past instruct us for the future. The quest for numbers, for influence, for power has been not only a contradiction of the gospel of Christ but it has in many ways brought pain and violence to the human family-”Religion kills”.

And yet in the name of the God who is forgiving we continue to sow our seeds of the kingdom in both patience and hope because we trust in the words of Christ. Certainly we do not know what the future of these seeds will hold nor should we look for quick results. But in our world which is marked by so much despair we strive to sow in hope for the world and leave the harvest to those who follow.
THANKS BE TO GOD, AMEN.