Transcribed from the Sermon preached October 4, 2003

Berkeley is a fascinating place. But of course I don’t need to tell you that. In fact, saying Berkeley is a fascinating place elicits the same response as going up to a supermodel in a bar and saying, "You are beautiful." If she is polite, she may try to hide how pathetic she thinks you are with a smile and a thank you.

With my extensive knowledge after three weeks of observation I have found Berkeley is frequently a land of contradictions. On the one hand this community prides itself in being open-minded and inclusive. It seems open to almost anything. On the other hand there is a vague arrogance and exclusivity about the place. It is, after all, Berkeley.

What kind of spiritual soil do we find in Berkeley? Is it the path, the rocky soil, the soil with thorns, or the good soil? Perhaps it has a little of each?

Berkeley is a pathway in many ways. It is a pathway along the Pacific Rim, a pathway for business. Certainly Berkeley has its share of healthy capitalists, doing business here at home or commuting to the City and beyond. It is a fast paced place, with all the driving and shopping, coffee drinking and studying going on. It is quite probable that much of the seed distributed here will simply be ground up or eaten by hungry birds.

Berkeley is more than a pathway. There is much that takes root here. However some of the soil is rocky and shallow, while other areas are deep. On the one hand Berkeley is very intellectual and scientific. Many ideas, certainly Christian claims are scrutinized with scientific rigor. On the other hand there seems to be an unquestioning acceptance of anything new and different. From this perspective, the spiritual soil in Berkeley appears hard or rocky in places, yet shallow in others. Many forms of spirituality spring up, but I wonder if they take keep root in peoples souls.

I wonder how much of the questioning of traditional culture represents legitimate complaints of the thinking community and how much reflects Berkeley’s identity as Uncle Sam’s rebellious niece who, though very smart, confuses immaturity with the prophetic?

Berkeley is a place of contradictions. I’m noticing vocabulary is important. While new and different ideas are in, and certainly the newest technology is utilized and even created here, old is in. Actually, old is not in, antique is in, vintage is in, classical is in. Religion is out, spirituality is in. Piety and prayer are out, meditation and mysticism are in. Theology and doctrine are out, wisdom is in. Confession of sin is out; humility, openness, and being real are in. Old tradition is out and ancient ritual is in. In is out and coming out is in. Berkeley is a contradiction, a fascinating place, a pathway, hard and shallow. Berkeley is thorny too.

Perhaps all of the things, the material things, the abundance, the academia, the new age spirituality are more analogous to thorns. The soil is fertile and deep, but the Gospel gets choked off by all the other stuff available to people. This analogy works fairly well. So well that I would expect most Christian ministers preaching on this passage to warn believers to weed the field of their minds of the new age thorns. There is some merit to such a message.

Yet what if we look at the community of Berkeley, with all its contradictions and interconnections, not as thorns but as soil? Good soil is not something you want to eat, but if you want bread, you can’t do without it. I believe the inquiring critical thinking mind, seeking authentic spirituality and meaning is the perfect soil for the Holy Spirit.

Berkeley looks like deep soil if we look beyond our local community in compassion. Perhaps the rocky soil is the close-minded nature of many Americans or Christians. The seeds of the true Gospel just bounce off our prejudice and fear of change. The shallow soil is spirituality trapped by the marketplace: "What Would Jesus Do?" bracelets and "Left Behind" best sellers, and "Promise Keeper" mass group frenzy masquerading as the Holy Spirit.

Maybe the thorns that choke off the Holy Spirit are the drive for ever more growth and ever more consumption. Jesus’ thorns care for the the world, its lures of wealth. Could it be that the thorn bush is capitalism itself, choking off everything that cannot be commodified, placing value only on what we can buy and consume, disconnecting us from one another, the earth, our soul, and God? Certainly in this analogy, power, especially military power is awfully thorny. How it chokes off the effort of peace and justice, the effort to feed and develop childlike friendship across the barriers that divide us. Somehow there are Muslims, Christians and Jews who think it is God’s will to bomb. Too bad our so called Christian President didn’t have on a WWJD bracelet when he was making his decision to invade Iraq. It is beyond me how he decided that killing more people in Iraq than died on 9/11 in the US was a good way to reduce the number of people who hate us. The entire global mess of military feels like a great thorn jabbing the soul of humanity.

Perhaps the thorns in our parable could be the Church itself, choking off the Spirit of Christ with its patriarchy and bureaucracy, with its exclusive claims to the truth and its self serving neglect of justice and peace.

When I contemplated coming to St John’s I thought of this parable and tried to imagine what was what. And I decided, why not, why would Berkeley not be one of the most fertile places on Earth to develop a deep rooted and authentic faith in the Spirit of Christ, the God of peace. Certainly the roots of Christ run deep in many of you.

How are you today? What kind of soil will the seed of the Gospel find in you? If you are like me you are a mix as well, a contradiction. You may have places that have hardened due to hurt and loss, or guilt. You may have shallow places or times where you appear to be faithful, but you want your God easy, quick and cheap. You may have deep spots that are filled with too much material, too material, too much stuff: thorny addictions, anger, claims to fame or salvation, or truths claims that do not lead to love and growth.

After all, the deep rich soil in which the Spirit will take root and grow is humility, faith, and prayer. Open yourself to the Spirit and Truth of God. God’s grace will find plenty of ground to grow, despite your hard, shallow or thorny places. Christ inside you will cultivate, grow and feed you.

Believe it, you are loved by God, and you are called by God to love others, to join together in communion with all the faithful of every time and place and share the bread of life. There are so many people who lunger for something more than the chaos of our culture, who hunger for meaning, love, community and peace.

Come and taste the bread of heaven.