MARK 4:26-34

Marginally Mark…Pentecost + 4…Revised 2018  

Jesus offers us two ‘mini-parables’ for understanding how God’s Rule operates. In the first case, the grain grows for the benefit of those who will harvest & eat it. (Including those disciples whose picking & eating on a sabbath has recently led to Jesus being rebuked by the powers that be!) In the second case, the mustard seed is for the benefit of ‘the birds of heaven’ to find shade in its grown height. (Jesus exaggerates to make His point!) So, what can we learn about that Rule from these two word-pictures?

One feature of God’s Rule is that whatever ‘Kingdom seed’ God sows applies beyond the benefit of those who ‘farm’ it. God’s Rule exists for the benefit of all; whether we simply stumble across it, benefit from it in any way. Shelter under it, even. God rules in many & various ways. Always for the benefit of His ‘Kingdom’ & us! Jesus, as ever the Great Teacher, teaches from what’s around, what’s familiar, what’s part of His listeners' experience. He’s well-steeped in the writings of the Great Prophets before Him; as it would repay us to be. (The seed for the mustard seed parable comes from Ezek 17.) How well do we discern the connections in Scripture? How well do we make these connections in our preaching to today’s situations in which we find our own new ‘scriptures’? 

When it comes to the Kingdom / Rule of God, Jesus isn’t on about lines on any map other than the maps of our hearts. Nothing less than the Dynamic of God's Rule. A Dynamic that can never be confined within any churches or belief structures - of any faith. In the first case, the seeds of grain grow mysteriously. Sometimes those of us within the confines of our churches spend too much time & effort on how we are going to make the God-seed grow. For all our faith & good intentions, God-seed doesn't grow that way. God moves in a mysterious way, rules in a mysterious way, to grow it on. In our lives. Even outside our structures. Out there in the margins where God rules even when we don't appear to encourage that ‘inside’. 

The mustard seed parable tells us we, too, can grow to be giants when God's Rule takes over & takes root in us. I don’t remember where I came across this, but: When a new shop opens in town a customer comes in & asks, “What do you sell?” “Anything your heart desires” says the person behind the counter. “Then I’ll have some Peace on earth, some goodness, some kindness, lots of happiness…” “Just a minute”, says the sales-person; “I forgot to tell you: we don’t sell fruits, we only sell seeds!”

PS: Meister Eckhart says somewhere: ‘Pear seed grows into pear trees, nut seed grows into nut trees, & God seed grows into God!’  How does that apply to us, now?

Brian