Like A Weed
Notes
Transcript
He told another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in his field. It’s the smallest of all seeds. But when it’s grown, it’s the largest of all vegetable plants. It becomes a tree so that the birds in the sky come and nest in its branches.”
In our scripture last week, Jesus talked about a farmer or sower spreading seed. As I said last week, Jesus speaks about farming a lot in his parables because it was something the community would understand as many had experience in the field. Get it, in the field. Ok, bad joke. I could hear the groans from that joke even with your windows rolled up and car running.
Every time this scripture comes up, I am taken back to a sermon done by a friend of mine at Dacula UMC. He brought in a bunch of mustard seeds to show how small the seed actually are. It was amazing to see a seed that small but has so much meaning within scripture and our faith. I really wanted to bring in mustard seeds to show the size but the drive-in service makes it difficult because they are small enough it would be hard for you to see from your vehicles. The other reason I do not bring in mustard seed is I remember the person who handled the cleaning complain about how the mustard seeds were like glitter, they just got everywhere and were difficult to clean up.
The mustard seed is a very interesting seed as it produces a different plant based on where it grows. In the Mediterranean it grows into a tree, as Jesus tells us. In the United States it is more like a weed than anything. Instead of growing up and out like a tree, the seed spreads across a field overtaking a lot of the land. While in the Mediterranean, the seed grows to be a large tree which birds can nest and rest in. It is the largest vegetable plant in the area.
Either way, Jesus describes the Kingdom of Heaven to be like the mustard seed. John Wesley describes the kingdom of heaven in this text in his explanatory notes as, “Both the Gospel dispensation, and the inward kingdom.” What is it that Wesley is saying in this note? He is saying this parable is a two fold lesson for us. How is that possible when the parable only talks about the kingdom being like a mustard seed? Isn’t that just one thing? Yes, but when we dig deeper we can find more than just one thing to learn from this scripture.
Let’s talk about Wesley saying this is Gospel dispensation. I have to admit, I had to look up the definition of dispensation to ensure that I understood it correctly. It is a word that is not used very much in the English language but the definition Wesley was using here is “the action of distribution or supplying something.” How in the world does Wesley understand this parable to be a distribution of the kingdom? Well, think about the mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into something bigger than you could ever think it would. The distribution of the seed to tree or weed is crazy when you think about it.
The dispensation we are called to is similar to last week but instead of spreading the seed, our gospel message is the mustard seed of our personal lives. It is something that we should be offering to everyone. Last week we were spreading seeds like a farmer. Remember, I said the parable of the sower was calling us to spread the seed to all soils and not to limit where the seed lands. This continues today as we throw our mustard seed out. We offer the Gospel message to all. This message for us is huge and very important but in the world it is not.
In the world the Gospel message is small and unimportant. The things of the world have more meaning and strength. These things pull people away from hearing the message and caring. The world causes peoples hearts to harden to the message of the Gospel making it hard to hear the Good News and hope found in the message.
Something happens a little different with the mustard seed over other crops. See the mustard seed message we sow begins to grow into something bigger. If we look at it as a Mediterranean seed then it grows into a large message that supports the faith of each person that allows it to grow. It gives a place of rest and comfort. The large tree holds up to the worldly forces pulling on the branches. The tree provides shade in the heat of pressure from everything around. If we look at it as the weed like plant in the US then we find a message that spreads rapidly and removes the worldly desires by covering them up and pushing them out of the heart. The spreading weed quickly moves and becomes a larger message that continues to spread as more people hear it and accept the message.
How is this parable about an inward kingdom? The better question is, what is the inward kingdom? We have to know this before we can discuss the how. The inward kingdom is our faith in God. It is God’s Kingdom as part of our live. The Kingdom of God must be part of our personal life. We must desire the Kingdom to be part of us as we want it here on earth.
Now that you know that the inward kingdom is part of your faith and heart, we can start to talk about how this parable is about an inward kingdom. Again the mustard seed is part of us but it is our faith. In Matthew 17:20, Jesus says “I assure you that if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Go from here to there,’ and it will go. There will be nothing that you can’t do.” Now that it is more about our faith what does a tree or weed have to do with our faith.
Let’s talk about this tree from the parable first. Having the faith the size of mustard seed allows you to do great things, like moving a mountain because you know God can do it. As the tree of faith grows within you it pushes out the evil that your heart is bent toward. Your branches become big and strong enough to support the weight of birds. This is important because during biblical times birds held an evil presence. There were a few that did not like a dove but most birds were thought of as evil. That means your faith will be large enough and strong enough to shelter and provide rest to your enemies and neighbors. What, yes, we are called to offer a place of shade and rest to those that we most disagree with.
This means we offer a place to those that sit on the other side of the aisle from us. If you are a Republican then your branches would support and comfort the Democrats in your life with love. If you are a Christian then your branches would support and comfort Muslims. I know this is not easy for us to grasp, especially in today’s political climate but it is the truth and what Jesus calls us to do.
Even if we look at the mustard seed’s final growth as a weed, we find a faith that grows crazy. The weeds provide shade to the birds and a place to gather and rest. They also provide food. Your enemies and the evils around you have a place to gather because of your love for them. This type of faith grows quickly and strong and allows for mountains to be moved.
Friends, these two verses are important for us as they call us to spread a message that is small to the world but grows to something greater. It calls us to a stronger faith that allows for a place for our enemies to find rest and shelter. To offer love to all even if you disagree. Crazy, I know, but it the example that Christ gave us and the least we can do is to follow these examples and words. Are you ready to offer your mustard seed to all? Are you ready to allow the mustard seed in you to grow to something greater than you could ever imagine?