Mustard Seed

 Mustard Seed - Link to podcast

Love and hope in a person is infectious and hard to contain.  Like a warm smile or a big laugh, it just seems to influence whoever witnesses it.  A tiny mustard seed grows and spreads everywhere and is difficult to stop.   

For most of my life I have been aware of the parables of Jesus and the fabulous truths for living they contain.  They teach us about what Jesus refers to as the kingdom of God. They are filled with great stories that help guide Christians about what is important and they ways we are to partner with God in his kingdom priorities for this world.  

For the next few months, the Monday Nuggets of truth will be based on these parables.  I want to give a big shout out to Major Barbara Wilson who was actually one of my training officers in Salvo training college back in 1995.   She is a great thinker and a very practical and earthy sort of Salvo.  I like her a lot.  She and I seem to be on the same page and we often chat about the content and progress of the podcast. She is providing some stimulating research and comment for these episodes, so that the content is rich, wise and hopefully really helpful.   

The first parable I want to look at is the Parable of the mustard seed found in Mark Chapter 4.  It goes like this.  

“What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

I have always believed that the idea of this parable was that the love and power of God was expressed in a small act of faith and that it would eventually grow into a mighty tree, unshakable and powerful.  

But the truth is mustard seeds never grow into anything like a mighty tree.  They are not even classified as trees.  They are shrubs.  But here’s the thing, the average mustard plant produces around 8000 seeds. So when we look at the parable from this point of view, the Kingdom of God is more like an unruly, uncontrollable, invasive weed that sends shoots everywhere.  And we are invited to sow these seeds.      

So if we sow seeds that are like this in terms of how they grow and spread, trying to control it is extremely challenging.  Organising and structuring an invasive weed is a little pointless don’t you think?  

And what are these seeds?  Seeds of acceptance, kindness, justice, peace, and love. There’s no telling who will show up when we throw that kind of goodness into the world – which is why it’s so unpredictable, so scary and so dangerous. That kind of radical inclusion generally leads to a cross.

I went for a run with my friends from Helensburgh salvos the other day and afterwards caught up with about ten or so of the people connected to this group for breakfast at a cafe.  There were mums, dads, a grandma and 4 little kids.  We have been journeying together for a few years now and know each other well through experiences like trail runs, playing card games and countless honest and significant conversations.  They have even been known to sing along to my Ukulele playing.

The warmth and love we share is really special.  At the café, we laughed, hugged, shared deeply and all felt the safety and significance of just being together.  A new person came into the group for the first time and was immediately embraced and accepted beautifully.  It was soulful to witness this communion around food, togetherness and a deep yet informal sense of God’s love and presence.  

I am confident that every person at this gathering was uplifted and encouraged by just being together.  I am also confident that they all went into their worlds spilling over with the same spirit of love and acceptance that we all experienced at that café.  I am confident they would attempt to replicate this spirit wherever they go.  

Shoots form this group will be planted and spring up everywhere. Even if they are uprooted and seem to be dying off, they are sure to spring up again soon.   

One lady from this group is going to live permanently in New Zealand in the New Year.  The Kiwis are about to be overrun by an invasive shrubby little plant of love and hope that will be absolutely unstoppable.  

Bless ya,