An Evensong meditation by the Rev. Canon David Boyd
The Feast of St. David of Wales
“Lords, brothers and sisters, Be joyful, and keep your faith and your creed, and do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about. And as for me, I will walk the path that our fathers have trod before us.”
These are the last words of St. David, who, besides having a very strong name, is well known for being the patron saint of Wales. He is credited with the conversion of Wales to Christianity, preaching and teaching and bringing the Welsh to Christ. “Do ye the little things in life” is still a well-known Welsh phrase, and those last words serve as the soil for this meditation.
From these words springs the thesis: We need not anxiously wait for the harvest.
For the Kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground and would wait!
I cannot help but think back to 4th grade science class at Westminster, when we studied the life cycle of plants. Each of us was given a little pot of soil and a germinated pea. We dug a little hole, pushed down the seedling with our thumbs, labeled a popsicle stick with our names, and set the pots on a tray in the window. Every day, we would rush in the classroom to see if our little seed had grown. We would make comparisons – mine is taller than yours! – and chronicle the progress. Except for me. Mine didn’t grow. Surrounded by healthy growing plants, my pot sat empty. I would water and water it, move the pot around to get the best light, coo sweet nothings in hopes that I could coax something out of the dirt. Nothing. Every day, I would anxiously wait to see a sprig of green poke out from the black soil, but nothing came.
Until one morning, when I trudged into the lab and saw a healthy, fully grown pea plant sticking out of that same pot that had a popsicle stick with my name on it. It was a miracle! Or at least a deceptive act of mercy by my science teacher. Either way, a plant grew, unaided by the anxious hands that planted it.
Might the kingdom of God be like that pea plant? What if Jesus is right, that scattered seed will sink into good soil, and free from our anxious intervention, good fruits will emerge, ready for the harvest. All the farmer did was sow seed and sleep! I’m no agricultural scientist and I don’t remember much from 4th grade science class either; I’ll stick with the mystery of it all. I’ll stick with the guidance of St. David: do ye the little things in life.
There is so much going on in the world today. I find myself outraged, disturbed, and anxious. What can I do?? Well, I can sow good seeds, spread words of hope, of faith, of truth. I can lean on God’s promise that the harvest will come, even when I can’t see the sprouts. And I can do the little things in life. I can sleep and rise night and day. I can eat my small serving of vegetables with love, avoiding the fattened calf served with a side of hatred. Perhaps with patience I can calm a quarrel, or with understanding keep on the straight and narrow. Do ye the little things in life – you might just be surprised by the harvest!