SCRIPTURE: Daniel 4:20-22, I Corinthians 3:5-9 & Mark 4:30-32
WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL WE ALWAYS HAD A GARDEN BEHIND THE OLD FARMHOUSE. MY DAD WOULD TURN OVER THE RICH BLACK SOIL AND THEN IT WAS UP TO MY MOM AND US GIRLS TO WORK THE GROUND AND MAKE IT READY FOR THE SEEDS. WE WOULD HOE IT AND RAKE IT, BREAKING UP ALL THE LARGE CLUMPS OF SOIL. WE’D SMOOTH IT OUT AND MARK THE ROWS, AND ONLY THEN WAS IT READY TO RECEIVE THE SEEDS OR THE SEEDLING PLANTS THAT WE ALWAYS PLANTED.
I REMEMBER PLANTING TOMATO PLANTS AND A FEW VARIETIES OF FLOWER PLANTS, BUT MOSTLY WE PLANTED SEEDS. AND IT NEVER CEASED TO AMAZE ME HOW TINY SOME OF THOSE SEEDS WERE AND WHAT AN ACT OF FAITH IT WAS TO THROW THOSE ITTY BITTY LITTLE SEEDS INTO THE GROUND AND COVER THEM UP WITH A BIT OF SOIL. A PERSON MIGHT THINK THE SEEDS WERE GONE FOREVER, AND AS A LITTLE GIRL THAT WAS MY BIGGEST FEAR.
BUT THERE WAS GREAT JOY AND DELIGHT ON THE DAY I WOULD CHECK THE GARDEN AND DISCOVER LITTLE GREEN PLANTS GROWING WHERE I HAD ENTRUSTED THE GROUND WITH RADISH AND CARROT AND GREEN BEAN SEEDS.
IT WAS, AND STILL IS A MIRACLE EVERY TIME I EXPERIENCE IT. VERY LITTLE CAN BRING ME AS CLOSE TO GOD AS THE EXPERIENCE OF WATCHING A SEED GROW INTO A PLANT, WHICH ULTIMATELY GROWS INTO A BEAUTIFUL FLOWER OR A TASTY VEGETABLE.
AND SO IT NEVER SURPRISES ME WHEN JESUS USES THIS PARTICULAR IMAGE OF EARTHLY THINGS TO TALK ABOUT A HOLY REALITY. THE MUSTARD SEED, THE SMALLEST OF ALL SEEDS THEY KNEW OF IN ANCIENT ISRAEL, WHEN PLANTED IN THE SOIL, GREW INTO THE LARGEST OF ALL SCRUBS.
AND THIS, SAYS JESUS, IS WHAT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE.
YOU PLANT A TINY SEED AND IT WILL BECOME THE LARGEST OF ALL BUSHES.
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT IS MOST FASCINATING TO ME ABOUT THIS PARABLE?
THE MUSTARD PLANT IS A WEED. IT GROWS ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO CULTIVATE IT; IT JUST DEVELOPS WHEREVER IT FALLS.
SO JESUS IS SAYING THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS LIKE AN ACCIDENT.
ONE LITTLE SEED OF LOVE CAN FALL ANYWHERE AND IT WILL GROW INTO A LARGE LOVEABLE WEED.
YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WEEDS CAN BE LOVELIER THAN A CULTIVATED FLOWER. DURING THE SUMMER IN MAINE, THE DAISIES AND BLACK-EYED SUSANS THAT ADORN THE DITCHES BESIDE THE ROAD ARE BREATH-TAKING.
AND I ALWAYS LOVED THE SPRINGTIME IN ILLINOIS. THE DITCHES ALONG THE COUNTRY ROADS WERE FILLED WITH LITTLE YELLOW FLOWERS THAT MADE THE WHOLE COUNTRYSIDE LOOK LIKE A BRIDAL BOUQUET. IT WAS GORGEOUS AND UNASSUMING. THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS LIKE A WEED IN THE DITCH BESIDE THE ROAD—GORGEOUS AND UNASSUMING.
NOW I SPECIFICALLY CHOSE THE SCRIPTURE FROM DANIEL FOR US TO LAY BESIDE THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED TODAY. IN THE FOURTH CHAPTER OF DANIEL, HE IS INTERPRETING A DREAM OF THE MIGHTY KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR, THE MIGHTIEST POWER TO EVER FIGHT AGAINST GOD’S ISRAEL.
IN A DREAM THE KING SEES A MIGHTY TREE THAT GROWS STRONG AND REACHES ALL THE WAY TO THE HEAVENS. AND IN THAT SAME DREAM, A HOLY WATCHER COMES FROM HEAVEN AND ORDERS THE TREE TO BE CUT DOWN AND TOTALLY DESTROYED. IN THE PERICOPE OF SCRIPTURE WE HEARD TODAY, DANIEL IS TELLING THE KING THAT THE TREE IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE KING AND THE KINGDOM HE HAS BROUGHT AGAINST THE ISRAELITES.
