Mark 4:26-34
He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’
He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’
With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.
“With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?” These are the words Jesus puts before the crowds and his disciples in our gospel lesson today, words that serve as both a challenge and an invitation for the original audience and those who hear them today to exercise the imagination in the ongoing journey of discovery of the kingdom of God. In this relatively short chapter Jesus tells four different parables. The first is the parable of the sower, which we uncovered last week. To refresh your memory, a sower went out to sow, scattering seed far and wide, on the path, on shallow soil, among thorns and thistles, and on good soil. The birds ate what fell on the path, the plants in the shallow soil withered in the sun because they did not have deep roots, the sprouts among the thorns were choked out. But the seed that fell on good soil- that seed produced a bountiful harvest. The second parable got skipped over in our reading, but we just sang it: you are the light for the world, not to be hidden under a bushel, but to be put upon a lamp stand to shed light in the darkness, so that all might see. This morning we read the final two parables found in this chapter, parables that, like the parable of the sower, find themselves in an agrarian setting, with farmers and birds and most importantly: seeds.
Before we can dig into the parables today, or begin to answer Jesus’ question- with what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it- we must first understand what a parable is. So what is a parable? The short and simple answer is that a parable is a short story that uses everyday items or experiences to relay some sort of instruction or deeper meaning to the listener. While this working definition is true, it makes a parable sound very similar to a fable.
We are all familiar with fables, aren’t we? Particularly Aesop’s fables, which we probably learned as children and later taught to our own children. Such fables include the story of the tortoise and hare, which teaches “slow and steady wins the race” or the story of the boy who cried wolf, which teaches the importance of not telling lies. “a fable is primarily didactic, a clever story meant to offer some insight into and instruction about life.”(1)
The word parable comes from the Greek paraballo. Para means beside, like parallel. They share that same root- para. Ballo means to throw. Parables, then, are “stories thrown alongside our lives”(2), They are “intended to be disruptive, to interrupt what you thought you knew and not just teach you something but actually to confront you with a surprising and often unwanted truth.”(3)
So what lesson is Jesus trying to teach us in these parables? What does he have to say that could potentially disrupt or confront us with an unwanted truth?
The first parable that we heard today is the story of the seed that grows in secret. Jesus uses common knowledge about the life cycle of a seed to teach the people about the nature of the kingdom of God. It teaches the listener about who and what does the work of bringing about the kingdom. A farmer plants a seed, and then goes about their everyday lives. It says nothing about watering or tilling, weeding or tending. The farmer does nothing special after planting the seed. Instead, it is God who causes the seed to grow and bear fruit. This, Jesus says, is how it is with the kingdom of God. “The kingdom of God is dependent upon God’s grace and upon human initiative” (4). The farmer takes the initiative to plant the seed, but it is God who finishes the work. Thank goodness the coming of the kingdom does not rely solely on us!
Last week I mentioned that we have a garden at our house. What I failed to mention is that I do my best to stay as far away from it as possible because I have a tendency of accidentally killing any and all plants entrusted in my care. I like gardening- in theory. I can plant the seeds, but then I forget to water them. Then, when the soil is bone dry, I remember I didn’t water them and then I over water them. I put off weeding way too long, saying, “I’ll do it tomorrow,” until the weeds grow up and I can’t tell the sprouts from the weeds. I am so bad at taking care of plants that I have killed bamboo. Twice! That’s pretty impossible! Thank God the coming of the kingdom is not dependent upon gardeners like me!
The second parable is the well-known story of the mustard seed. Now, a mustard seed was the tiniest of seeds, but could grow into a huge tree or bush. It wasn’t planted on purpose- in fact, it was considered a weed. It took over the place where it was planted and was difficult to contain, even difficult to kill.
Sort of like bamboo.
Now, I have another bamboo story. Once upon a time I lived in my grandparent’s house in Timonium, Maryland. I was looking after things while they were no longer living there. In the spring I decided I wanted to putter around in my grandfather’s garden beds, and I discovered a very interesting shoot. It was bamboo, that had travelled from my neighbor’s yard into mine. I tried pulling it up- that didn’t work. I tried chopping it down- that didn’t work. I tried not watering it- that didn’t work. I tried over watering- that didn’t work. Finally I asked my neighbor if he knew of a way to kill the bamboo. He suggested pouring gasoline on it, but I didn’t want gasoline to seep into my soil, so I learned to live with the bamboo.
Maybe the kingdom of heaven is like that bamboo. It crosses borders and fences. It refuses to be contained. It is indestructible. It provides nourishment for those that eat it leaves, and shade for those who sit under it. Maybe this is the story that was thrown alongside my life at that time. Maybe this is the parable I can use to describe the kingdom of heaven.
But let us return to the mustard seed, because our story today takes place in ancient Palestine, not Timonium, Maryland.
“The mustard seed was a common metaphor in Palestine for ‘the smallest thing’... Like the mustard seed, the followers of Jesus are a bunch of ragged folk, full of doubts, full of fears, unable to comprehend much of what Jesus says or does. The reign of God bursting into history rests on these kinds of folk?” (5) “Jesus emphasizes, ‘Yes, this is the scruffy seed from which the reign of God will be proclaimed’” (6).
The followers of Jesus are the mustard seed.
YOU are the seed. Each one of us has been planted, like a seed, so that God can work in and through our lives, causing us to grow in faith and love. You have been planted, like a seed, so that you might be a safe space for the lost and broken in the world. You have been planted, like a seed, to provide nourishment to those who are hungry, filling bellies with good food and spirits with the truth of God’s love. You have been planted, like a seed, so that the kingdom of God might dwell here on earth.
“With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?”
May the grace of God help you to grow from a scruffy seed, the smallest thing, into a strong and bountiful tree, a sign of God’s presence in the world this day and everyday.
1- http://www.davidlose.net/2015/06/pentecost-3-b-preach-the-truth-slant/
2- Nibs Strouse
3- http://www.davidlose.net/2015/06/pentecost-3-b-preach-the-truth-slant/
4- Nibs Strouse
5- Nibs Strouse
6- Nibs Strouse
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