6/16/24 Sermon
This is one of the few parables that Jesus doesn’t give an explanation for. Jesus doesn’t tell us what it’s about or what it really means. So there’s no guide signs here. He just throws them out there and it’s really up to us what we make of it.
A lot of people think that Jesus is using hyperbole here. Mustard seeds aren’t all that small when it comes to seeds. Anyone who’s ever eaten a poppyseed anything before a date or a meeting can tell you that there are much smaller seeds. I’ve had stone ground mustard with the chunks of seed in it and never gotten them stuck between my teeth. Mustard also doesn’t grow into trees. A two second google image search is all it takes to prove that idea wrong. But a lot of people think Jesus is over-emphasizing the size comparison between something very small that grows into something really large.
But the interesting thing is that the mustard plant which is what most people think that Jesus is talking about isn’t the same thing as the mustard bush which Jesus is actually talking about. One is used to make a condiment, the other was actually used to clean your teeth. They made toothpicks out of the wood of the mustard bush. In fact, it’s nickname in the Middle East is the toothbrush tree and this bush can grow between 6-20 and sometimes as high as 30 feet. And unlike the mustard plant, mustard bush seeds are about the size of a poppyseed. Who knew that the plants of the Bible book that I wondered why in the world I was hanging on to would actually come in handy?
The mustard bush unlike the mustard plant isn’t something that people would intentionally grow. It was and is a wild plant. Unlike other parables where Jesus uses seeds as a metaphor, This isn’t something intentionally planted in this story. And it’s considered an invasive species because it grows quickly and spreads like wild fire. In fact, it’s said to have “dangerous take-over properties” which is interesting because like I said, it actually has beneficial health properties especially in ancient dentistry.
So let’s just be clear on something. Jesus isn’t comparing the kingdom of Heaven to my favorite condiment which frankly is a little disappointing. He’s comparing it to a plant that grows big quickly and spreads really fast taking over whole fields. And most people consider it a giant pain but it’s actually beneficial to you. Now, what does all this mean? I haven’t got a clue…
Because part of the problem is that it can mean several things and this is actually one of the parables I wish Jesus did give an explanation for. There are so many different directions you can take this one. So, I think what we’re supposed to do after understanding what Jesus is really talking about with the plant he chooses to use, is to put it into context with the other parables Jesus shares in the Gospels. And one of the themes we notice that develops throughout the parables is the question what we do with the seeds we’re given.
The parable of the wheat and weeds asks us which seeds are we going to nurture and grow. What are we going to feed and cultivate in our own lives? Weeds or wheat? And maybe what Jesus is suggesting with this parable is that really what we decided to nurture and grow is going to grow quickly and fast and take over who we are what we are and what we become. That essentially it will consume us.
My English teacher in High school who was a hero of mine had a quotation ascribed to Frank Outlaw on his bulletin board. And I don’t know if Frank Outlaw really said it, but I don’t really care. But it’s something I’ve always carried with me. It goes like this:
Watch your thoughts, they become words;
watch your words, they become actions;
watch your actions, they become habits;
watch your habits, they become character;
watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
One of the most useful tools they taught me in addiction recovery, I mean the one thing that has probably helped keep me sober more than any other is a very simple one that we talked about last week. Find something, even if it’s just one thing to be grateful for. Because even in finding just that one thing, it can change your entire perspective, outlook, and attitude. If I can think of one thing to be grateful for, the odds are I’ll begin to think of others as well. And it spreads from there.
We all know negative and bitter people. People who nothing’s ever good enough for them and everything sucks. I call them people who can find a problem to every solution. Their whole demeanor is negative. The way they stand. The way their face looks. The inflection in their voice in simple small talk. They’ve decided to feed and nurture and entertain the negative thoughts in their life to the point it’s grown and infected their very character and destiny.
Now, I’m not innocent of this. I have an overactive imagination and like to romanticize my thinking from time to time which means sometimes I can have a small disagreement with my wife before leaving the house to get milk and by the time I get to the store, in my mind it’s ten years later, I’m divorced, and my kids hate me.
You ever wonder why the cliche’ when it rains, it pours seems to be true? Or why if a basketball player makes three baskets in a row they say he or she is “on fire” and their performance improves? Or why there’s such a thing as a winning streak or lucky streaks? Your thoughts are framing your perspective in a particular way to see the world in those moments and interprets what’s happening and what you see through that lens. A few good things go right in a row and you start seeing EVERYTHING that’s going right and not seeing what isn’t necessarily working. A few bad things happen and your perspective begins to shift to see ALL the negative things going on around you. In the case of basketball, people have done actually studies on this and with a rise in confidence comes a rise in performance. And vice versa. It seems weird that you’d need a study to prove that. How we see this world and act in this world is directly related to how we think.
If we think that the world is a messed up, scary, evil place where people are only out to get each other, we will find ample examples of that being the world we live in. If we think that the world is comprised of a vast majority of kind people who will help others, reach beyond themselves, and try to make things better, we’ll find ample examples of that. Why do people feel awful if they watch too much news? Because the news is leading you to think the world is a terrible, scary, corrupt place. Violent crime rates have plummeted while reporting on it has sky rocketed.
That’s why the gratitude idea, if someone can just find one thing to be grateful for, works. It begins to change your thinking and by changing your thinking, it begins to change your perspective. Something as small as a thought can quickly take root, grow, and spread.
Watch your thoughts, they become words;
watch your words, they become actions;
watch your actions, they become habits;
watch your habits, they become character;
watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
My favorite commercial which was successful in that I distinctly remember the commercial but an utter failure because I can’t for the life of me remember what it was selling, is the one where a guy holds the door open for someone, and someone else sees that act of kindness as they’re walking down the road. Then that person sees a lady pushing a baby and the baby throws a bottle onto the side walk, so he picks it up for her. Someone else sees that and does something kind by helping someone else and so on and so on. And I think that’s what Jesus is talking about here. Small things that spread quickly and grow fast until the world becomes a kinder, gentler place. Until the world reflects more of God’s Kingdom.
Jesus is telling us that small, maybe seemingly insignificant things can actually change the world.