The Gospel
Mark 4:26-34
Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”
He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.
The Sermon
The Mustard Seed
I always puzzle over the
mustard seed parable. Jesus says the kingdom of God is like a
mustard seed which when sown upon the ground is the smallest of all
the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown grows up and becomes the
greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the
birds of the air can make nests in it's shade.”
So lets take this analogy
and try and untangle it. I think Jesus is saying that the kingdom of
God starts out very small, even tiny. If allowed to grow this
kingdom will become large beyond your wildest dreams. Even bigger
than Amazon or Walmart. It will provide a home for birds like you
and me. It will protect us from the troubles that come into our
lives.
This Kingdom of God is not
something we have to wait for. The kingdom is right here, right now.
In Luke Ch. 17. Jesus is asked by some Pharisees when the kingdom of
God would come and he said, “The Kingdom of God does not come in
such a way as to be seen. No one will say, 'look, here it is, or
there it is, because the kingdom of God is within you.”
Some of you may be
thinking “ I am not feeling any kingdom yet.” I get that. Let me
offer up my own analogy. Sometimes I can't find some things that I am
needing in our garage. I know it is there, I just can't remember
where I put it. My system is to go to the usual places where it
might be and just keep sorting and removing stuff that is getting in
the way of my search. Usually I have that aha! Moment where I find
what I have been searching for.
Many of us who are
searching for the kingdom have a garage full of stuff in our minds
and hearts that may be getting in the way of finding the Kingdom of
God that is within us. I encourage you to look inside of yourself.
Set aside the things that may be in the way of your search. Maybe
you should throw out some items that are just taking up space. When
you have uncluttered your life you will find that God and his kingdom
have been there all along waiting for you.
Blessings to you,
Fr. Fred
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