The Mustard Seed
In my hand, I am
holding one mustard seed. I'm sure you all can see it,
at least in your mind's eye you can. You know, it's one
of those little things that float around in the bottom
of the pickle jar. Pretty small. And, that's nothing new
to anyone.
And, I know you've all heard
this saying about a mustard seed before. In fact, this
saying has given people the strength to persevere in the
face of extreme obstacles. For many, faith has to do
with believing that as children of God we have all been
gifted with the knowledge - that our doctors and
scientists will eventually figure out the answers to
life's challenges. Or, the other side of it is knowing
that God can and will answer our prayers and cause a
miracle to happen. Sometimes this saying has brought
great disappointment though when the hoped for miracle
doesn't happen. Did I not believe hard enough? After
all, it says, all that is needed is faith the size of a
mustard seed.
But to understand what this
saying of Jesus means, we have to see it inside of the
whole conversation. In fact, we have to ultimately go
back to chapter 13, where Luke begins the narrative of
what the Kingdom of God can be compared to. You see, the
gospel reading we did today culminates a message that
spans several chapters.
In 13, Jesus has healed a woman
on the Sabbath and the leader of the synagogue gets all
indignant and says you've got 6 other days of the week
to work, heal on those days. Remember? And, that's when
Jesus says, the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed
that grows into a huge tree so big that all the birds of
the air made their nests in its branches. The kingdom of
God and the mustard seed are paired up here - both
beginning small. And, over time they become large enough
to incorporate lots and lots and lots of residents.
Now between chapters13 and 17 we
hear a great deal from Jesus about who is entering into
the kingdom and what that kingdom is like. We hear about
how God the Father longs to gather up the people of
Jerusalem like a mother hen gathers and protects all the
little chicks in the barnyard under her wings. We hear
about a wedding feast in which God calls the lowliest
forward from the back of the hall. We hear about the
banquet prepared for its guests. But many are too busy
to go and so the master invites all the poor, crippled,
blind, and lame, the ones that ancient society
considered outcast and useless. And, it says that the
slave was told to compel them to come in. We hear the
Father welcoming home the son who had squandered all his
inheritance and reduced himself to feeding pigs. The
Pharisees berate Jesus for eating with sinners. And,
Jesus even goes to dinner and hangs out with the very
Pharisees who are complaining.
What's the message here? God
wants to welcome everyone into his house. From law
abiding Pharisees to the most miserable sinner. God
wants them all to come home.
So here, let me read the couple
of sentences right before our gospel reading. "Jesus
said to his disciples, "Occasions for stumbling are
bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! It
would be better for you if a millstone were hung around
your neck, and you were thrown into the sea than for you
to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your
guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the
offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive.
And if the same person sins against you seven times a
day, and turns back to you seven times and says, 'I
repent,' you must forgive."
Now think about the implications
here. Jesus is telling them how responsible they are for
everyone else. And he's not talking about someone
tripping and falling down and skinning their knees. He's
talking about those people who are tentatively
approaching Christianity and thinking about mayyyybe
becoming a disciple. And, Jesus is telling his
disciples, that if your behavior or your attitude makes
someone falter. If your misguided example or your words,
or your arguments with one another cause anyone who is
struggling with what to believe to turn aside, then you
might as well have a millstone around your neck and be
thrown in the sea. Cause that's about all you are worth
as a witness to the gospel - a hunk of concrete.
Have you ever seen one of those
things? Archeologists have unearthed some that are sort
of cone shaped, about 3-4 feet tall made out of basalt.
The top has an opening like funnels do for the grain to
be poured into. It is placed over another cone shaped
rock and mules turn it around and around. Can you
picture someone with their head stuck through that? They
wouldn't get very far trying to walk down the street
sharing the good news!
Okay, now Jesus doesn't quit
there. He also says you have to forgive someone when
they offend you…every time they offend you. 7 times a
day if necessary. And the other gospels will say 70 x 7.
Now, many of us know the saying, "hurt me once shame on
you, hurt me twice, shame on me." Right? We aren't going
to let someone take advantage of us or make fools out of
us more than once. So what is this forgive them over and
over and over!!!! But, I think it is something a little
different here. It is said in the context of not causing
someone else to stumble. So, if we as fellow witnesses
to the gospel notice that one of our fellows here are
behaving in such a way that it is interfering with some
other Christian's faith development, it is our duty to
call them on the carpet and say, "Hey! Cut it out. You
are jeopardizing the mission." The quality and character
of a Christian was crucial for someone potentially
entering the faith
Jesus knew the rough road ahead
for his followers. In the beginning to follow Jesus was
called "the way." It was a lifestyle change that for
Jews and Romans alike was considered suspicious and
potentially dangerous. And, followers of the Way, could
be persecuted. And, if you know history you know they
not only crucified Jesus, but hundreds and thousands of
Christians were crucified along a major Roman road
called the Appian Way, or thrown to the lions for sport.
When Jesus was laying it on the
line for his disciples, it was no wonder they shouted,
"Increase our Faith!" It was hard enough for them to get
a grasp of what it meant to be a follower of Jesus for
their own sakes, let alone realizing they had the fate
of everyone they met on their shoulders. And, Jesus, in
frustration turned to them and said, "Increase it? If
you even had faith this big, you could uproot a tree and
plant it in the sea." It almost sounds as if Jesus was
saying you don't even have any faith to begin with. But
it is more like, "If the kingdom of God resides in you,
quit fighting it. Even though it starts very small, let
it take root and God will be able to do all that God
wants to do through what I am asking of you." He went on
to say, "Guys, even in a master/slave relationship, the
slave understands that his job is all about
accomplishing what the master needs. It's not about
getting thanked or rewarded, its about getting the
master's work done through his efforts."
Think about it, where does your
way take you each day and what people do you encounter
along that path? Your husband, wife, parent, children,
friends, co-workers, pew mates, teachers, students,
strangers, enemies. Now, think of the dynamics of those
relationships. Is the kingdom of God blossoming there or
struggling? In every encounter, can you look those
people in the eye and extend or receive love, respect,
safety, trust? Through us Jesus is trying to restore
relationships with God the father.
Through each of us, faith this
small, can bring about amazing miracles in this world.
So much wasted energy is involved in anger and hatred.
Greater is the power of healed relationships that free
people both parties to do what they were intended to do.
Jesus believed so much in healing relationships that his
followers were advised to go and resolve any conflicts
with their neighbors before they came to the Lord's
table to commune with him.
Let me ask you a question. For
whom was your faith given to you? Faith was hardly meant
for you to keep to yourself, hidden in your heart.
Rather it was given to you as strength to allow you to
take the risk of opening yourself to the world for the
sake of Jesus. He said the cost of discipleship would be
high. In some of your relationships can you humble
yourself and admit you don't know the way and be willing
to take the long journey of learning how to love in a
new way.
Go home this week and write down
on a piece of paper what you think life in the kingdom
of God is like. Keep it in a convenient spot so you can
add to it all week. And then think of one person that
you would like to share that with, someone with whom
your relationship is struggling. Think about ways that
you can take your mustard seed of faith and let the
kingdom of God grow in those moments with that person.
Read other
sermons by Pastor Joan
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