Green Shoots
I'm very much a morning person, ready to begin my day at around 6am most mornings.
I enjoy listening to the early morning editions of "Farming Today" and the "Today" programmes on Radio 4. Recently the people on "Farming Today" have been discussing the green shoots of crops growing from seed as Spring has rolled over into Summer.
Following the banking scandal the words "green shoots," have also been popping up in the "Today" programme as presenters and expert commentators look for signs of growth in the economic situation and a turn around in housing and car sales markets, for example.
Close on the heels of the banking scandals there have been the revelations of what appear to be dodgy dealings in Westminster and the "Today" programme has, in its examining of those dealings, adopted the words "green shoots" and applied then to looking for new beginnings in Westminster.
As the phrase has been used and abused in my early morning listening, I have been looking out of my window at the real thing in my
garden and am witnessing the annual miracle of my garden's green shoots springing into summer.
The hangings and vestments in our churches have also sprung green as the Church Calendar has moved us into Ordinary Time, a season of steady growth.
The Gospel reading from Mark for the first of these "green" Sundays included the story of the mustard seed, the tiniest of all seeds that none the less grows into a large shrub offering lots of shade and shelter, a place of safety with room for everyone.
Jesus, when speaking of the reign of God, God's kingdom, spoke in agricultural language so that, in Mark's Gospel, the crowd who followed him and the disciples would be helped to have a clearer understanding of his mission. The words he uses are also steeped in scripture and the language Israel's prophets used to relay God's words to them in the past.
The green shoots of God's kingdom are all around us, some growing from seeds sown in the past some shooting from seeds sown more recently, but we often fail to see them. Perhaps that's because we fail to recognise them or perhaps we aren't really looking and, although we have ears perhaps we aren't tuned in and are not really listening.
The green shoots of God's way, his Kingdom, are, it seems to me, easier to spot when we seek them together. When we join together because we are concerned, or for times of prayer or worship, or bible study or a simple cuppa and chat it is likely that we will recognise the "green shoots" of God's kingdom. Mark tells us of a man who discovered that in expecting God's kingdom he found himself put to service for the Lord. "Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus." (Mark 15:43)
Those who, like Joseph of Arimathea, look for the green shoots of the kingdom of God regularly find that God accepts their service and transforms it in ways that delight and surprise them.
Added: 2nd July 2009 || Submitted by: Revd Mary Wadsworth.
Would you like to leave a comment?