Radical Faith and Mustard Seeds…

The Gospel reading for the Third Sunday after Pentecost contains a familiar story. Each of the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, & Luke) has a similar parable about the Mustard Seed and faith. In Matthew 13:31-32, we read an account similar to Mark’s account. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”  In Luke 13:18-19, we read the following: “He said therefore, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”  Mark’s account is very similar. “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” (Mark 4:30-32)

There is a slight difference in context though with Mark’s account. In the verses prior to the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus told another parable about the kingdom. It is agricultural in origin just like the mustard seed. The farmer goes out and plants seeds and then sleeps and arises to find the growth. The farmer, in Jesus’ tale didn’t know exactly how it happened, just that it happened.

When I was a kid back in Minnesota, we had a lot of maple trees in the neighborhood and in our back yard. The seeds would fall and we would play with them. If you threw them in the air, they would float down and like a helicopter. In fact, we called them helicopters. The picture below is what we played with and called a helicopter.

Needless to say, there would be a bunch of them that would fall in the spring of each year. One year when I was about nine or ten, something happened. One of the seeds fell and began to sprout. I found it in the flower bed and transferred it into a flower pot. It grew and Dad helped me transplant the growing young tree into a bigger pot. Finally, we planted it in the yard. Many years later, when I had just turned 30, my Mom took a picture of my Dad, me, and my son Alec (who was about 18 months old) as we stood in front of the tree. The tree was taller than all of us and birds and squirrels found refuge in its branches. Yet, when it all began, there was a small seed that found its way into the earth and somehow was nourished and grew.

The picture at the top of the blog was one I took when Denise and I stopped at a park along Scenic Highway in Pensacola, Florida. As we walked along the trail, I was amazed at the number and variety of plants and bushes and trees we saw. To think that all of that began with small seeds which had fallen along the path is amazing to me. Whether I am walking along a path in Florida or remembering a tree I tended and watched grow in Minnesota or being amazed by the fact that trees and tundra can grow at such incredible altitudes in the Rocky Mountains, I am reminded of one thing. I am reminded of the amazing way that God creates and then transforms small seeds into something amazing.

That is the point, I believe, that Jesus was making with the parable of the mustard seed. Something that first seems so small and insignificant can literally transform into a huge bush and quickly take over a yard. Planting mustard seeds was illegal in town back in Jesus’ day. Why? Because it grew and spread like a weed. It grew and spread like wildfire… sort of like kudzu does here in the south. Before you know it, kudzu can overwhelm and drown trees and bushes and even buildings.

Would you believe there is a house in the midst of that kudzu? The caption on the web site (http://www.jjanthony.com/kudzu/) reveals that there is indeed a cabin buried under the kudzu that has quickly overtaken the whole area.

The faith that Jesus was talking about… the kingdom building faith… that faith is radical! It may seem small and insignificant at the time, but if it is allowed to flourish and be nurtured by God, it will quickly take over! Now THAT is infectious faith! We can’t fully explain how it happens… all we know is that if we allow God to nurture that faith… if we follow God’s lead… if we walk as Jesus walked… if we love as Jesus loved… if we practice the upside down radical inclusive love of Christ… can you imagine what THAT kingdom will look like? I can only imagine… and I can only pray that I can be a part of that revolution!

As the old camp song says… it only takes a spark to get a fire going… and soon all those around will warm up in its glowing… that’s how it is with God’s love… once you’ve experienced it… you’ll spread his love… to everyone.. you’ll want to pass it on.

That is the sort of radical faith and life Jesus calls us to live. Jesus calls us to be a part of something so radical and incredible that what we may see as only a small seed can and will be transformed into something incredible. Will you join with me, dear reader, in taking that leap of faith? It doesn’t take much… just a small spark or a small seed… allow God to nurture and grow us into something mighty! Something mighty and humble at the same time. Mighty because it can and will transform the world. Humble because it is not a result of our actions, but rather of our being open to being transformed by God’s love. It only takes a spark…