The Journey Continues: The Mustard Seed
My late grandmother was a huge Robert Schuller and Hour of Power fan. She purchased every little "gift" that was offered, including a ball-point pen that had, at it's end, a small mustard seed. The pen was clear, and there was an insert in that referenced the parable of the mustard seed. I still remember that pen, and its shape (not round but 3-sided), and the sound the mustard seed would make whenever I jiggled the pen.
Like many of Jesus' disciples, I too was baffled by that parable. Faith as the size of a mustard seed? Even though I'd read that parable, I never understood its meaning until my study of Mark's Gospel with a study Bible. And suddenly the parable gained a profound nature to me.
I think when we read this parable we tend to focus on the seed. I know that I interpreted this parable to mean that having the faith the size of a mustard seed meant I could do many wonderful things. Many of us may look at this parable and interpret it that the seed becomes many branches, an indicator of our faith growing like a mustard bush. But we tend to leave it at that - at least, I know I did.
But the commentary that I read spoke of Jesus' example of the mustard seed as opposed to something larger and grander, like say the cedar. And when I read the parable again with that in mind I interpreted the parable differently. Because the parable doesn't just mention the small mustard seed growing into branches, it closes with the results of the growth. Look at verse 32:
"yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade"
It's not just that our faith grows from a tiny mustard seed into a large bush: it's the results of that faith growing that benefits others - that's what I found to be the deeper meaning. Much like the parable of the fruit of the vine, and that Christians are intended to bear fruit, our faith, when growing, is to provide shelter for others, in whatever form that may be. It might be in caring for a sick or infirmed family member. It might be volunteering at your church's or a local food pantry. It might be spending time in your church nursery or teaching Sunday school on Sunday mornings. It might be going into prisons or working at a homeless shelter.
Jesus' use of the mustard seed for this parable shows the paradox of His teachings: that it isn't something mighty or grand that comes from our faith. It is the small, the seemingly insignificant, that grows into something vital and important - that is the crux of this parable. And whatever form of "shelter" we provide, we are taking our faith, the faith of a mustard seed, and allowing God to grow it into a large bush that He then uses to spread His Love.
Soli Deo Gloria
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