THE TREE IS MIGHTY AND STRONG, BUT IN THE FACE OF THE HOLY WATCHER – THE CHOSEN PEOPLE – IT WILL BE CHOPPED DOWN AND DESTROYED AND RENDERED QUITE HARMLESS. SO THE MIGHTY KINGDOM OF KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR IS NOTHING IN THE FACE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
THE CAREFULLY PLANTED AND CULTIVATED TREE; THE FINE-TUNED AND POWERFUL KINGDOM OF BABYLON IS WIELDED TOTALLY HELPLESS IN THE FACE OF THE TINY MUSTARD SEED THAT GROWS, WHEREVER IT LANDS, INTO A LARGE WEED! THE KINGDOM OF MAN AS APPOSED TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
THERE IS QUITE A DIFFERENCE, DON’T YOU THINK?
NOW TURNING TO PAUL’S SECOND LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT CORINTH, WE HEAR SOME MORE TALK ABOUT PLANTING AND NURTURING AND GROWING A PLANT. BUT THIS TIME THE PLANT IS THE CHURCH AS APPOSED TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. WE NEED TO ALWAYS BE CAREFUL ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE.
I ALWAYS HOPE AND PRAY THAT THE CHURCH IS A PART OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, BUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD, LIKE ANY GOOD WEED, GROWS WHEREVER IT WISHES AND IN SOME OF THE MOST UNLIKELY PLACES. SO IN ORDER TO KEEP THE CHURCH CLOSER TO BEING THE KINGDOM OF GOD THAN BEING A KINGDOM OF HUMAN POWER, PAUL REMINDS THE CORINTHIANS THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE COME TOGETHER TO WORK FOR THE GLORY OF GOD, BUT ULTIMATELY THE GROWTH—THE TRUE PLANT BELONGS TO GOD AND COMES FROM GOD.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE STAMPED WITH A SEAL THAT SAYS, “MADE BY HUMAN BEINGS,” EVEN THOUGH WE WOULD LOVE TO CARRY OFF THE MISPERCEPTION. THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS ALWAYS AND FOREVER STAMPED WITH THE SEAL, “CREATED AND GROWN BY GOD.
ONLY THEN IS IT TRULY AUTHENTIC.
THE FIRST DAY WE WERE IN VENICE WE WERE ENCOURAGED BY THE DESK CLERK AT THE HOTEL TO TAKE A TOUR TO MURANO, AN ISLAND CLOSE TO VENICE THAT IS KNOWN FOR THE GLASSWARE THEY PRODUCE. MAYBE YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH MURANO VENETIAN GLASS. ANYWAY, WE DECIDED TO TAKE THE TRIP, EVEN THOUGH THE WEATHER WAS COLD AND RAINY.
THE TRIP WAS FREE AND THE BOAT TAKING US TO THE ISLAND WAS COVERED TO PROTECT US FROM THE WEATHER, SO IT SEEMED LIKE A REASONABLE THING TO DO WHEN WE WOULDN’T BE LIKELY TO WALK AROUND THE CITY.
WELL, OUR LITTLE EXCURSION TO MURANO TURNED OUT TO BE A MIGHTY BIG HOAX. THEY JUST WANTED TO GET US INTO THEIR WAREHOUSE SO THAT WE MIGHT BUY SOME OF THEIR GLASS. WE EVEN STARTED TO BE AFRAID THEY WOULDN’T TAKE US BACK TO VENICE UNTIL WE BOUGHT SOMETHING!
THAT LITTLE SIDE TRIP BECAME A WONDERFUL SOURCE OF JOY FOR OUR GROUP AS WE CONTINUED TO MAKE UP HYPOTHETICAL SITUATIONS THAT WOULD LINK THE DESK CLARK OF THE HOTEL TO THE OWNER OF THE GLASS FACTORY, BUT THE POINT OF THE STORY IS HOW DIFFICULT IT SOMETIMES IS TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE REAL THING AND A KNOCK-OFF.
AS WE SHOPPED AT THE OPEN-AIR MARKETS THROUGHOUT VENICE, WE FOUND GLASS THAT WAS MUCH CHEAPER THAN WHAT WE HAD SEEN IN THE FACTORY ON MURANO. BUT WE ALSO DISCOVERED THAT A LOT OF THE GLASS SOLD ON THE STREETS WAS REALLY MADE IN CHINA AND LABELED MURANO GLASS.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD NEEDS TO HAVE GOD’S LABEL ON IT IN ORDER FOR IT TO BE AUTHENTIC. THERE ARE A LOT OF KNOCK OFFS OUT THERE.
