The Mustard Seed

This summer we're enjoying the parables of Jesus.

And if you've been around this summer, you may remember what a parable is.

A parable is an earthly story which illustrates a spiritual reality.

And a spiritual reality that Jesus often wanted to illustrate was that of the kingdom,

the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven.

And so the parables often begin with the formula,

the kingdom of heaven is like, or in the book of Mark,

with what can we compare the kingdom of God?

Or what parable shall we use for it?

It is like blah, blah, blah.

So let's remind ourselves what the kingdom of God is.

It's not just where God reigns supreme,

because we know that God's been reigning supreme at all times,

in all places, and in all circumstances.

The kingdom of God is also where God brings that supremacy,

that reign, where he carries it through against all opposing powers.

And when he brings people in recognition of this,

willing recognition of this,

that's the kingdom.

Although we don't find that definition in the Bible.

Jesus doesn't give us a definition.

What he actually gives us is art,

which is elusive,

it's nuanced,

it's multifaceted.

A story or a picture can say so much more than a simple definition,

and so he gives us parables.

The parables are very earthy,

using images we can all relate to,

and for that reason,

you may remember me saying a few weeks back

that there's a German pastor

that called the parables God's picture book.

So today we're going to look at two pictures,

and we're going to ask the questions,

how is the kingdom like a mustard seed?

That's the first image.

The second question is,

how is the kingdom like leaven?

That was the second image.

And third, we're going to ask how

these parables affect

our participation in the kingdom.

Before we do that, let's pray.

Lord, we need your help to see clearly,

to understand.

We have all kinds of prejudices

that we come with to your word.

And there's a certain amount of blindness

and deafness that we have

that we need you to remove.

And we need you to soften our hearts.

We need you to bring comfort and hope

for those of us who need that.

So we're asking you to do a lot.

You can do that.

Because in your word is power.

Help us to experience that right now,

that we would not leave this place unchanged.

For the glory of your name.

Amen.

In Jesus' day, many Jews were expecting

the kingdom of God to come.

And they too expected God

to carry through this supremacy

against all opposing powers.

The opposing power they were thinking of

was mainly the Roman Empire.

And this carrying through of God's supremacy

was to be a great, glorious day of the Lord.

And many in Palestine had wondered

if this Jesus would be the one to do it.

And it started off exciting enough

in chapter 9 of Matthew.

Matthew writes,

Great.

I mean, that kind of sounds like

gathering up an army, doesn't it?

But it doesn't go right.

It doesn't go at all

according to anyone's expectations.

In chapter 10,

Jesus says,

By the way,

you can expect suffering,

persecution,

and death.

That doesn't sound like

an overwhelming, glorious day of the Lord to me.

In chapter 11,

Jesus faces opposition.

He's accused of being possessed.

He's called a drunkard

and a glutton.

What kind of king is that?

The upper classes,

both intellectual and political,

reject him.

Or what is worse,

they simply ignore him.

The capital city acts

as if he doesn't even exist.

And the Greek and Roman centers of culture

pay absolutely no attention

to what's going on

in the backwoods of Palestine.

Even John the Baptist,

a man of profound faith,

the one who would herald the king

and his kingdom,

seemingly loses all faith.

And he sends to Jesus

a word from jail.

He asks Jesus,

Are you the one who is to come?

Or shall we look for another?

Are you the one who is to come?

Or shall we look for another?

Can you hear the sadness

and the despair

and the disillusionment

in that voice?

Shall we look for another?

Every one of us, though,

who calls ourselves a Christian

eventually asks that question,

I think,

or something very much like it.

For me personally,

when the Arab Spring started,

there were things happening

all over North Africa

and in the Middle East,

and I decided

I would focus on one area.

I'd focus on Syria.

Things seemed especially bad,

and the church

had such an historical presence there.

And I took a few words of advice

that I had heard.

The first was,

pray

and don't bore the angels

while you pray.

Pray in such a way

as to not bore the angels.

Like, okay,

so I'm going to pray something bold.

And the second bit of advice

I took to heart

was,

pray in such a way

that if your prayers

were answered,

like, the world would notice.

The whole world would notice.

Like, great,

that's what I'm going to do.

I started praying for Syria.

But as you know,

as bad as things were,

things got worse.

And it seems like

the more I prayed,

the worse things got.

And so my question,

similar to John the Baptist,

is like,

God,

what is the use of praying?

What is the use of praying for Syria

when my prayers

don't seem to make

a bit of difference?

Are you the king

or should I wait for another?

You know,

I think back to

some friends of mine

who decided to be foster parents.

They believed

what they had learned in church

and in the Bible study

that I taught

that God's kingdom

will one day renew

and restore all things.

And God is already doing that

through his church.

He's bringing to the world

through his church

hope and restoration.

