THE SLOW, STEADY, SURPRISING GROWTH
OF GOD’S KINGDOM
Luke 13:18-21 1/16/22
HUMAN BEINGS
HAVE A WAY OF BLOCKING OUT
THE VERY WISDOM WE NEED
FOR OUR SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING.
IT IS EASIER TO DO THIS BLOCKING-OUT
WHEN SOMEONE COMES AT US DIRECTLY,
OFFERING ADVICE,
OR EVEN PRECIOUS LESSONS THEY HAVE LEARNED
FROM THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE.
SO SERIOUS SPIRITUAL TEACHERS
COME AT US INDIRECTLY.
IN THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED,
JESUS BUILDS ON A POWERFUL EXAMPLE
OF INDIRECT COMMUNICATION FOUND IN
THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL.
IN EZEKIEL 31:1-14, THE PROPHET USES
INDIRECT COMMUNICATION IN THE FORM OF
COMPARING TWO UNLIKE THINGS
WITH ONE ANOTHER TO SET A VERBAL TRAP,
THEN SPRINGS THE TRAP
BY MAKING A SURPRISING CONCLUSION.
EZEKIEL COMPARES THE PHARAOH OF EGYPT
TO THE MOST BELOVED TREE OF HIS DAY,
THE CEDAR OF LEBANON,
A TREE QUITE COMPARABLE TO OUR REDWOODS
IN TERMS OF STRENGTH AND MAJESTY.
EZEKIEL LURES PHARAOH INTO THE TRAP
WITH NINE VERSES OF FLATTERING PRAISE.
EZEKIEL ASKS HIM,
“WHO ARE YOU LIKE IN YOUR GREATNESS?”
THEN HE ANSWERS HIS OWN QUESTION
BY COMPARING PHARAOH TO
“A CEDAR OF LEBANON WITH FAIR BRANCHES
AND FOREST SHADE…ITS TOP AMONG THE CLOUDS.”
EZEKIEL ENTICES PHARAOH TO ENJOY
THIS FLATTERY, AND GOES ON TO SAY
THAT ALL THE NATIONS LIVE UNDER
PHARAOH’S SHADE TREE LIKE
“THE BIRDS OF THE AIR
THAT MAKE NESTS IN ITS BOUGHS.”
THE COMPARISON SEEMS INNOCENT,
BUT WHEN WE TRANSLATE THOSE IMAGES
INTO THEIR IMPERIAL COUNTERPARTS,
WE SEE ANOTHER REALITY ALTOGETHER,
IN WHICH OTHER NATIONS ARE LIKE BIRDS,
SUBSERVIENT TO THE EGYPTIAN EMPIRE,
COMING TO PAY TRIBUTE,
AND LOSING THEIR SONS AND DAUGHTERS
TO WAR AND SLAVERY.
EZEKIEL GOES ON SUPPOSEDLY SINGING
PHARAOH’S PRAISES UNTIL VERSE 10,
WHEN HE SUDDENLY DESCRIBES
PHARAOH’S DOWNFALL AND DEFEAT
BECAUSE OF HIS PRIDE AND WICKEDNESS.
THE GREAT TREE OF THE PHARAOH IS CUT DOWN,
AND HIS COUNTRY HANDED OVER TO
REAP THE CONSEQUENCES OF ITS OWN VIOLENCE.
THIS TREE SIMILE IN THE HEBREW BIBLE
IS ESSENTIAL TO UNDERSTANDING JESUS’ INTENT
IN HIS MUSTARD SEED PARABLE.
JUDEA IN JESUS’ TIME WAS A CONQUERED NATION,
AN EXPLOITED COLONY OF ROME.
BUT THE JEWISH PEOPLE NEVER LOST THEIR HOPE
OF A RETURN TO THE DAVIDIC AND SOLOMONIC
EMPIRE, WHICH, LIKE PHARAOH’S EGYPT AND CAESAR’S ROME,
DOMINATED THE NATIONS AROUND IT,
AND WHICH SEEMED INVINCIBLE
BECAUSE OF THE MILITARY POWER IT WIELDED.
THUS, WHEN JESUS SPOKE OF
THE KINGDOM OF GOD,
HIS LISTENERS THOUGHT HE MEANT
THIS DAVIDIC EMPIRE.
UNDER THE MESSIAH, A NEW DAVID,
THE OPPRESSION OF ROMAN RULE
WOULD BE OVERTHROWN,
AND ISRAEL WOULD BE SAFE AND SECURE AGAIN.
FOR A WHILE, THEY EVEN THOUGHT THAT
JESUS WAS THE NEW DAVID.
