Passion, by the Sower

This is the first of three posts. I have been working out of town and have no desire to do this through my phone, so in my three days at home with a computer, I'm finally getting down my thoughts.

I have attended services with a friend in Rolla, MO for the last two weeks. It's a Christian church and they call themselves Disciples of Christ. This past weekend, the scripture reading was the story of the sower, who scatters seeds: on rocks, on the path, in some weeds/thorns, and on good soil. I am going to assume that this story might ring a bell and get on to what was clarified for me. We (Christians) are the SOWERS, we are NOT the ones who harvest. It is our job to scatter the seeds, not to see if some will take or some will die, or some will germinate at a later time. That's all in God's hands. He just wants us to be the sowers. We do this by living a life of purpose, not judging and tending to our own garden.

I have always been wary of evangelists. They seem to be shoving Jesus down my throat, and my first instinct is to choke. In much the same way I could never understand why one would want to sit FACE to FACE with a priest to confess my sins (whose idea was that anyway?) I think our connection with God and Jesus is more personal, more intimate, and I, for one, don't need to be shouted at about it. Nor do I feel the need to shout to anyone else about their relationship with the Almighty. I want my "evangelizing" to be evident everyday in my actions: I live a life of faith and kindness and generosity of spirit. (At least that's what I strive to do.)

So bringing this back to Passion, the story of the sower is a perfect metaphor for how I have long envisioned presenting this play. I don't want to preach to the audience, have a call to worship or check to see who's accepted Jesus as their Savior, or try to convert patrons. I just want to tell the story and let the seeds fall where they may. In terms of the "religiousness/Christianity" of the play, some may feel enriched, some may grab hold for just a bit and then let it go, some will be choked out by other influences, and some will need additional time to germinate. And that's OK. That task is not mine - to wonder if and how everyone takes what I'm saying. That's the job of a higher power. My job is to create an amazing story which moves people and leaves them breathless. I'm totally up for that!