So my friends

served as foster parents

to a beautiful little girl

whose mother was in prison

and whose father

had abandoned her

and every single one

of her other relatives.

And so they were,

my friends were able

to begin the process

of adoption.

The little girl

began to call them

mom and dad

and really did think of

my friends

as her mom and dad.

And they thought of her

as their own daughter.

She was so sweet

and beautiful.

And as soon as the adoption

was about to be finalized,

the little girl's father

swooped in at the last minute

and says,

I'll take her.

And there's nothing

my friends could do about it.

Yes, the girl

was with her father

but this is the girl

who they loved

as their daughter

and she was taken away

and they haven't seen her since.

And my friend,

the would-be mother,

wrote on her Facebook page

simply,

wondering where the promised

hope and restoration are.

And it hit me

like really square

in the stomach

because I'm pretty sure

I said something

exactly like that

in Bible study.

Wondering where the promised

hope and restoration are.

I think about

another good friend of mine

from when we lived

in Florida.

He had never met

his grandfather.

His grandfather

and four other men

had traveled

to a remote part

of South America

to make contact

with a remote tribe

who was completely isolated.

They did that

to tell them about Jesus.

They took very seriously

the Great Commission.

Go to all the world

and make disciples

of all nations.

The tribe turned on them

and killed all of them.

My friend's dad

was just a little boy

when he lost his father.

Where was King Jesus then?

And I could go on and on, right?

And I'm sure you could too.

You've had questions like this.

You've been treated unjustly

in your job.

You watch helplessly

as a loved one struggles

and succumbs to addiction.

You have a marriage

that seems to never be

anything more

than a total disaster.

You personally struggle

and seem to lose

against institutional

and political injustice

that tramples on the poor

and less fortunate

who you care very much about.

Those you love

succumb to cancer.

You too ask,

where is this promised hope

and restoration?

Jesus,

are you really a king?

You know, oftentimes,

it's not direct opposition

that discourages us.

It's the mundane.

It's the mundane

that discourages us.

Being a Christian

can often feel like

such a downer,

especially in D.C.

we feel uncool,

small,

insignificant.

Sometimes the work

that he gives us

feels really mundane.

Tommy and I met

a pastor

in the Anglican Church

back in October.

His name is Buzz.

And for a large portion

of his career,

on Sundays,

he would just do

the 78-mile loop,

driving around

from church to church,

preaching as he goes.

These little,

tiny congregations,

old,

seemingly insignificant,

isolated in backwater.

How is that world changing?

Like,

I know the right answer,

but right?

How is that world changing?

And the church itself,

I mean,

you know the feeling.

like,

there's,

there's like really odd people

here,

right?

Not just here,

but like go to any church.

And Christians are generally

an assembly of

strangeness.

So this is the kingdom.

These people,

you know,

C.S. Lewis touched on this

in the Screwtape letters,

this point about the church.

It's really cute.

Screwtape,

he's an experienced demon.

And he's mentoring his nephew

on how to tempt

and entrap his patient.

In one letter,

he tells his nephew,

one of our great allies

at present

is the church itself.

Sure,

it's organized religion.

The organized religion

is full of misguided liturgies

and bad preachers.

We can be surrounded

by people who sing off key,

really bad breath,

like they project

dimly lit lyrics

and liturgy

onto this old-looking screen

that sits atop

two circular tables

with like these weird

black cloths.

What is that?

That's the kingdom?

The church triumphant?

What?

And if we're really,

really honest,

we will admit

that most often

the biggest obstacle

to the kingdom

is ourselves,

right?

I mean,

I just heard you admit it.

You just prayed it.

You confessed

that you sinned against God

in thought, word, and deed

by what you've done

and by what you've left undone.

And that's pretty extreme.

And I was confessing

the same stuff.

And if you knew

what goes on in my heart,

the darkness that's there,

like the pride,

the selfishness,

the arrogance,

the anger,

you would probably give up.

Like,

what is this kingdom?

That's my ally?

And so the whole

Christian enterprise

can feel just

extremely futile,

whether it's because

of opposition

or the brokenness

and evil of the world

or the mundaneness

of it all,

by the failings

of those around us

or our own brokenness

and rebellion.

And we ask,

like my friend asked,

where is this kingdom

that is supposed

to bring hope

and restoration?

Those closest to Jesus

must have been

asking themselves

the same thing.

They left everything

to follow Jesus.

Nothing went as planned

and they must have been

having deep doubts

about Jesus

and the kingdom.

And in the midst

of these doubts,

Jesus doesn't get on a horse

and give some

rousing speech

about freedom

or glory

or even Middle Earth.

Jesus gives them

a picture.

He holds up a picture.

This is what

the kingdom is.