SO JESUS SHOCKED HIS AUDIENCE
BY NOT COMPARING GOD’S EMPIRE
WITH A CEDAR OF LEBANON.
RATHER, HE USED THE TINY SEED
OF A SHRUB PLANT, A MUSTARD SEED,
“THE SMALLEST OF ALL THE SEEDS,”
AS A SIMILE FOR GOD’S KINGDOM.
THOUGH TECHNICALLY THERE ARE
SMALLER SEEDS,
A MUSTARD SEED IS VERY SMALL.
AS IT GERMINATES AND GROWS,
IT IS AN LIKE AN AGGRESSIVE WEED
AS IT TAKES OVER AND BECOMES DOMINANT.
IN REPLACING THE MAJESTIC CEDAR OF LEBANON
WITH THE LOWLY MUSTARD SEED,
JESUS IS MAKING THE POINT
THAT GOD’S EMPIRE IS NOT RULED
BY VIOLENCE, CONSTANT FEAR, AND WAR,
AS WERE THE EMPIRES OF EGYPT AND ROME,
AND THE EMPIRES OF DAVID AND SOLOMON.
RATHER, GOD’S EMPIRE IS LIKE
A TINY MUSTARD SEED.
IT IS NOT A TREE AT ALL.
IT IS LIKE A WEED, A WEED
THAT IS VERY HARD TO CONTROL.
THAT IS WHAT GOD’S EMPIRE IS LIKE.
BUT WHY WOULD JESUS USE SUCH A COMPARISON?
WE KNOW WHAT JESUS STOOD FOR,
AND IT WAS NOT VIOLENCE.
JESUS DID NOT TRY TO BUILD A GREAT EMPIRE,
NOR EXPLOIT THE HATRED OF ENEMIES,
NOR PROMOTE THE DOMINATION
OF OTHER PEOPLE.
IF ONE WORD CAN CAPTURE THE MESSAGE OF JESUS
IT IS THE WORD COMPASSION.
WHEN ASKED TO SUM UP WHAT GOD WANTS OF US,
JESUS ANSWERED COMPASSION,
OR SACRIFICIAL LOVE FOR OTHER PEOPLE.
COMPASSION LITERALLY MEANS
“TO FEEL OR SUFFER WITH,”
TO UNDERSTAND OTHERS,
ESPECIALLY OUR ENEMIES.
IT IS SO SIMPLE
AND SEEMINGLY SMALL AND COMMON,
JUST LIKE A TINY MUSTARD SEED.
COMPARING THE KINGDOM OF GOD
TO A MUSTARD SEED WOULD COMMAND
THE IMMEDIATE ATTENTION
OF AN AUDIENCE OF RURAL PEASANTS AS WELL AS
AN AUDIENCE OF URBAN SOPHISTICATES
BECAUSE IT IS SO TOTALLY UNEXPECTED.
GOD WAS SUPPOSED TO COME
AS A CONQUERING KING
TO SLAY THEIR ENEMIES.
WAS THIS A JOKE?
WELL, YES, IN A WAY – BUT A SERIOUS JOKE.
TO SAY THAT GOD’S EMPIRE
IS LIKE A MUSTARD SEED IS RIDICULOUS.
BUT GOD’S EMPIRE IS SO UNLIKE
THE EMPIRES OF EGYPT, ROME,
DAVID, AND SOLOMON,
THAT JESUS NEEDED TO USE
SOME SHOCKING IMAGES
TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THIS.
GOD’S EMPIRE OF COMPASSION AND HOPE
IS THE OPPOSITE OF THE VIOLENT EMPIRES
RULED BY HATE, HOPELESSNESS, AND FEAR.
FOR JESUS,
GOD IS NOT FOUND IN VIOLENCE AND DOMINATION,
BUT IN COMPASSION
AND MUTUAL COOPERATION WITH OTHERS.
GOD AND GOD’S EMPIRE ARE NOT SYMBOLIZED
BY A TOWERING TREE OF PRIDE
AND STRUTTING ARROGANCE,
BUT BY A TINY MUSTARD SEED
OF COMPASSIONATE WORK
FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
LOOKING AT THE SHORT PARABLE OF THE LEAVEN,
OR YEAST, AND HOW IT SLOWLY BUT SURELY
DIFFUSES ITSELF THROUGH
A LARGE AMOUNT OF DOUGH,
WE SEE THE RELENTLESSNESS,
OR UNSTOPPABLENESS, OF GOD’S LOVE.
GOD’S LOVE
IS A POWERFUL FORCE OF SPIRITUAL EROSION,
IF YOU WILL,
THAT, GIVEN ENOUGH TIME –
TIME ALWAYS AVAILABLE
IN GOD’S ETERNAL PRESENT –
THEORETICALLY GIVES EACH PERSON
LONG ENOUGH TO FREELY CHOOSE
TO ACCEPT ETERNAL LIFE WITH GOD.
