10 Pentecost July 28, 2002
Gospel: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-49a
In an earlier part of the chapter containing today's Gospel reading the Disciples inquired of Jesus, "Why do you tell stories when you preach?" Jesus replied, "To help people understand what they need to know."
I am going to tell you a story today about sowing seeds. There are over ninety references to sowing, as in planting, dispersed throughout the Old and New Testaments. The most significant of these references are in sermons presented by Jesus. In the Gospel reading for today, Jesus talks about planting a tiny mustard seed that grows into a bush and then into a tree. In the Gospel reading for last Sunday, Jesus was talking about sowing bad seeds (weeds) among good seeds (wheat). Use of "sowing/planting" analogies is useful for understanding the biblical story.
I recently asked one hundred-seventy high school students to write individual themes describing the most significant hero in his or her life. Their responses were very touching. Their heroes were parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends, teachers, and ministers. While reading their papers, the thought occurred to me that none of the heroes would likely recall the incidents that so wonderfully influenced the children. The heroes had planted small seeds. The seeds grew into plants that bore significant and lasting fruit.
Reading about the student's heroes caused me to think about the heroes of my life and to pick the most significant one. My most significant hero is Delsa Mae Thompson. Delsa was born late in the nineteenth century during the mid 1890s. The area of her birth was in the rural Midwestern United States. Agriculture, coal mining, and a small college town primarily supported the area.
Life began wonderfully for little "Delsie." Her mother was a wonderful lady frequently referred as "a saint on earth." Delsie's dad was also a loving and highly respected man of faith. Delsie's dad became ill with the flu and died when she was two years old. The mother and daughter moved in with grandparents. Life was OK, but not as wonderful as when her Daddy was with her.
After a time of mourning, a respected gentleman farmer from an adjoining community courted and married Delsie's mother. They joined him at his farm where eventually two baby sisters were born. Life was good again. Delsie dearly loved her baby sisters. Shortly after Delsie finished the third grade, her mother gave birth to a baby boy. Her mother died giving birth to the baby boy.
Once again, life was not so good for little Delsie. Going to school and learning had been a highly prized part of her life. She loved reading and learning. It was necessary, however, for the nine-year-old to quit school to help her stepfather raise her three siblings. She lost her mother and the joy of going to school.
At Sunday School one Sunday morning, during her fifteenth year, she met the handsomest young man she had ever seen. She was "in love." They married after a short courtship. Life expectancies were short in those days, so couples were usually married during their teens.
Life was wonderful again. Her husband was a coalminer. He was intelligent, industrious, and energetic. He was soon promoted to a supervisory position and their income increased. They were able to get a loan with which to buy a farm and house. They also purchased a shiny new black Model T Ford. Delsie gave birth to two daughters and later a son. Her husband was indeed the Prince Charming of her dreams. Life was better than she had imagined possible.
Her husband became ill with a heart condition while her children were ten, eight, and four. He was ill and unable to work for a few months. He eventually spent a month in a hospital where he died.
Life was not so good again. Their savings were spent for medical expenses for her dying husband. Their mortgage payments were past due. Taxes were due for the farm. She did not even have enough money for her husband's funeral. She paid fifteen cents a week for twenty-five years until the funeral bill was paid in full.
The difficulties of her past had made her strong and resilient. Delsie developed a plan. The crops were already planted. She would complete the crops. Harvesting would provide food and cash for paying the mortgage payments and taxes. She would have time to come up with a longer-term plan for her little family's future. She hooked up the farm implements to a team of horses and headed for the fields. Stories are told of the pitiful young widow wrestling the implements as she walked up and down the crop rows from dawn until dusk with her three little children following her.
She was not able to complete her plan. One day the Sheriff came and placed all of the family belongings in the front yard. He brought all of the equipment out of the barn and placed it with the animals. He auctioned everything, including the house and land. She stood in the road with her three children owning only the clothes they were wearing at the time.
A family took pity on them and took them into their home. The house of the charitable family was accidentally consumed by fire. Delsie stood in the road again beside her three children owning only the clothes they were wearing at the time.
The nearby college town was touched by her desperate situation. A local lumber company felt compassion for the widow and her children. Lumber was donated and the Boy Scouts along with other citizens of the town built a small house for the unfortunate family. Railroad tracks ran through the town. Railcars containing coal from the mines accidentally spilled coal along the tracks daily. Her children took burlap bags to the tracks and picked up coal. A generous person gave them a stove. Life was tolerable. They had a house. They had heat. Delsie used her "washboard" to hand-scrub neighbor's clothes for about three dollars per week. Three dollars provided a meager fare of food and paid the property taxes.
On an extremely cold Midwestern night Delsie stoked up a fire in the stove. The chimney caught on fire. The fire spread to the roof. The house burned to the ground. The family was left in the cold with only their sleeping clothes.
Throughout all the hardships and tragedies, Delsa taught her children to love Jesus by loving all of his creation. She assured them that life was eternal and there would be a better time someday. She was planting seeds of faith and righteousness.
Delsa, was a young woman of great Christian faith and love. She taught her children about faith, love, charity, and eternal life. She was planting small seeds of love and understanding that would eventually grow into giant trees.
Delsa would not allow her children to speak negatively about anyone. She would always stop judgmental conversations by interrupting with, "If you can't say something good don't say anything."
The pain of having only completed the third grade was unbearable. She wanted her children to develop an appreciation for education. She read EVERY book in the library of her hometown to gain knowledge and provide an example for her children. She raised three children. All went to college, one achieved a masters degrees. One earned two doctoral degrees and also received and honorary doctoral degree.
She had six grand children. All are living. Four have graduate degrees.,
The seeds she planted have borne fruit that has literally touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Although she has been gone for nearly forty years, her witness continues to thrive. One of her daughters retired from an elementary teaching career during a time when every class began with a scripture reading, prayer, and devotion. She had one son and two grandsons. All became preachers. Her only son became pastor of a large Presbyterian Church. He had a television ministry in a metropolitan market and a radio ministry. Her oldest grandson became an Episcopal missionary to Iran. He is currently active as rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Henderson, Kentucky. Her lesser grandson became pastor of fifteen Methodist and Presbyterian churches and stands unworthy before you today preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Almost thirty years ago, I had the privilege of spending a couple of days with the renowned Quaker orator, professor, and prolific writer Dr. Elton Trueblood. Dr. Trueblood, in his book "THE LIFE WE PRIZE," summarized the meaning of today's Gospel lesson. He wrote, "Man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit."
Christ is calling us today to go forth from this place to plant shade trees and along the way plant seeds of love, compassion, faith, and righteousness in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.