Jesus calls us dirt. It’s okay. He’s got Biblical backing. “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

We are dirt. Coming from someone else, it would be an insult. Growing up, I was a 922er. It’s the regional code for Dennison and Uhrichsville, like 725 is for the church. Folks from elsewhere would put us down with that phrase. “Oh, 922ers are all just dirtbags.” There are a lot of insults you can hurl to make someone feel lower than dirt. The parable of the sower is the only parable that Jesus explains directly. And we’re the dirt.

As we say at funerals, “As God breathed into lifeless dust and created Adam and Eve, we pray oh Lord that you would breathe into us again and resurrect us.”

We’re dirt. And we’re different kinds of dirt. It took me a while to understand that there are different types of dirt. My mom grows things all over her yard. Almost every square inch has something edible growing in it. Garlic by the garage. Tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers in the garden. Basil, herbs, horseradish, asparagus and more around the house. She seems to just throw the seeds out there and they grow.

Inspired by this, Kate and I tried to grow things. We planted the seeds and faithfully watered them and NOTHING. Or the plants would come up only to shrivel up and die. I complained to my mom and she asked how we prepared the ground. WHAT?! We didn’t. She just put stuff in the ground and up it came.

Nope. She had horses. And she fertilized the soil with their… uhhh… recycled grass. It’s high in nitrogen and other nutrients that promote healthy bacteria in the soil so plants can grow and thrive.

This summer, we picked up seeds and buckets from a local farmer. It was the right dirt. With the right drainage. With the right mix. We planted and up came the plants. For the first time in our lives, Kate and I are growing things.

We are dirt. If that’s true, then what type of dirt are we? I mean, Jesus isn’t insulting us. It’s the metaphor he uses. And if you don’t like myth and metaphor, then it’s also literally true.

Scientifically, we are dirt. And not just any dirt, we’re star dust. Stardust is made of particles remaining from a supernova explosion. Stars don’t shine forever, they are born, live, and die. And when they die, they EXPLODE. And stellar winds carry this star dust across the universe. This dust contains oxygen, carbon, iron, nickel, and other elements and some of it finds its way into our bodies. We are made up of elements forged by stars.[1] And the dust keeps falling. Estimates vary of how much cosmic dust and meteorites enter Earth’s atmosphere each day, but the estimates range from 5 to 300 metric tons.[2] That’s no small amount.

So not only are you dirt, but you’re star dirt forged in a dying star and reborn as you. Only the infinite wisdom of God can come up with such an amazing thing! Yet what type of metaphorical dirt are you?

Jesus calls us dirt and describes each type. The sower throws out seeds. Some seeds get eaten by the birds. This dirt on the path is those who hear the words of the kingdom and don’t understand it. The understanding is snatched away by the evil one.

I’ve met this type of dirt before. They can even quote scripture, but their deeds are evil. They aren’t nice people. Some even say that they are born again. They were jerks before Jesus and now they’re jerks with Jesus who throw bible phrases around to make folks feel guilty. The Bible is not a weapon. Doctrines are to heal, not to cut people. They are too set in their ways. Too packed down to change. The soil is too dense for the seeds to take root.

I can be this dirt. Especially when Facebook was in its early days. I was what is known as a keyboard warrior. Up late debating things on Facebook. Did I learn anything from this? Yeah, how to lose friends and not influence anyone. I learned the grass never grows on the hard-packed earth of our certainties.

The second dirt is the rocky ground dirt. It’s those who hear the word and receive it with joy but they fall away quickly as they have no root. Or at the first sign of trouble, they run. I’ve known this type of dirt, too.

Once this couple shows up to church. They are immediately engaged and sent me a lot of emails about how excited they are at the type of church the UCC is. Open. Inclusive. Lots of mission and small group opportunities. They are SUPER excited. They lasted for 3 weeks, and I never heard from them again.

And I’ve been that way too. There’s a whole host of ideas for our church that I’ve never acted on. Sometimes our intentions outpace our actions. We judge ourselves base on our intentions. Yet others judge us based on our actions. If we’re honest, we judge others on their actions, too. It’s all we can see.

Another type of dirt is the kind among the thorns. It’s the people who follow wealth and the cares of the world. We know this dirt. It’s the type of dirt that turns the radical church of Christ into an exclusive country club. It’s a gathering of well-intentioned people who are nice, but the biggest scandal is the paint scheme. It yields no change in the community.

When I was interviewing for churches, one of my first questions was, “If your church closed its doors, who in your community would notice?” One church said, “Well, our church members would be sad.” And that was it. I have not nor will I ever pastor that church. This church said, “CUPS Café, the library, Garfield, our friends in Costa Rica, Feeding Medina County, and more would miss the impact of our church.” That’s one of the many reasons I’m here.

To be honest, though, I’ve been this type of dirt. I’ve not said things for fear that we’d lose members. I didn’t speak up about racism as loudly as I have in recent months for fear of what you would say. When I first got here, someone emailed me to say I had better watch out when mentioning politics from the pulpit. I have been very careful in how I mention how we live together, but we must talk about how we live together. Have we lost people because of what I’ve said? Yes. I’m learning to give myself grace for this as what we have to gain is nothing less than the Kingdom of God. It just doesn’t grow in some dirt. It grows on the good soil.

The good soil is made up of those who hear the word, understand it, and act on it. Those whose values and actions are based on the kingdom. And we know that dirt. We see it. We point to it. From the saints and heroes like Mother Teresa and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. From our personal heroes of faith of our parents, mentors, and fellow church members. We get inspired by their actions, and we keep meeting to keep tilling the soil. Our soil.

I think that’s why I keep showing up here. I keep being the church with you all so that I can remove the thorns, toss out the rocks, and till up the hardpacked earth of my certainty. I do this by listening to you. By reading the bible and leading book studies. I do this by praying for others. By sending cards and emails and delivering food to those in need or who are facing some serious issues in their life.

We work the dirt. Others can work the dirt, too. Being in proximity to good people rubs off on us. Seeing good examples helps us adapt and change.

So it really doesn’t matter what type of soil you are currently. I think we’re a mix of all the various type of soils. But it doesn’t matter that we’re this weird mix of soil. What matters is that the Sower showers us with seeds. Each type gets the same thing. Each type is given heaps and heaps of seeds. It’s a gluttonous waste of seeds. It’s really bad farming. But what does God care? God can create more and more seeds. The seeds we are called to grow are the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

It is the church’s job to till the soil. To say to each soul in the world: You are made of stardust! You are fearfully and wonderfully made! Made out of love and for love. You came from love and to love you shall return so don’t waste your time with hate. Or sin. Or prejudice. For we are each showered with love and with just a little water, and care, amazing things can sprout. Field of love can sprout. Dandelions grow up in the concrete, and love can blossom in the most amazing places.

It’s amazing where love shows up.

How will you prepare your soil? Till up the packed earth. Dig out the rocks and the thorns. How will you prepare your soil so that the Sower’s seeds can grow and blossom into love that only you can give to the world? A love that was forged in a star, sent its seeds out into the universe, and was planted in your mother’s womb and has grown into you over the course of a billion years. You see, you are no accident here. You were a lifetime in the making. So, my fellow dirt. Shall we grow some love?

Works Cited

[1] https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/we-are-stardust

[2] https://www.universetoday.com/94392/getting-a-handle-on-how-much-cosmic-dust-hits-earth/#:~:text=Estimates%20vary%20of%20how%20much,and%20extrapolations%20of%20meteorite%20falls.