WHILE A STRONG CASE CAN BE MADE
THAT THE PRIMARY MEANING
OF BOTH THE PARABLE OF THE LEAVEN
AND THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED
IS THE EVENTUAL TRIUMPH OF GOD’S KINGDOM,
A STRONG CASE CAN ALSO BE MADE
THAT THERE IS AN IMPORTANT SECONDARY
MEANING TO EACH OF THESE PARABLES.
THIS SECONDARY MEANING
HAS TO DO WITH US AS INDIVIDUALS
AND OUR INDIVIDUAL GROWTH, OR MATURATION,
IF YOU WILL, AS CITIZENS OF GOD’S KINGDOM,
OR, MORE ACCURATELY, KIN-DOM.
ON THIS PERSONAL, INDIVIDUAL, LEVEL,
THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED
IS ENCOURAGING EACH OF US TO RELAX,
TO LET GO AND LET GOD,
TO TRUST THAT THE RELATIONSHIP
THAT EACH OF US HAS WITH GOD
IS REAL, AND STRONG, AND GROWING,
AND QUITE CAPABLE OF CARRYING US
FROM HERE TO ETERNITY.
SO OFTEN WE GET DOWN ON OURSELVES
FOR TEMPORARY SET-BACKS
ON OUR LIFE JOURNEY, OUR JOURNEY WITH GOD.
WE GET FIXATED ON OUR MOST RECENT FAILURE,
PROBLEM, OR IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION,
INSTEAD OF SEEING THE BIG PICTURE,
WHICH IS ONE OF SLOW, BUT STEADY GROWTH,
PUNCTUATED BY PERIODS OF DROUGHT
HERE AND THERE.
THIS REMAINDS ME OF A TRUE STORY IN
KITCHEN TABLE WISDOM
BY RACHEL NAOMI REMEN, M.D.
SHE WRITES:
“SARA IS A PERSON WHO, LIKE MYSELF,
HAS HAD CROHN’S DISEASE FOR MANY YEARS.
IN THIRTY YEARS OF ILLNESS
SHE HAS HAD MORE THAN FOURTEEN
ABDOMINAL AND JOINT SURGERIES.
AS A RESULT OF THESE EXPERIENCES
SHE SAW HERSELF AS A VICTIM.
WHEN SHE FIRST CAME TO MY OFFICE,
SHE WAS CHRONICALLY DEPRESSED
AND INCAPACITATED BY SELF-PITY.
BUT OVER TIME THAT CHANGED.
NOW SHE WORKS THREE DAYS A WEEK
AND PARTICIPATES IN THE BUSY LIFE
OF HER FAMILY.
A YEAR AFTER I HAD LAST SEEN HER
SHE DEVELOPED PAIN IN HER JAW
AND WENT TO SEE HER DENTIST.
HE DIAGNOSED A SMALL ABSCESS IN THE BONE
AND TOLD HER THAT SHE WOULD NEED
ROOT CANAL SURGERY TO CORRECT IT.
AS HE BEGAN TO DESCRIBE THE PROCEDURE,
SHE ABRUPTLY STOOD UP AND LEFT HIS OFFICE.
A FEW HOURS LATER I RECEIVED
AN ALARMED PHONE CALL
FROM HER HUSBAND,
WHO HAD COME HOME FROM WORK
TO FIND HER SITTING IN HER BATHROBE
IN THE LIVING ROOM, DEEPLY DEPRESSED.
HE HAD NO IDEA WHY,
AS SHE WAS UNWILLING TO TALK ABOUT IT.
“COME OVER,” I SAID.
I WAS HORRIFIED BY THE CHANGE IN SARA;
SHE LOOKED MUCH AS SHE HAD
WHEN WE FIRST MET THREE YEARS AGO.
HER EYES WERE LIFELESS, HER HAIR UNCOMBED.
HER MISMATCHED CLOTHES SEEMED TO BE
THE FIRST THAT HAD COME TO HAND
WHEN SHE WENT TO HER CLOSET.
SHE SAT SLUMPED IN THE CHAIR OPPOSITE ME.
IN A FLAT VOICE,
SHE TOLD ME WHAT HAD HAPPENED
IN THE DENTIST’S OFFICE THAT AFTERNOON.
“IT’S JUST TOO MUCH, I CAN’T DO IT,” SHE SAID.
“THIS STRAW BREAKS THE CAMEL’S BACK.”
“WHAT IS GOING ON, SARA?” I ASKED.
