Sow, Even in Tears

St Timothy Presbyterian Church in Toronto: Sermons

Scripture Passage

Psalm 126

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Sermon Script

Recalling Happy Memories

The psalmist begins the psalm by recalling happy times.

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. (Psalm 126:1)

He remembers a time of great joy and happiness. Yes, when we think back on happy times, they are like a dream.

I remember when Nolan was born, I still recall Josh's Facebook post. (That's when people still posted on Facebook.) He posted a picture of newborn Nolan with the caption: You took my breath away !

I remember the early days after my son, Joonie, was born. I remember a conversation with Aram where he recalled the adrenaline he felt after his son Miles was born.

I felt the same way. I had extra energy in my step. I was motivated to come home from work to see my son.

Thinking back on those days, it brings back happy memories.

It is nice to have good memories. They put a smile on our faces. They cheer us up when we need a lift.

In Our Pain

But sometimes, memories of a happy past brings pain. They hurt when the present is not so happy. They are a reminder of what is missing or no longer there.

The psalmist is looking back because the present is very difficult.

Many churches hold a special service on the evening of December 20. They call it the Longest Night service, or Blue Christmas.

The service recognizes that not everyone is happy at Christmas. It recognizes that in the midst of all the excitement and cheer of the holiday season, there are people who are hurting inside.

In this service, people remember loved ones who have departed. It is a time to grieve, mourn and lament for what is lost.

When present times are difficult, memories of a happy past brings tears.

One night when I was in university, I went to my mother's room. She was watching one of those videotapes of Korean singers singing old Korean songs they heard while they were growing up.

When I looked at her, tears were streaming down her face. Things were very difficult at that time. They were struggling financially. They were under so much stress. Songs from her childhood brought her comfort but also sadness.

When things are so difficult now and you remember the good times of the past, it brings about tears.

Those tears reflect the pain of the heart. A heart that aches. A heart that feels helpless.

The Difficulties in Life

After recounting those happy times, the psalmist cries out:

Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the watercourses in the Negeb. (Psalm 126:4)

Bring back those good times, oh God! Like how they used to be.

The Negeb is a semi-arid desert in southern Israel. For most of the year, the area has no rain. The land dries up and becomes hard. No life flourishes.

But then once a year the rains come. Water collects in little cracks. They merge to form watercourses. Those watercourses come together to form a large river.

That river floods the land. Vegetation and life spring forth from that water. For a while, life flourishes until the land dries up again.

Our life is like that. We have happy moments where life is flourishing. There is great joy and happiness.

But then the rain stops. The desert comes and life gets so difficult.

When difficulties first strike, there are tears. The pain of those difficulties is fresh. You are connected to that pain.

But after a long period of no rain, the heart becomes hardened like the dry ground around you. The tears stop flowing.

I recently watched a movie called Riceboy Sleeps. It is about a Korean single mother who raises her son in Vancouver. He's a little boy when they first arrive in Canada.

Life is hard. Kids make fun of him and pick on him. He lashes out but he's the one who gets in trouble.

In the car ride home, he starts crying. The mother stops the car, turns around and says: Look at me straight. I'm going to tell you this once. There are 3 times in life when a man can cry: when he's born, when his father dies, and when his mother dies. That's it. Don't let others see weakness by your crying.

I myself didn't heed that advice – I was crying throughout the whole movie. But the son did: you see him in the next scene as a hardened teenager.

Sow with Perseverance

Sowing seed on dry land is hard. It is physically hard. You have to dig the hard ground. You get blisters on your hands from digging. Your fingers get bloodied and mangled.

But more than that, it is emotionally hard. Sowing on barren and empty land that was once flourishing and alive makes you sad.

I felt this when a group of us visited Niagara Korean Presbyterian Church. All of its members had left the church, and only the building remained.

We went to determine its viability. In the empty church, I saw photos of the past. So much life, so much activity, so many people who encountered God.

But all of that was now a distant dream. We really wanted to do something to keep it alive. But in the end we decided there was nothing we could do.

There were too few of us to sow, and too few seeds to plant. We had to close down that church and sell it. It was very sad.

When there seems to be no more life; When there's no fruit from your labour; it is hard to keep sowing. It is much easier to accept defeat and give up.

But my friends, giving up is not always the answer. If you stop sowing, there will be nothing to reap when the rains come.

The psalmist says this:

May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy. Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy. (Psalm 126:5-6)

Joy comes from sowing seeds of love, even in tears. Somehow, joy comes through the tears of our aching hearts.

My friends, don't stop sowing. Sowing is trying.

Keep trying, even when the present situation seems hopeless. Keep trying, even when all your efforts amount to nothing. Keep trying, even if it only brings about tears.

There will be a harvest of joy for your efforts.

Sowing Through Prayer

When there's nothing more you can do, sow the seeds through prayer.

I believe that is how the first generation survived their harsh immigrant life. Through prayer.

Many of them went to church every day for early morning prayer. Before going to work, they were on their knees, praying. Praying for their children. Praying for their families.

They shed many tears through their prayers. They prayed on their knees with tears, because they didn't know what else to do.

Prayer gave them the strength to get up and keep trying.

St. Paul experienced this. He experienced the presence of God in prayer.

This is how he articulated his experience and discovery:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words. And God, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

Through prayer, he experienced the presence of God and received the strength to keep trying in impossible situations.

In prayer, God connects with the pain in your heart. Even when you don't have the words to express what's there.

When you are connected with the aching in your heart, tears flow. But don't run away from those tears. Don't try to hide them.

Those tears are water that soften the ground so seeds can be planted until the rains come.

God will one day wipe away our tears. But until then, let your tears plant the seeds of hope.

Sow, even in tears. The harvest will be joy.

Be Restored

There was a Christian singer and songwriter, Keith Green. He was so talented. He could have become a mainstream pop singer.

But he dedicated his life to making Christian music. He died tragically while he was young in an airplane accident.

He wrote a beautiful song:

My eyes are dry
My faith is old
My heart is hard
My prayers are cold
And I know how I ought to be
Alive to You and dead to me

But what can be done
For an old heart like mine
Soften it up
With oil and wine
The oil is You, Your Spirit of love
Please wash me anew
With the wine of Your Blood

When you are experiencing the dry desert, make this your prayer. God will soften your heart with his Spirit.

When life is good, when there is great joy in your life, rejoice. Be thankful. Be merry.

But when the challenges of life take away your joy, keep sowing through prayer.

God will come and restore your fortunes.

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