This past April, when we were in London, on our final full day there, we found ourselves close to Piccadilly Circus, which is the round-about somewhat close to King's Crossing Train Station. Of course, we had to go into the station to look for Platform nine and three-quarters in order to see if we could get onto the Hogwarts Express. Maybe I'd better back up for a moment and make sure everyone's with me. King's Crossing Station...this is where we find Platform nine and three-quarters which is where we board the Hogwarts Express. We must go through a brick wall to get to Platform nine and three-quarters.

The Express always leaves at 11:00AM and arrives after nightfall. It takes you to Hogsmeade Station which is near the Hogwarts School of Wizardry. This school is located somewhere in Scotland.

The excitement for me is that this Platform becomes an entryway into a world that opens up new possibilities for whoever enters.

Pastor John Ames, the 4th generation minister in the town of Gilead, Iowa, one of the main characters in Marilynne Robinson's novel, Gilead, makes a similar observation. At one point Pastor Ames says that "...everyone knows there is a lot under the surface of life."

Let's keep all this in mind as the lead-in to today's sermon! This morning, I am going to talk about the Word of God, and how, when we open the Scriptures, we open ourselves to a whole new world, to a world that lies deeper, under the surface, interwoven with life itself.

I want to talk about the Word of God, and I want to do so in light of an exciting initiative, beginning in the ELCA, called The Book of Faith Initiative. Last year, the ELCA Churchwide Assembly voted to embrace an initiative called the Book of Faith. This five-year undertaking seeks to help: ...the whole church become more fluent in the first language of faith, the language of Scripture, in order that we might live into our calling as a people renewed, enlivened, empowered, and sent by the Word of God. The hope and intent is that over a five-year period, every congregation in the ELCA will become more intentional about studying the bible, the Word of God.

This Initiative presents a vision for a church renewed and empowered for faithful service. This Initiative is about discovering new ways to hear and share God's living Word. This Initiative is rooted in everything we already believe and teach: that the Bible is astonishingly powerful; that the Bible can change this sin-filled world; that God engages us with promise, forgiveness, and hope, setting us free to love and serve; that the Bible does not merely convey information, but that God, through the Word, draws us to trust and to faith in the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We believe the Bible has authority. When we speak of the authority of the Bible, we claim a promise that the Bible communicates the grace of God in Christ Jesus and allows us to encounter the gracious God in Christ Jesus. The authority of scripture rests on the saving presence of God in the person and history of Jesus.

We believe the Bible is inspired. When we speak of the Bible as being inspired, we boldly expect God to speak to us addressing contemporary issues, speaking to us today just as Jesus spoke to people centuries ago.

Above all, the Word of God engages us, challenges us, comforts us, and forms us into persons of faith.

We are confident that God is not absent, distant, or uninvolved from our lives. We believe God is present in the speaking, hearing and studying of God's Word. The Bible is a Book of faith: for faith, from faith, in faith.

The Word of God creates a world into which we are invited. If, as the poet, W. H. Auden, says in his poem, >b>Words, that "...a sentence uttered makes a world appear..." how much more so when the Word of God is uttered. The world to appear is one with our lives being shaped by hope, forgiveness and love.

Not totally unlike Platform nine and three quarters, this Initiative reminds us that it is through God's Word that we are able to enter into a new world in order to experience and shape our world in a new way.

Proclamation of God Word...faith...life...these three are never to be separated. We are being invited to deepen our commitment to be shaped both as a community and as individuals by God's Word.

So what does the parable of the shower say to all this?

In the Parable we are told that the seeds are the words of the Kingdom. The seeds are sown generously. They fall on all types of soil. They are received in various ways. Some die; some germinate; some grow.

The ultimate surprise is the abundant harvest! Don't miss the surprise and excitement! A normal harvest would yield a fourfold or fivefold return-a thirty, sixty and hundredfold return would totally boggle the imagination. Clearly, it is God and not human effort that produced this huge harvest; clearly, this points to a loving and provident God who looks after God's people. Clearly, if the seeds are the Words of the kingdom, they will produce a magnificent yield in us as these seeds fall upon us.

The Gospel News is that our provident and loving God can produce a totally grand harvest!

The Book of Faith Initiative is rooted in this belief of God's creative love, reminding us that there is a lot more under the surface of life and that one most important entryway into a world of new possibilities is through the Word of God. Hear the invitation: All those who have ears, listen! Amen.