SHE BEGAN TO CRY.
“I DON’T KNOW,” SHE SAID.
“I FEEL THE SAME WAY I DID
WHEN I FIRST CAME HERE,
SORT OF OVERWHELMED, BEATEN DOWN.”
I SUGGESTED WE TRY SOME OF THE IMAGERY
THAT HAD BEEN SO HELPFUL TO HER BEFORE.
PERHAPS IT WOULD HELP HER
UNCOVER THE REASON FOR HER DISTRESS.
IN TEARS, SHE AGREED.
I ENCOURAGED HER TO SIT BACK IN HER CHAIR
AND RELAX.
SLOWLY SHE WAS ABLE
TO FOLLOW THE FAMILIAR PATTERN.
WHEN HER BREATHING SLOWED
AND BECAME A BIT DEEPER
I SUGGESTED THAT SHE IMAGINE HERSELF
STANDING BEFORE A CLOSED DOOR.
“WHEN YOU FEEL READY,
REACH FORWARD AND OPEN THE DOOR,” I SAID.
“ON THE OTHER SIDE YOU WILL FIND SOMETHING
THAT WILL HELP YOU WITH YOUR FEELINGS.”
OPENING THIS IMAGINARY DOOR,
SHE WAS SURPRISED TO FIND HERSELF
IN A HOSPITAL ROOM.
THE PATIENT IN THE BED WAS HERSELF,
IN A COMA, AT THE ONSET OF HER DISEASE
SOME THIRTY YEARS AGO.
OVER THE NEXT FIFTEEN MINUTES OR SO,
SHE VISITED HOSPITAL ROOM
AFTER HOSPITAL ROOM IN HER IMAGINATION.
SLOWLY THE EVENTS OF HER LONG ILLNESS
BEGAN TO UNFOLD, YEAR BY YEAR,
OPERATION BY OPERATION,
SETBACK AFTER SETBACK,
RECOVERY BY RECOVERY.
AS I WENT ALONG WITH HER,
MY LOGICAL MIND BEGAN TO OBJECT.
PRIVATELY I WONDERED HOW ANY OF THIS
COULD POSSIBLY BE OF HELP TO HER NOW.
WOULDN’T REVISITING ALL THIS PAIN
CAUSE HER TO FEEL EVEN MORE
VICTIMIZED AND HELPLESS?
YET AS SHE WENT ON AND ON,
HER VOICE GOT STRONGER AND SHE BEGAN
TO STRAIGHTEN UP IN HER CHAIR.
SHE HAD JUST COME TO THE YEAR 1988
AND WAS STANDING IN AN OPERATING ROOM
WATCHING WHAT MUST HAVE BEEN
HER TWELFTH SURGERY,
WHEN SUDDENLY SHE OPENED HER EYES
AND BURST OUT LAUGHING.
“ROOT CANAL, SCHMOOT CANAL,” SHE HOWLED,
TEARS OF LAUGHTER ROLLING DOWN HER FACE.
“I CAN DO THIS ITTY-BITTY SURGERY
WITH ONE HAND TIED BEHIND MY BACK.”
(pause)
IN THE PERSONALIZED CONTEXT
OF THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED,
WITH ITS EMPHASIS ON RELENTLESS GROWTH,
EVEN OUR FAILURES
ARE PART OF THIS GROWTH PROCESS,
BECAUSE THEY REMIND US
THAT OUR FAILURES CAN ONLY BE SEEN AS SUCH
IN THE LIGHT OF OUR GROWTH,
WHICH IS ALWAYS THE DEEPER DYNAMIC AT WORK.
LIKE SARA IN RACHEL REMEN’S STORY,
WHEN WE’RE CONVINCED
THAT WE’RE AT OUR WIT’S END,
AND READY TO THROW-IN-THE-TOWEL,
ALL WE NEED IS SOMEONE TO COACH US
INTO REMEMBERING THE INCREDIBLE PROGRESS
WE HAVE MADE.
GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT IS THE ULTIMATE COACH
FOR OUR HEALING AND WHOLENESS.
IN MANY WAYS THE SLOGAN
“LET GO AND LET GOD”
CAN BE UNDERSTOOD
AS RELAXING IN THE HEALING POWER
OF GOD’S SPIRIT SO PROFOUNDLY
THAT ONE’S OWN DIRECTION
AND GOD’S DIRECTION FINALLY COINCIDE.
GOD HAS NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
ON HEALING AND WHOLENESS.
GOD HAS NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
ON OUR BECOMING HEALED AND WHOLE.
GOD HAS NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
ON GOD’S KINGDOM GROWING IN OUR WORLD
AND GROWING IN OUR LIVES.
AMEN.