An interesting thing about the lectionary is that the same scriptures come up the same time of the year, every three years. So that as one is preparing a sermon, it is natural to remember past sermons and incidents around those. As I read the scriptures for this week, I remembered the sermon series I did on Jacob, the trickster, (for that is the meaning of his name). But the sermon that brought a smile to my face was one I did in the mid-west focusing on the Gospel, about the wheat and the weeds.

Any one who has traveled our vast country has noticed that once you pass the Appalachian Mountains you travel mile after mile, and hour after hour, through corn and beans. Further west it becomes mile after mile and hour after hour of wheat, or if you are further north, you may see Sunflowers. Having taken youth groups on several mission, work trips, or National Youth Event trips in both directions I am always struck by the reactions. Going west, the reactions are amazement at the seemingly endlessness of it all, curiosity about the life there, and frankly boredom. Since they often see colleges on those trips, they cannot get over that famous schools such as Grinnell and Oberlin are basically in the middle of a very large cornfield. Coming east, with youth who are used to flatlands and farming, it is very difficult to make any time on the road once the bus gets to the mountains, as they want to stop at every overlook, suck it all in and take pictures of everyone from every possible angle. The cultures, landscape and life experiences of the youth from those two sections of our country are vastly different.

And so, for that sermon on wheat and weeds I was in the mid-west. I had gathered some black-eyed susans that morning and, during children’s time I asked the children if these were flowers or weeds. Being farmer’s children, they thought about it for sometime, and then, like all good Marylanders, decided that they were flowers. I then asked the children if I could see if the adults agreed. They gave their permission and I walked down the aisle to a farmer I knew. He smiled, scratched his head, and said: "Well, if they are growing in my cornfield, they are weeds!"

Many other flowers, and a few vegetables such as asparagus grow wild there and can be found in abundance along the fence-rows where the weed killer and the tillers do not reach and they are cherished and cultivated. Usually the asparagus gets transplanted into the family garden, just in case.

Weed control is a major issue for farmers, as is the use of chemicals for that purpose. That is because most farmers feel deeply connected to the land and often believe the land they have has been given to them as a sacred trust. And they take that very seriously. But, they also have to make money to provide for their families. So, farmers are often forced to make very difficult decisions about what to put on their field and when. Misuse or overuse of weed killers damages the land, sometimes permanently.

Also, the many hours alone in the field, provide farmers with a great deal of quiet time. Many a farmer has been called from the field into the ministry. Or, I have heard them exclaim, much like Jacob, my field is a holy place, and I did not know it. I have met God there.

For all of us, identifying the weeds in our lives and deciding how to handle them are major issues. And finding the space or spaces where God can find us and claim us is also vital. And so, today, we have, lifted before us, two major spiritual issues.

Thank goodness for these two stories. They give me both help and hope. I love it that Jacob is not perfect, in fact he is a bit of a rascal, always trying to be first, even in the womb. Jacob is certainly not out looking for God. But, no matter, God is looking for Jacob, and Jacob unwittingly enters a place where God will confront him. Does Jacob deserve it? No, certainly not. After all, he has tricked Esau out of his birthright and is running from Esau. But God seeks him out anyway. Is Jacob even aware of his spiritual side? No, God had to show him how close and interconnected the divine and the human are through the vision of a ladder. Is Jacob immediately transformed? Well, hardly. He puts conditions on Gods vision or gift. But his faith journey does begin, and he does recognize that God was in that place. It gives me hope that I too can be on a faith journey, that I do not necessarily need to get it all as once. I think we sometimes want to know all about our faith and have it all nailed down just so. I am encouraged by the story of Jacob.

At a recent meeting the new UCC Promotional materials were presented to us. I have since shared them with the O and E board. I love them. They are bright red with black lettering and are posters, door hangers, mailers and the like. They quote Gracie Allen and say "Never place a period where God has placed a comma." Perhaps we need commas in our faith so that we do not weed too soon or too vigorously and thereby do permanent damage to our spiritual land. Perhaps we need to live with the weeds long enough to identify some of God’s mysterious ways. I have occasionally heard a church member say that they never thought they wanted to do a certain thing or even serve on a certain board of the church. But once they did it they loved it and grew spiritually. They were so glad they had not weeded out the possibility.

I do not know about your weeds, but at least some of mine have names. They have names like can’t, shouldn’t, and my mama said, to name but a few. And my Jacob side has been up to a few misdeeds, some of them very unintended or led by my subconscious, as indeed he must have been led. And I am very good at running.

And that is grace, is it not. When one is out of breath and so weary of running, when guilt threatens to overcome, when one cannot find one’s way through the weeds, and suddenly, the light comes shining through! And up from our very toes and reverberating throughout our body comes the realization that God has somehow been working through all the mess. And so, from our lips comes the affirmation of faith: "And to think I did not know it!"