BRINGING THE KINGDOM NEAR (LESSONS FROM THE MUSTARD SEED)
Again Jesus said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade." (Mark 4:30-32)
This weekend Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost, authors of the book, "The Shaping of Things to Come" will meet with leaders here in Pittsburgh. Together we will explore what it means to be a missional church in this part of the world. I believe our dialogue is going to rock our region and I think it is timely to read these simple words of Jesus in preparation for our gathering.
What is the kingdom? It is the very presence of Jesus who is Himself the mustard seed. During the past weeks I have been reading through the Gospel of Mark and alongside my Bible I have a copy of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. This volume is a collection of commentary from voices within the second to eighth century of the faith community and its intent is to allow the living voices of the church in its formative stage to speak as they engage the sacred pages of Scripture. This morning I find the words of Peter Chrysologus speaking to me:
"Yes, it is true; a mustard seed is indeed an image of the kingdom of God. Christ is the kingdom of heaven. Sown like a mustard seed in the garden of the virgin's womb, he grew into a tree of the cross whose branches stretch across the world. Crushed in the mortar of the passion, its fruits has produced seasoning enough for the flavoring of every living creature with which it comes into contact. As long as the mustard seed remains intact, its properties lie dormant; but when they are crushed they are exceedingly evident. So it was with Christ. He chose to have his body crushed, because He would not have his power concealed. And He sowed His seed in His garden, that is in His bride, the Church."
What would it be like if Jesus became deeply rooted in our communities and his life began to spring up in and through us? How might Jesus be calling us to give our own seeds over for the kingdom, to allow our own hopes and dreams to be crushed in order that our communities might become all God intended, created, redeemed, and gifted them to be? Perhaps through our time together this weekend, we will discover afresh what a church might look like that finds its life fully in Christ and from that source grows deep and tall in its world, providing shelter and shade for weary men and women, boys and girls.
2 comments:
terry,
Your question "How might Jesus be calling us to give our own seeds over for the kingdom . . ." reminds me of this quote from Shaping of Things to Come:
“We partner with God in the redemption of the world. This is not just an issue of theology or of spirituality; it is an issue of a thoroughly reorienting missiology. It will provide God’s people with a new sense of purpose, a divine connection to daily actions. We need to grasp the fact that in God’s economy our actions do have an eternal impact. We do extend the Kingdom of God in daily affairs and activities and actions done in the name of Jesus. We live in an unredeemed world. But out of each human life that is given over to God and committed to his creation, a seed of redemption falls into the world, and the harvest is God’s!”
That is what gets me out of bed in the morning!
The phrase, "Crushed in the mortar of the passion," is an encouraging reminder: 1) that Jesus has experienced far more difficulty and pain than I have or ever will and 2) that having my outershell removed, even if it is a painful experience, is part of God's process to shape me into the image of His son and to enable me to be a blessing to others.
It reminds me of a passage in 2 Corinthians that speaks of being perplexed, but not crushed and one of my favorite passages from Isaiah, verses 28:27-29, that describes the way that various seeds are threshed, each in its own unique way, so that the "good" part is saved and the chaff is taken away. It ends by reminding us that all of this comes from "the LORD Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom."
I think reminders and encouragement like this are important, because for the believer, this is a life-long process and we go through seasons of more and less visible productivity for the kingdom as different parts of our character are being shaped.
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