THERE ARE A LOT OF PLACES CLAIMING TO BE THE KINGDOM OF GOD THAT, BOTTOM LINE, HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE AMAZING LOVE OF GOD.
AND HOW DO WE KNOW THE DIFFERENCE? EDUCATION IS THE ONLY ANSWER.
WHEN WE KNOW OUR PRODUCT WELL ENOUGH WE ARE LESS LIKELY TO BE FOOLED. REAL GOLD IS ALWAYS STAMPED WITH AN IMPRINT OF 14K.
A REAL DIAMOND WILL SCRATCH GLASS. AND THE REAL KINGDOM OF GOD WILL EXUDE THE LOVE WE KNOW THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.
BUT WE HAVE TO KNOW JESUS REAL WELL TO KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR.
SO I HIGHLY RECOMMEND GETTING TO KNOW JESUS THROUGH THE GOSPELS.
GO STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE AND LET THE MUSTARD SEED BE PLANTED IN YOU. FOR IT IS ONLY THROUGH KNOWING JESUS THAT WE ALL BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THE MARKINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
NOW FOLLOWING THE SERVICE TODAY, THE DEACONS AND THE WORSHIP MINISTRY WILL BE HANDING OUT CUTTINGS FROM DIFFERENT PLANTS.
THIS IS OUR WAY OF OFFERING YOU A FORM OF A MUSTARD SEED TO GUIDE YOU THROUGH YOUR LENTEN JOURNEY. PUT YOUR CLIPPING IN WATER AND WATCH AND WAIT TO SEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN. WITH ANY LUCK ROOTS WILL APPEAR IN THE WATER. AND WHEN THIS HAPPENS THE PLANT IS READY TO BE EMBEDDED IN SOME SOIL SO THAT IT CAN GROW AND FLOURISH. THE KINGDOM OF GOD COMES SLOWLY AND QUIETLY, JUST LIKE THE SLOW QUIET GROWTH OF A PLANT.
MAY WE USE THIS VISUAL AND PHYSICAL IMAGE TO MEDITATE UPON DURING OUR LENTEN JOURNEYS. AND IF YOU WISH, IF THERE IS SOMEONE YOU WOULD LIKE TO INVITE INTO THIS CORNER OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, YOU MIGHT WANT TO USE YOUR LENTEN PLANT AS A GIFT TO INVITE A FRIEND TO WORSHIP WITH US ON THE DAY WE CELEBRATE THE RESURRECTION—ON EASTER SUNDAY.
NOW IN CLOSING I WANT TO TELL YOU THE STORY OF THIS PLANT. YOU MIGHT HAVE ALREADY SEEN IT BEFORE IN THE PARLOR. IT’S BEEN THERE FOR MAYBE FOUR OR FIVE YEARS.
AT A FALL SESSION RETREAT A FEW YEARS AGO I HAD ALL OF THE ELDERS BRING SOME DIRT FROM THEIR OWN BACKYARDS. WE PUT OUR DIRT TOGETHER AND PLANTED THREE DIFFERENT IVY PLANTS IN THE SAME POTS.
WE TALKED ABOUT THE PLANTS BEING THE MINISTRY OF NPC, AND THE DIRT BEING THE LOVING CARE OF THE ELDERS THAT THE MINISTRY IS ROOTED AND GROUNDED IN, ALONG WITH GOD.
NOW EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE I USE THIS PLANT TO REMIND THE ELDERS OF OUR COMMITMENT AND POINT OUT THAT A PLANT CANNOT BE IGNORED AND STILL LIVE. WE ALL NEED TO CARE FOR THE MINISTRY HERE AT NPC IN ORDER FOR IT TO LIVE AND BREATHE AND HAVE MEANING IN TODAY’S WORLD.
BUT THE THING I HAVE NOT TALKED TO THE SESSION ABOUT IS HOW MANY TIMES I HAVE TAKEN CLIPPINGS FROM THIS PLANT TO ROOT AND SET INTO A NEW POT WITH FRESH DIRT IN ORDER TO GET A WHOLE NEW PLANT.
THERE ARE ACTUALLY FOUR OR FIVE NEW PLANTS THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF NEW YORK BECAUSE OF THIS ONE MOTHER PLANT. AND IT IS THIS KIND OF EXPANSION OF SPIRIT WE HOPE YOU WILL TAKE HOME WITH YOU TODAY.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS LIKE A TINY MUSTARD SEED THAT GROWS INTO A LARGE BUSH. MAY IT HAPPEN, BY THE POWER AND GRACE OF GOD, THROUGH YOU AND THROUGH ME.
AMEN.