Seeds of Faith: From Small Beginnings to Abundant Growth - Mark 4:26-32

Good morning, and thanks for coming today. You could have been anywhere in the world this morning, so it’s quite an honor to have your company. Once again, my name is Daniel Douglas, and I will be the new pastor at Bethany United Methodist Church in Fort Wayne starting on July 1st. Until then, it’s good that I get some practice. 

I was born in south-central Wisconsin, and my parents brought me home to a town about the size of Garrett, a single-story ranch house. In front of that house, a couple of years before I was born, my dad planted two trees. You only know how much time passes if you can see the growth of objects you rarely see. My family and I moved out of that house six months later, but my uncle and aunt lived around the corner from that house, so when we would come back and visit, it’d be fun to see how much the trees had grown. As we grow, our perspective changes as well. The tree you thought was so giant as a kid doesn’t seem as big when you graduate high school. As time passes, though, the tree will still grow whether you’re watching it or not. I haven’t been up much to that area in the last twenty years, so the rare times I have been, I’ve wanted to drive past the house and see how big the trees are. 

Thanks to technology, now you can just take a drive almost anywhere in the world and see a street view along the outside of houses. I recently took a virtual drive past that first house I lived in (unaware of the world), and I can’t believe that those trees are fifty - maybe seventy-five - feet tall. The trees are also forty-ish years old now, too, like myself. But barring any disease or ailments, those trees will keep growing until something stops them.  

From the gospel of Mark, this morning’s reading is: 

    “Again Jesus said: God's kingdom is like what happens when a farmer scatters seed in a field. The farmer sleeps at night and is up and around during the day. Yet the seeds keep sprouting and growing, and he doesn't understand how. It is the ground that makes the seeds sprout and grow into plants that produce grain. Then when harvest season comes and the grain is ripe, the farmer cuts it with a sickle. Finally, Jesus said: What is God's kingdom like? What story can I use to explain it? It is like what happens when a mustard seed is planted in the ground. It is the smallest seed in all the world. But once it is planted, it grows larger than any garden plant. It even puts out branches that are big enough for birds to nest in its shade.”

From our reading this morning, Jesus is talking about the same thing. He is telling a story as a parable - a short story with a message - in which he compares God’s kingdom to seeds. This seems really abstract, but Jesus is trying to relate to the people where they were and how they understood things. There are two different stories here, and yet, according to Jesus, they both represent the Kingdom of God. These parables are also found in the gospels of Matthew and Luke as well, so it wouldn’t hurt to read those (at another time).

These parables can seem pretty straightforward. They seem to talk about how “Great things can have small beginnings” or “If you have the faith of a mustard seed, it can grow exponentially.” Those are good takeaways, but let’s try to ... dig for something deeper.

The first story - about the growing seed - took a very simple concept: seeds falling to the earth, and then they magically sprout and keep growing with the right conditions; it shows that the power to do so is not within the farmer’s capabilities, but totally dependent on God. This parable really reinforces the idea that God is in charge and that we are not. God’s ways are not our ways, and that the mystery of faith is trying to lean into those intuitions as the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Sure, the farmer still plays an active role in the process by tilling the soil, scattering the seeds, and making sure that the seeds are not only in the ground but have enough water & fertilizer. He is not passive in making sure the seed grows. And sure, we know that seeds sprout when the conditions of the soil are fertile, and there’s enough water present. But do we know what the spark that ignites the whole process actually is? Could it be the Holy Spirit at work on Earth? 

    I read this quote several years ago, and it’s stuck with me, popping into my brain while I was writing - is that sometimes we think that God puts us into a dark place, seemingly like we’re getting buried. But changing that perspective, what if we are being planted, and we are just finding the right conditions to sprout and grow? Perspective shifts can be amazing and life-altering. They can take us from being internally focused on how the world is covering us up and hiding us away. Much like a bulb in the springtime, we just need the weather to warm up so we can poke our sprouts and flowers through the darkness to feel the warm sunshine on our leaves and spread joy to those who can see our beauty. God delights in the beautiful creation he made - even from the beginning. That means even you - you were created in their image, and God said it was good. The thing is that in this first parable, God is referencing that the good soil of the Kingdom will bear fruit due to God’s nature, not anything remarkable or special about the seeds themselves. All the seeds need to do is find themselves in the right soil to sprout and grow. The end of this parable does have this line about harvesting when the grain is ripe, and on my initial reading of this, it struck me kind of odd, and I questioned why it was added. But living in the good soil of God, those who mature and become harvestable will produce seeds themselves for more seeds to keep the Kingdom growing. Jesus also describes the planting as sort of random and arbitrary - because the sower is just scattering seeds, not carefully digging rows, as they probably have limited space. But isn’t that how people are? We are scattered all over this planet, some have ripe, well-tilled soil, and others have fallen on rocky ground. 

    How incredible this power is. How awesome is our God? As we learned from Genesis 1, God is the creator. He created all, from the sun, moon, and stars to all life, whether plant or animal. What else is in that description of the creation story? God allows man to be stewards of this great creation. Now, that is a great gift, and we should be thankful for it. But have we been good stewards? We appreciate the wonders of this world and find the awe-inspiring beauty. But how are we taking care of it? Is there any way you can think of to show more gratitude and thankfulness for all of God’s creation?

