Everything I
know about mustard I learned from biblical commentaries.
Well, almost.
I know that
people put it on hot dogs and hamburgers, and that’s not mentioned in the
commentaries.
But since Jesus’
story about the mustard seed comes up in three of the four gospels – and every
summer in our lectionary – there’s a LOT of ink spilled about biblical mustard.
It’s a tiny seed
– if it’s not the smallest seed (according to the internet, at least some
varieties of orchid seeds are smaller) – and it grows into a substantial plant
– whether it’s a shrub or a tree is a matter of heated religious debate.
That by itself
would make Jesus’ point about great things coming from tiny sources. But there’s one other thing about
mustard that I’ve learned from biblical commentators that’s the real zinger
about the comparison to the kingdom of God.
It’s a weed.
It seems that
when Jesus was talking about mustard, he expected his hearers to be thinking
about the sort of plant that no one would actually plant in their garden because it would take it over, like mint or
kudzu. And be just as hard to get
rid of, once it’s in.
The kingdom of
God is like a weed.
From a tiny,
unnoticeable seed grows a plant that nobody invited or wanted, impossible to
get rid of – and that provides shelter for the birds (and a somewhat spicy food).
It’s true that
the kingdom of God is like a weed sometimes.
The Jesus
movement two thousand years ago massively upset the normal, appropriate,
expected patterns of religious life.
The notion of
freedom of religion that was planted in the United States is wonderfully messy
and regularly dangerous to our comfort these two centuries later.
A faithful commitment
to the dignity of every human being disrupts travel, economies, custom and
comfort in every stage of the blossoming of civil and human rights around the
world.
We don’t grow weeds
on purpose, and we don’t build the kingdom of God to our plans. The seeds fall. God provides the resources – earth, sun
and rain, or people and ideas. The
plant or the kingdom grows, and what Jesus says is that it’s up to us to respond.
To make nests in
the shade, or to rejoice in the harvest.
There are seeds
all over our lives. A smile, a
word, an idea – a tiny gift of time, attention, cash or goodies. Seeds that grow in spite of us, and
blossom into the unexpected – sometimes inconvenient, but ultimately wonderful
– kingdom of God.
And because the
kingdom of God is a weed, there’s no way it fits in a regular sermon from the
pulpit.
It doesn’t happen here – it happens out there. In your lives, and all over the world outside of church.
It doesn’t happen here – it happens out there. In your lives, and all over the world outside of church.
So the rest of
the sermon is up to you.
Think, right
now, about some small thing – a smile, a question, a mistake or a chance
encounter that has grown beyond your expectation. A marriage? a friendship? A kind of service, or a part of your faith?
Or a big result
that you can’t track back to any single seed.
Go ahead, think about it. In church, we shared those growth stories out loud. You can share yours - it's just like a gardening story, after all!
That’s the
gospel, the good news, the kingdom of God, growing among us,
like mustard.
Of course, all
of us also have seeds we’ve planted in hope – kind words, little gifts given – that
haven’t borne fruit yet, perhaps for years. Those tiny seeds of the kingdom are
in the hands of God, and we don’t know how they grow – so those are our
prayers.
In a few
minutes, when we pray, put those seeds in the hands of God, with a word or a
name for each.
And this week,
this summer season of growth,
keep your eyes
open for mustard,
for the kingdom
of God, growing unexpected and uninvited, to nourish and shelter God’s
creatures, and you and me.
