First United Methodist
Church
Lansing ,
Michigan
Rev. Melanie Baker-Streevy
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From the Pastor's Pen, May 2008: “It’s
not that easy being green . . .” I don’t really know why, but the word
that has been on my mind as I’ve thought about this newsletter article has
been “green.” Now, I can just hear all
the There are so many “shades” of meaning
associated with green: caring for the
earth is the green revolution; we get nostalgic for “the green, green grass
of home”; jealousy is called the “green-eyed monster,” or we are green with
envy; or if we’re not feeling well we might be “green around the gills.” We’re proud of our beautiful “church with
the green roof,” and when we describe In the gospel of Mark, the story is
told of Jesus multiplying the loaves and fish into a meal for a crowd of five
thousand or more. (Actually, as you
may have heard me say before, this story is told by all four gospel writers,
even by two of them on two separate occasions in Jesus’ ministry.) But the way Mark tells the story is
unique. Jesus saw the hungry crowd,
and “had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a
shepherd.” Before the miraculous meal,
Jesus tells the crowd to sit down in groups on the green grass. Mark is the only gospel writer to add that
detail. One small word makes all the
difference. Scholars wonder, of course, why Mark
did that. Maybe to show everyone he
was an eyewitness? To indicate what
time of year the miracle took place?
Many believe that it was to evoke his readers’ memory back to the 23rd
Psalm: “the LORD is my shepherd . .
. he makes me lie down in green
pastures . . .”
Jesus’ care for the people is like that of God, the good
shepherd. Whatever the reason Mark
uses the word, I’m grateful for that little piece of visual detail. As I was driving to worship last Sunday,
I noticed how suddenly green the fields and trees are. The sun was shining, and the green was
vibrant. I usually prefer the full,
rich green of early summer, what I call “June green,” but this spring I’m
quite attracted to that newer, earlier green.
The green we see right now is not about completion; it hasn’t already
arrived, but is a green that is in process, some thing that is happening all
around us. Our very long winter seems
finally past, and the world is coming to life again. New life, the growing season, is there to
be seen and enjoyed, and we can’t help but be caught up in it. The green reminds us of the refreshment of
the earth and offers us a breath of that newness, not just as a poetic idea,
but literally as the plants release oxygen into the air. Green is about a new start, growing life,
refreshment of the earth and perhaps even of the human spirit. One of the books in Michael’s and my
shared pastoral library is a book of sermons by Bishop Roy Nichols, entitled The
Greening of the Gospel. Now, here’s
the bad part: I couldn’t lay hands on
it when I looked for it; I don’t remember what was in it; I’m not even sure I
ever read it. Michael laughed when I
asked him about it, because I admitted that it was really just the title that
I remembered. But it’s a great
title! To me, what it says is that the
gospel, the story of Jesus and how he reveals God to us, grows in us through
our lives and in the different seasons of our lives. The “greening” of the gospel is how it
takes hold of us, grows in us, changes in us, and in turn helps us grow
toward God. Like the greening of the
spring, whether it comes suddenly or gradually, the greening of the gospel
does come in due time. When we hear
and read and study it, the gospel takes root in us and grows in us. The gospel grows in us as surely, and as eventually,
as spring comes. Kermit the Frog used to sing “It’s not
that easy being green.” It wasn’t just
a silly song on a children’s show. Ray
Charles recorded it later, and something in that voice of his made the song
so poignant and touching, it could bring tears to one’s eyes. It's not that easy being green Having to spend each day the color of the leaves . . . It's not easy being green It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're Not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water Or stars in the sky But green's the color of Spring . . . And green can be big like an ocean, or important Like a mountain, or tall like a tree . . . When green is all there is to be It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful And I think it's what I want to be
I think it’s what I want to be,
too. Not green like Kermit, but green,
growing into who God calls me to be.
Greening and becoming more like Christ. I hope for green things for Hoping green for you, I am On the
Journey with you,
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