Many years ago, when I
worked at Lutheran Camp Edgewood, I found a poem that really spoke to me. The
camp had old rolls of wallpaper for crafts. I took a swatch and wrote the poem
on the fancy pearlized and textured wallpaper. Later saving it in a book with
collected and written poems. At the time, although I couldn’t explain the poem
to anyone else, it felt like an expression of a teenagers world view.
The first funeral in my
first parish was that of a woman in her early 60s. This beautiful woman had had
a hard life with unfair circumstances. This included having a debilitating body
wasting illness, that placed her in a nursing home and confined to bed. She was
the nicest person, with a warm smile, generous in conversation and care for
those who visited and helped her. Meeting her you would not know the depth of
hardship she had endured and continued to endure.
In her funeral sermon I
shared the poem that I had collected and saved.
The poem written by Canadian
poet Raymond Souster is this:
I wanted to smash,
something, anything, against their dull stupid faces,
Then you reached down with a
certain smile, put a flower in my hand.
The woman could have been
the first line of the poem, and yet she was everything of the second line.
Hardship, unfairness,
sickness – all the emotions, the physical energy, the impossibility of changing
outcomes-
who would not become angry,
hostile, scream at the pain, blame God, loss hope, or give up?
Not this kind woman. This
beautiful woman, always reached out with a certain smile, coveted prayer,
appreciated relationships, shared love, encouraged a new pastor… she put
metaphorical flowers in my hand, and in the hands of others.
She represented for me what
Jesus is trying to get across in the Gospel. She defined and was the kingdom of
God in her actions. Jesus is trying to articulate the kingdom of God.
The older I get, the more I
witness, this short poem takes on a deeper meaning.
It would be easy, understandable,
for someone to want to smash something…
How a smoke-filled yellow
sky or smoke induced blood red sun feels like being in a dystopian novel
How climate crisis has made 40C
a new norm for places around the global
How hatred and greed is
escalating the procurement of weapons and elite forces, only to destroy other
human beings
How stories of injustice continue
to multiply, while arrogant perpetrators and societies aware still double down on
doing egregious harm
How someone could once again
aim to kill the most beautiful tree in the Public Gardens
…smash something … there are
days when, if I am honest, I most certainly want to smash something anything against
their dull stupid faces.
The older I get, the more I
witness, the more Jesus’ words take on a deeper meaning.
The kingdom of heaven is
like…
Jesus is filling the ears
and the imaginations of his listeners, in doing so he is laying flowers in
hands.
Remember Jesus is speaking
to an occupied people, a people resented by Roman rulers, who experience
violence - torture – crucifixion as common place. Society operates with slavery,
widespread poverty, and out-of-touch religious leaders who put rules before kindred.
The older I get, the more I
witness, the more I understand that the ultimate deeper meaning is Jesus’
action.
The kingdom of heaven is
Jesus dying on the cross, crucified.
I imagine the disciples
wanting to smash something, anything, against the dull stupid faces of the
Roman Empire, regional governors, the religious authorities that incited the crowds.
At the foot of the cross, on the killing hill --- I can feel the eeriness of
the dystopian inky sky. I can hear the jeering crowds, the crying followers. I
am aware of military might; of cringing at the crass treatment, of being
silenced by the force of Empire. I am sickened by the glorification of violence,
disheartened by the political maneuvering, shocked at the insignificance given
to human life, and the inhumanity and terror of the whole scene.
And then, you -Jesus- reached
down with a certain smile and put a flower in -their hand – the world’s hand.
Put a flower in my hand; – Jesus
put the kingdom of God in the mayhem- grace, front and centre for everyone with
ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts to receive.
The kingdom of God has drawn
near and is present as Jesus acknowledges the man dying beside him and promises
him life. Jesus puts a flower in the hand, forgiving those who were killing him.
Jesus gives a flower with the care he has for his mother. Jesus brings the
kingdom by remaining present – incarnate- when he could have left; got off the
cross immediately. Jesus is the kingdom by refusing that kind of hero glory and instead choosing to be present
in hurt, suffering, and death. …and in this, offers a flower, bearing witness
to the possibility of the redemption of all that is broken.
All of Jesus’ kindom
parables in this passage are short, one sentence. The kindom captured quickly
in one deep image. One flower. Across the parables there are themes:
The kindom expands – grows like
plants, rises like yeast. The kingdom parables are focused on the common good
and filled with abundance and diversity. This kingdom of abundance and
diversity, values life and wholeness, and blooms into beauty and joy.
In our world and in our
lives, smashing something, anything, is an understandable human response to all
the mayhem - but the past weeks Jesus has told parables
about planting seeds, growing plants, harvesting – today Jesus speaks about
kingdom. Listeners are planted with seeds. Jesus is tending those words and now
encouraging blooming into kingdom living, to plant new crops of seeds, to put
flowers in the hands of others. Growing the kingdom of God one flower at a
time. Being a present and tangible brightly coloured gift - that warms the heart and offers grace in the
world’s suffering, pain, and mayhem.
Let us go and live God’s kingdom
– and with a certain smile, put a flower in another’s hand.
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