Matthew
13:1-9, 18-23
October 14, 2012
That same day Jesus went out of the
house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got
into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he
told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them
up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and
they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose,
they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds
fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on
good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Let anyone with ears listen!” “Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone
hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes
and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path.
As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and
immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures
only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the
word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns,
this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of
wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil,
this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit
and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another
thirty.”
When I was studying for my doctorate in spirituality, I
learned a lot, but one of the best lessons I learned in terms of growing
spiritually was how to pay attention to, and set aside, what gets in the way of
growing spiritually. It was emphasized over and over that growing spiritually
wasn’t just about praying, discerning, and doing things like that. To grow
spiritually a person always needs to spend time looking at what obstacles get
in the way, and what facilitating conditions help grow, the spirit.
In essence, if you want to change, grow and get closer to
God, first figure out what’s getting in the way. Then you can figure out what
would make the way better. For example, if your lifestyle is getting in the
way, let that lifestyle go and create a lifestyle that opens the way. If your
attitude is getting in the way, let go of that attitude and adopt one that
opens the way. If your doubt and skepticism are getting in the way, set them
aside and start seeking in a way that opens the way
Since looking at obstacles and facilitating conditions is
so important, I wanted to spend time in a sermon series looking at them. So for
the next month or so we’ll be offering a sermon series titled Stumbling Blocks as a way of identifying
those obstacles that typically get in our way of drawing closer to God. This morning I want to start with what
I think is one of the most significant stumbling blocks to spiritual growth: Entertainment.
When I look at the world around us, perhaps the biggest
obstacle I see to spiritual growth is the fact that we live in an entertainment culture. Everywhere we go,
there is entertainment. For example, whenever you get home from whatever you’re
doing, what’s one of the first things you do? Many, many people start by
turning on their televisions or radios. If you’re younger, the first thing you
might do is grab your iPod or turn on the computer to look at entertaining
websites, whether that’s YouTube, game sites, or blogs. When you get in the car
you turn on the radio for music or talk, plunk in a CD for music, or plug in
our iPods or smart phones. We are an entertainment culture, and we can’t avoid
it.
The grunge rock group, Nirvana, recognized this aspect of
our culture in the early 90s. Perhaps their biggest hit was a song called
“Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The song has a driving beat to it and a tune that
lulls you in softly, till they rock hard with the refrain: “Here we
are now, entertain us / Here we are now, entertain us / I feel stupid and
contagious / Here we are now, entertain us.” The irony of the refrain is
that it was a cynical comment on their own generation, yet, ironically,
millions bought the song in order to be entertained. And thousands went to
their concerts, singing the lyrics as they were entertained.
I’m not saying that entertainment is bad. As a man whose
wife complains that he watches too much T.V., I am often under its sway. But I
also know that there’s a difference between enjoying entertainment and having
it kill our spirits.
For example, I’ll intend to sit in prayer for twenty
minutes, but first I’ll see what’s on television—for a moment that turns into
several hours. Or I’ll plan to read the Bible, but first I’ll check my emails
or surf the net. An hour later I’ve wasted my “spiritual” time. Or I’ll plan to
do some devotional reading, but first I’ll check my smart phone. Thirty minutes
of Angry Birds later I’ll have run
out of time.
The lure of entertainment tugs at us constantly. Humans
don’t want to be bored. We don’t like it when there’s nothing to do, so we seek
out entertainment constantly. This gets to the heart of the problem so many
non-churchgoers have with church. Especially younger people who complain that worship
is boring. They are right to some extent. At Calvin Church we do try very hard
to make elements of our worship both stimulating and entertaining, but we are
also very clear that what we are trying to do is to lead people to an
experience of God. We are not trying to just be entertainment. We expect
worshipers to work at worship.
There’s a real struggle in the Christian world right now
in recognition of our need for entertainment. Some churches have decided that
they will not try to entertain at all, and most of them are shrinking
dramatically. Others recognize that the unChurched are shouting out, “Here we
are now, entertain us,” and so these churches work hard to make entertainment
the focus of worshiop. I mentioned several weeks ago that one of the local,
contemporary, evangelical churches posted this on their pastor’s Facebook page:
“Know guys who think church isn't for
them? Invite em to [our church] tomorrow. Promise the experience will be more
‘football’ than ‘church.’” That’s part of our problem. To what extent do we
try make worship entertaining like a football game, and to what extent do we
hold fast?
Why do we need to be entertained so much? The problem is
that entertainment makes members of our brain committee stronger than they
should be. I’ll say that again: The problem is that entertainment makes members
of our brain committee stronger than they should be. Huh? What?
What most people don’t understand about their brain is
that it is more like a committee than it is like little mini-Me in our brain
running things. In recent years neurologists have recognized that our minds
aren’t really a “Me” but a “We.” Your brain is made up of a collection of Me-s,
such as the intellectual-rational Me, the emotional Me, the hungry-thirsty Me,
the sexual me, the spiritual-religious Me, and the stimulation-craving Me. This
brain “committee” accounts for why dieting and exercising is so hard. You can
convince your brain committee to start a diet, but over time other Me-s whine
and rebel. Diets aren’t very stimulating. Eventually the emotional,
hungry-thirsty, and stimulation-craving Me-s demand tastier food and drink as
diet-fatigue sets in.
Growing spiritually is really about giving the
spirituality task force of your brain committee more authority. But that has to
be an intentional choice. It means becoming willing to forego entertainment in
the service of growth. The fact is that too much entertainment stunts growth—mental,
emotional, and especially spiritual. The fact is that growing spiritually is a
struggle.
I think that the conflict between being entertained and
seeking God is so profound that it accounts for why so many celebrities seek
spiritual programs. Part of growing spiritually is making choices about what
will or won’t dominate our lives. The challenge is finding a way to live IN an
entertainment culture but not be OF it. Which part of your brain will you let
lead your life?
Amen.
