Those of you who don’t know what a mustard seed looks like, it is one of the
tiniest seeds you’ll ever see. In fact, you can hardly see it with your naked
eye. And yet, it grows into a big tree; actually, it’s technically a shrub, but
it looks like a tree, it’s as large as a tree. And many birds will be able to
make their nest in it’s canopy.
Many preachers through the ages have focused on this amazing contrast, of
tiny beginnings that can lead to big results. And in that sense, the mustard
seed is a perfect simile to the kingdom of God. Sometimes we see very small
beginnings that yield amazing results.
As Madeleine Boucher says, “Most likely the meaning of the similitude lies in
the contrast between the smallness of the mustard seed and the greatness of the
full-grown shrub, so large that the birds can find shelter in it. . . . This
similitude, then, is clearly about the contrast between the small beginnings and
the final greatness of God’s work.”
Now, we see very small beginnings in our own faith community. And God wants
us to have faith that this humble new church start will grow into something big;
something that will change and improve the life of people around us, a ministry
that will provide shelter and a spiritual home for people in this community.
I want to read another Scripture passage to you where Jesus talks about a
mustard seed: “Truly, I tell you, ff you have faith as small as a mustard seed,
you can say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there’ and it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you” (Mt 17:20). Now, that’s a big statement,
isn’t it?
If you have just a little faith, you can move mountains. That tiny little
faith can move mountains, it can actually move mountains. Well, I don’t know
about actual mountains, by I definitely believe that our faith can move
metaphorical mountains. Your faith can move mountains in your life, in your
community. How encouraging is that?
There is a saying in the world “seeing is believing” and a lot of people live
by that mantra. People are saying: unless you can show me, I’m not going to
believe it.
The truth is that today you often have to believe first before you can see.
That’s true even of the Scientific community. You have to first believe theories
before you can understand what’s going on in quantum physics and other physics
processes.
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