This sermon was delivered on June 14th, 2021 for the weekly worship service at the Kensington in Gelesburg, ILseed
If you have faith like a mustard seed... The parable of the mustard seed shows up twice in the gospels- once in Matthew and once in Mark. It is probably one of the most known parables- we learn it as children, usually we are given a mustard seed of our very own to take home. I have a mustard seed encased in a bead that was given to me at some point. It is so common in some ways it has become trite- because the focus is always on that little seed, even a little seed can become a big tree. Even a little faith can become big faith. That’s a lot of meaning for a tiny seed.
Instead, I think it’s important to focus on what happens when you let things grow. A mustard seed thrown onto concrete isn’t going to become a mighty tree. I’ve always found it odd that this parable doesn’t give any credit to the farmer, the soil, the water, or the sun. That little seed is supposed to tell the whole story. But seeds don’t grow without help.
I grew up in rural Kentucky where farming is a major part of life. My family doesn’t farm, but we grew up with the benefits of living in a farming community- fresh veggies and fruit all summer. Tomatoes, strawberries, peaches. Stopping at Bray’s or Callis’ orchards to get whatever was in season.
Getting so sick on you-pick Strawberries that you never eat them again. Sitting on the stoop preparing beans that had just been picked. Fingers and toes deep in the dirt of Dad’s garden- because we may not have had a farm, but there was always a garden- even if just for tomatoes fresh off the vine. But anyone who knows anything about growing things, knows that putting the seed in the ground is just part of the process- it isn’t even the beginning!
I also grew up listening to Peter, Paul, and Mary, and Garden Song is one of my favorites. Perhaps you know it? The chorus goes:
Inch by inch, row by row, I'm gonna make this garden grow
All it takes is a rake and a hoe and a piece of fertile ground
Inch by inch, row by row, someone bless these seeds I sow
Someone warm them from below 'til the rain comes tumbling down
What I love most about this song is that gardening becomes a cooperative effort between the seed, the soil, the sower, and God. It takes fertile ground, and work, and warmth, and rain to make the seed flourish. In the case of the tiny mustard seed, that flourishing growth looks like a large bush where birds can nest and are sheltered by its branches. That’s what happens when you let things grow.
One of the things my figure skating coaches tell me is to “wait” for things to happen- turns, jumps- whatever it is that I”m working on, I tend to rush into the movement and try to make it happen before it’s time. I do the preparation for the action, I set everything up correctly, but then I rush through the movement- usually missing it entirely or throwing myself off balance.
If I could just wait- only a second or two longer, the movement would happen naturally and more successfully. If I could just wait and trust my preparation and practice. But as I’ve often said- patience may be a virtue, but it isn’t one of mine. I even have this prayer posted on my wall:
Dear God, Help me be patient. And if I can’t be patient, help me wait with as much grace as I can muster. And if I can’t do that, help me to not make any poor decisions in the meantime.
See, I’m really good at sowing seeds (metaphorical seeds- allergies keep me from enjoying gardening). I can plan and prepare, but the waiting is where I struggle. I want to see the fruits of my labor- I want to see results. And I get so frustrated when I don’t see results immediately! But imagine planting a tiny mustard seed and expecting to see a huge bush the next day- it isn’t possible- growth doesn’t happen that quickly.
Growth doesn’t happen that quickly. Growth takes effort. Growth takes work. And Jesus understood that work and understood the agricultural context in which he was doing his teaching. It isn’t surprising, then, that Jesus often uses agricultural themes in his metaphors. The farmers hearing the messages would understand the meaning- they would understand the process of sown seed to flowering bush.
While modern audiences might not understand the intricacies of Jesus’ parables, his audience likely would have understood his meaning without much need for further interpretation of explanation. And they would understand that Jesus wasn’t just commenting about the size of the seed, but also about the length time and the amount of work and patience it takes for the seed to grow. Growth takes time.
Jesus tells us what happens when the mustard seed grows up- it becomes a large shrub with big branches that birds can use for shade and for nesting. The bush supports life. This description clearly echoes the words we heard from Ezekiel this morning.
On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. Under it every kind of bird will live; in the shade of its branches will nest winged creatures of every kind.
In this case, the text is discussing a cedar tree, but the effect is the same. A small branch planted eventually becomes a home for birds. It’s interesting to note that the Cedar tree became a symbol for Lebanon and that Lebanon cedar trees- or “cedars of God” have been a part of the religious histories of that area for eons.
The trees are documented in the bible including this passage in Ezekiel, the Psalms, and they are also discussed in the Sumerian creation story and the Epic of Gilgamesh. There are no longer great forests of cedars, but they are still important in Lebanese culture and have been counted and catalogued actively since the 1500’s. In 1998, UNESCO recognized the Cedars as a World Heritage site.
These types of cedars have grown over 100 feet tall and can have trunks nearly 50 feet around- these are not small trees. In comparison, the bush grown from a mustard seed grows to between 6-20 feet tall. But both of these writers have the same general concept in mind when they describe God’s kingdom in this way. Both the prophet Ezekiel and the gospel writer understand God’s kingdom as a seedling that sprouts into something large, protective, and nourishing.
Both the cedar and the mustard bush provide shelter for birds and wildlife, prevent erosion of surrounding soil, and provide shade and protection. But, none of this is possible if the plant isn’t allowed to take root and actually grow. The waiting and the growth are key.
And I think that’s truly the point Jesus is making in the parable- that the waiting is part of the process. That the kingdom of God takes TIME to build and that faith takes time to develop. We cannot put a mustard seed in the ground today and expect it to be a giant bush tomorrow. And we cannot expect that God will make that process happen any faster than nature allows. Even in the reading from Ezekiel, we are reminded that God plants the tree, but the tree must BECOME something bigger before it can be shelter or refuge. No matter WHO is doing the planting, there must be waiting.
What do we do while we wait?
So plant your rows straight and long, temper them with prayer and song
Mother earth can keep you strong if you give her love and care
We do the work. We care for the fertile ground. We turn the soil. We pull out weeds. And even if we don’t garden, we can get that metaphor- even in the waiting there is something to work on. And sometimes, we even work on learning how to wait. The work itself is holy.
Amen.