+The Parable of the Mustard Seed gives us hope that even if our faith is TINY, it’s enough...no heavy lifting, our wavering puny faith can carry the day.
Ok, so it is true that with even a morsel of faith, God CAN do marvelous things.But don’t forget that the mustard plant was a huge threat to farmers, for from that tiny seed grew an invasive weed, transforming the carefully planted fields of a 1st century farmer into a morass of weed.
The mustard seed, once released cannot be easily tamed.
Which is exactly Jesus’ point.
The kingdom Jesus proclaims is something that, once sprouted in a community, takes over, upsets and transforms. The kingdom Jesus speaks of comes to upset the very fabric of this world, the very kingdoms that rule our daily lives. The kingdoms of us vs. them, the kingdoms of science be dammed, the kingdoms of hate unleashed upon the those who don’t look like us, pray like us love like us or vote like us. Kingdoms where love of self outweighs love of neighbor.
The good news is that those of us gathered across the Zoom-a-verse believe in and can imagine something greater than those Human-made kingdoms. We can imagine a world where the humble are exalted, the hungry fed, the naked clothed, the illiterate read, the unemployed work , the fearful, encouraged, the lonely embraced and the lost found. A world where a black man can be pulled over for a traffic stop and live to tell about it. A world where I wear a mask to protect you and you wear one to protect me, a world that leaves no one behind.
I know that we’re people who understand that the mustard seed faith Jesus speaks of has its roots in hope. I also know that this hope isn’t just platitudes. I know that the hope found in faith prods and pokes us into taking action. Because once that seed sprouts and those roots take hold, our faith, just like the mustard plant, spreads like crazy.
Once the roots of our faith take hold, this faith of ours stops being a noun and starts being a verb.
Which is just what God intends.
Like a planted seed needs sunlight and water to root and grow, God takes the initiative—-plants the seed—-but it’s our nurturing response that brings those Divine Dreams to life. And once those dreams are realized, more dreams sprout, grow, and spread.
God has a vision and through God’s call and our response, amazing things happen: a mustard seed grows into an immense plant, a shepherd boy is chosen as king, and a small child from Nazareth grows into the Christ. (Bruce Epperly)
By virtue of our baptisms we are called to work on behalf of God to topple the world of intolerance, fear and violence. You and me. Regular folk with at times unremarkable faith are called to this work.
Listen closely and we'’ll hear God’s cries in the lament of people of color, pinned under the foot of the oppressor; listen closely and we’ll hear God’s cries in the exhausted medical personnel, grieving family members and desperate patients begging us to wear our masks, wash our hands and stay home, listen closely and we’ll hear God’s cries in the children with nothing to eat, nowhere safe to play and schools too overburdened to give them quality education.
Listen and hear the cries of God's people and then get to work.
With the Holy Spirit interceding for us with those glorious and sacred sighs, we can, even with faith the size of a mustard seed, get this world moving in the direction of Love.
And when we do that, the Kingdom of Heaven will indeed sprout and spread all around us. Amen. +
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