    Beyond that, God selected humanity to be stewards, not a second in charge or not one who could control it. Humans have been really good at learning about this world and all the things in it, but it seems that some want to be able to control it. They want to bioengineer the things that are most advantageous for humans, give the best yields, and enrich themselves. Does this give glory to God, the Creator? How can we resolve to live in ways that proclaim the Maker and Creator as the true master of all life?

    One unexpected benefit of the pandemic was that people had to reinvent how to do many things. For example, in April 2020, the news service Reuters reported that the Burpee Seed Company sold more seeds in the previous month than they had in their complete 177-year history. If one were to search for “pandemic gardening,” there were more pages than ever devoted to people taking up their new hobby. There are so many forums and other groups for tips, tricks, hopes, and encouragement for people going through this difficult season. I think I’ve received more pictures of plants than of selfies in the last eighteen months from my friends, being so proud of what they’ve done. 

    The second parable - about the mustard seed - is a more specific seed, and it was plentiful in the area where Jesus would have been teaching. Mustard seeds are tiny. While they aren’t the smallest seeds that exist, they would have been the most common tiny seeds that the people of the time would all be familiar with. Mustard seeds are between 4 to 8/100ths of an inch (or about 1 to 2 mm). But the bush that is produced can be anywhere from six to twenty feet tall, stretching about six to ten feet out in diameter. What an expansive transformation! Now, for perspective’s size, imagine that mustard seed is the earth, and one could just imagine how infinite the depths of our universe might be! Do you think that’s the idea that Jesus is comparing the Kingdom of God to

    Mustard trees were considered a weed in this period. They grew EVERYWHERE. And since they were so plentiful, I bet no one really noticed them. It’s not like Jesus talked in his parable about the great hardwood trees of the area and how majestic they are. No - Jesus is taking the ordinary and weaving it into God’s kingdom. Later in the same parable, Jesus talks about how the birds are given shelter and shade in this giant weed thing. Birds at the time, and sometimes today still, are thought of as pests. We have a couple of feeders in our yard, and it’s amazing how fast the birds of my neighborhood empty those things out. It’s terrible for those flying little freeloaders! Even in areas where there are no people leaving food out for the birds, they can attack and eat the fruits. Back to our parable, Jesus is making an analogy that the pests can find mercy, shelter, and comfort in God’s kingdom, even in the ugliest, biggest weed in the yard. Even those who attack the fruits of the spirit because they are still God’s creations. You could even go back and read the rest of Chapter 4 and compare these two parables with the one at the beginning, verses 1-9. 

    Now, What do these seeds teach us? Seeds are small objects that can come to life with the presence of miraculous conditions around them. Or they could only do something if they were in the right environment. If you feel like you’re not growing, you might want to look at your environment and see what conditions may be affecting your soil. Also - seeds grow quietly but persistently. I’m so glad seeds grow quietly. Could you imagine the noise of this area if they weren’t?? 

    Especially if only weeds - maybe that might get me into my garden more oftenOnce sprouted, the growth of the plants is not subject to human interaction, although as stewards, we would be wise to nurture growth in others. It is entirely dependent on God’s power. And that power has no limits in this world, whether concrete or other artificial barriers. Plants grow in the strangest places; whether they are weeds in between the cracks of your driveway or moss and ivy growing on abandoned buildings, they will reclaim this space. They will bend and twist to find what they need. They are relentless in pursuit of what they need to fulfill their maximum potential as given by the Holy Spirit. 

    We live as a people with hope, springing eternal. As Christians, the world expects us to be better, to be the embodiment of Christ. Just imagine how different the world would be if we lived as mustard bushes, welcoming unwanted birds into the safety and security of our branches. I hope you can meditate this week on how the seeds of your faith are being held by you or being spread wildly and without caution. The smallest seeds can grow to the largest plants. Using the same logic, the smallest of kindnesses can open someone’s heart to experiencing the love of God. 

    Just as weeds can appear between the cracks in the sidewalk, the beauty may be lost on their lack of usefulness. We dismiss the miracle of persistence, but this is an example of God’s kingdom, described by Jesus himself. The parable is one of inclusivity, countering a narrative we so often hear in our culture that one’s worth is in one's utility - what one can produce, what one can acquire, and what one can command. But God’s kingdom turns that upside down - God is in control, and those who cannot produce, those who have no means, have a place in the kingdom. Contemporary theologian, Scott Bader-Saye has written, “Following Jesus will mean surrendering the power that masquerades as security in order to love the neighbor and welcome the stranger. It will mean avoiding the safe path in order to pursue the good. But in a culture of fear, we find such risks all the more difficult since our natural inclinations lead us to close in on ourselves when we face danger. How can we maintain the posture of the open hand toward a world that scares us?

    It can be very discouraging to plant seeds and not be able to see how they could come to harvest. But who are the “mustard seeds” that need planting? It’s easy to think of the coming generations, but how about those you encounter on a regular basis? Or even people you see regularly but may not be able to serve in the same abilities you do? Because who is charged to do the work of the coming Kingdom? Is it for humans or God? I believe it is for both, in their unique ways.