It s that time of year when gardeners and landscapers begin their annual battle with weeds. In particular, the dandelion is the most tenacious enemy. How many of you have weeded, sprayed, dug and cursed to get rid of the yellow flower? How many times have you disparaged your neighbour for letting theirs grow? The dandelion is like the mustard seed in our parable today from Mark s gospel. (Mark 4:26-34.) Originally it was found only in Eurasia, and its name means lion s tooth. It spread wherever people travelled, and now it is found in six continents. It was deliberately planted for its edible and medicinal properties by the early settlers. I saw a cartoon this week that showed a pansy and a dandelion having a conversation. The pansy said look at me, I m beautiful and I only need good soil, warm sun, fresh water and lots of tender loving care. The dandelion replied, Oh please! I grew out of a sandy crack in the pavement and even though they tried to poison me, I m still alive. The moral? In a world of pansies, be a dandelion. Mustard shrubs, like dandelions, are hard to kill. They can be transplanted, but they grow out of control. The best we can hope for is a symbiotic relationship with them. You may grow here, but not there. It becomes a collaborative project. In the word of one of my favourite bloggers, Jim Taylor, Biologists increasingly assert that evolution is not about survival of the fittest, but survival of the most 1
cooperative. Species that can work with other species are likely to live longer and produce more descendants than those that compete. 1 The mustard seed in the parable was the smallest thing found in nature. It was used in everyday language, when people described something as being as small as a mustard seed. So the people listening to Jesus knew exactly why he picked that seed for his parable. The second part of the story is puzzling. Mustard plants didn t grow that tall. They were more like a shrub, reaching about 3 feet in height. So what does it mean to say that it becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade,? (v.32). Not all parables work perfectly. They are trying to describe something beyond language. They use phrases such as as if and it is like. But the first people who listened to Jesus had a deep understanding of scripture. They would have heard biblical references to Ezekiel, Daniel and the Psalms which described cedars and giant trees that put out large branches and gave shelter. Those descriptions foretold the nation of Israel, and the hope of restoration. Jesus used these images for the kingdom of God. This was a radical reinterpretation. 1 Copyright 2017 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups, and links from other blogs, welcomed; all other rights reserved. 2
He was also saying that the kingdom had already begun. Wherever there are seeds, there are cedars. Like the mustard seeds, its growth is wild and out of control. You can t tame the kingdom of heaven. In our society, we don t like being out of control. The prevailing philosophy of our times is rationalism, the belief that everything is subject to our control, through manipulation or force. We believe that we are entitled to control our environment. We want our problems to be manageable. We invent strategies to deal with threats to things we can t control. Our belief system is based on the idea that life s highest objective is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. 2 Being in control is a myth. As Shakespeare put it our fate is to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. 3 According to Connor Woods essay on Suicide, Modern Life, and Being in Control, doggedly pursuing happiness and pleasure while studiously avoiding pain leaves us unprepared to deal with approximately 50% of what life throws at us. 4 We try to take refuge in rationalism, and traditionalism. Tradition is good, but traditionalism restricts us to what has been before, and shuts off what may be. 2 Suicide, Modern Life, and Being In Control JUNE 12, 2018 BY CONNOR WOOD 3 This expression is taken from the 'to be or not to be' speech in Hamlet: 'Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them'. 4 Connor Wood, 2018. 3
When Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, he was dealing with a group of people who couldn t see their way forward. (2Cor 5:6-10, 14-17.) They were a small church, even smaller than us. And they were faced with threats from the outside, and divisions within. Paul s plea to them was to walk by faith not by sight. (v.6.) Don t count on the outward appearances of anyone. While Jesus was with them, they saw him in bodily form. Now they see him by faith, and so should they regard one another. Look for the mustard seed, and you will find something impossible: a large tree that can even shelter the birds. We are that tree, and when we stretch out our branches, we become hospitable to all who need refuge there. What a wonderful, simple idea, but so much harder to put into practice. Next week we re going to look at what diversity means to us. Do we look at the outside of what someone may be, or do we look inside at the spirt which dwells there? Do we find a stranger, or a brother or a sister? Jesus came as a stranger, and found friends. He called them from their lives, and they willingly followed him. But they also betrayed and abandoned him at the end. They were unwilling to share his pain. Only through the victory of the cross could they see that death is a part of life, but it is not the end. 4
This is the faith that the world needs today. This is an image for how the Spirit grows in us. Tiny seeds of faith grow in us. We are the good soil that fosters growth. Today we are planting such a seed in Edward Michael, and celebrating the growth in our nursery roll graduates. Ours is a faith that does not look away from pain, but looks through it to see the person inside. The greatest gift we can give someone is our presence, so that they know that they are not alone. We have that strength, not in ourselves but by knowing that we are not alone. God is with us. Let s make that real. 5