May the mumbling commence!
Today, we start two journeys through the gospel according to Mark. Our journey begins on Holy Saturday, a time for reflection and silence. When life throws us a dramatic curve ball, how do we respond? How we respond is important, because life is full of unexpected pleasures and pains.
And Jesus’ parables put everyday things into extraordinary light. There is a surprise for the hearer. Read the parable of the mustard seed from Mark chapter four:
Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." (Verses 30-32)
On the surface, it is easy for us to see that the small grain of a mustard seed of faith is enough – to produce fruit and shelter. While this growth and vitality of something so small is a surprise, there is a larger surprise hidden in this parable that the original hearers would recognize immediately. Yes, immediately is a good word when we talk about Mark. Immediately is one of Mark’s favorite words.
And my wife, who is diminutive (she stands a mere four feet and eleven inches), would say that we should not be surprised about the potency of small things. Indeed, some things come in small and dynamic packages. So the surprise in this parable is hidden elsewhere from our eyes.
There is a surprise. Let me explain it in a way that would be similar in our time. Spring is a time for planting. Many of my friends talk about reseeding their lawns. I joke about mowing the weeds in my yard. (They do need another mowing!) I do not even pretend to have a lawn, and I don’t bother myself with such things. I am forever grateful that I do not live in a neighborhood where lawn maintenance is a badge of honor and a contest. Who can have the lushest lawn?
In this context, let me introduce the surprise in Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed. The kingdom of God is like chickweed seed or crabgrass seed, which are among the smallest of seeds. But when these seeds are planted, they grow aggressively and provide havens for all kinds of insects.
Wait a minute! Why would we purposefully plant chickweed or crabgrass into our yards?!? They are invasive and aggressive weeds! That is exactly how Jesus’ original hearers would react to the kingdom of God being compared to a mustard seed – an aggressive weed.
Will you and I take time at the end of this Holy Week to allow the kingdom of God to take root in our lives? If we allow the kingdom of God in, it will grow aggressively in our lives. There will be no turning back. And some of the fruit we produce will look like weeds in the eyes of the world. Some of the people that we feel called to shelter will look like riff raff to the people around us.
The kingdom of God is powerful. It will not be denied. Help us, O God, to see with eternal eyes. Help us to understand the effect that eternity has on our lives in the here and now, so that we may live into the glorious future that is coming into reality even now.
Eternity is not only a pie in the sky in the sweet by and by it is also around us now. Eternity is not only measured in quantity but also in quality. Eternity and heaven is both and – here and now as well as a great future to look forward to with great anticipation.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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