It's a tiny seed

and it's so small

and it looks insignificant

but it becomes

this big tree

and in the branches

of this tree,

the birds

make their nests.

The kingdom brings

healing and rest

and life

and sanctuary.

Jesus is drawing

on an image

found in the book

of Ezekiel

which we heard

earlier.

God would establish

a kingdom

and Gentiles

from every nation

of the earth

would find rest there

and come under

God's good,

just,

and perfect rule.

And so one of the last

things Jesus did

was to give his disciples

the great commission.

All authority

in heaven and earth

has been given to me.

Therefore,

go and make disciples

of all nations.

And if you look

at the history

of the church,

even to the present day,

you can see

this is what the Lord

has done

and is doing.

Just in the present day,

in 1900,

only 1% of Korea

was Christian.

In 2012,

according to the Pew Research Center,

roughly 3 of every 10

South Koreans

called themselves Christians.

The Gambian scholar

Laman Sana

of Yale University

reports how in 1900,

Christians comprised

9% of the African population.

Today,

Christians comprise

44%

of the

continent's

population.

Just on Thursday,

I don't know if you read this,

The Guardian reported

how in China

there are more

who belong to the

Christian church,

100 million,

than there are

who belong

to the

Communist Party,

which is roughly

70 million,

I think.

The Guardian also

stated that China

is on course

over the next 15 years

to become the world's

most populous

Christian nation.

Not too shabby,

considering the church

started as just a handful

of semi-literate

Galilean

hillbillies

from the backwoods

of the Roman Empire.

So we see the kingdom

geographically

and numerically

expanding.

But Jesus doesn't

want us to think

of this in terms

of conquest

or domination.

Not at all.

That's why he gives us

the next parable,

the next picture

that he holds up

to his disciples,

that the kingdom

of heaven

is like leaven.

As the dough

is slowly

and thoroughly

leavened,

so do Christians

slowly over time

leavened the societies

in which they

find themselves.

Consider how it was

Christians who led

the dismantling

of the institution

of slavery.

It took way too long,

but it was Christians

who led that

dismantling.

It was Christians

who were the first

to organize care

for widows,

orphans,

and the poor

generally.

The hospital

is a Christian invention.

That Christians

very often cared

for victims

of plagues

at the risk

of their own lives,

and so on.

I mean,

look at virtues

that we take

for granted,

like humility.

That would have been

immoral

and backwards

and cowardly

to be humble

in the Roman Empire.

But the church

has leavened

society.

Now,

humility

is a chief virtue.

Christians have

leavened the dough.

They've done this

by being faithfully

present.

The parable of the yeast

allows us to think

more expansively

about the Great Commission.

Jesus said

to go into all

the world.

When we consider

what the leaven does

to dough,

we can understand

Christ to say

to not just

to go to every nation,

but also to go

into every sphere

of life

with the good news

of the gospel.

Go into every place

and every neighborhood

and every life

and every relationship

that has been bruised

and broken

by sin.

Enter the mess.

Hold out Jesus Christ.

Go into every vocation,

business,

law,

the arts,

education,

homemaking,

the sciences,

government,

and be like salt

which seasons

and preserves.

Be like light

shining in dark places.

Now how do we be

faithfully present

in our vocations?

We can be faithfully present

in our vocations

by displaying

a contemplative calmness

that comes from

being intimate

with

and submissive

to

the Father

much like Jesus was.

We can be faithfully present

by not idolizing

reputation and status.

We can be faithfully present

by displaying radical compassion

for those around us.

The kind of compassion

that comes from

understanding

our own brokenness

and our own need

of compassion.

We can be faithfully present

by understanding

and living out

our union with Christ.

We died with Christ

and so we die

to our own selfish

sinful inclinations

and we're raised

to new life

in his resurrection

with a new understanding

of morality

and virtue

that is defined

by what God says

in the Bible.

We can be faithfully present

by using whatever power

and influence

we do have

to serve others

not ourselves.

We can be faithfully present

by understanding

our vocations

as sacred callings

and by simply doing

a good job.

I believe it was

Dorothy Sayers

who said

the only Christian work

is good work

done well

unto God.

And in doing

these things

and being faithfully present

in these ways

Christians

leaven culture.

But it takes time,

right?

These parables

are about waiting.

We don't see results

overnight.

We're American,

we want results

but if we're a farmer

we just can't go

voila,

here's a tree

and you have to wait

for leaven

to work through

the dough.

God give us patience.

Well,

what are some

concrete examples

of faithful presence

within vocation?

Well,

consider the Washington

Arts Group

which back in the 90s

sponsored 30 local artists

to paint and sculpt

scenes from Anacostia.

The show was previewed

on the streets

of Anacostia

which was a very

forgotten neighborhood

in the 90s.

The show was later

exhibited in Union Station.

Officials claimed

that it was the most

successful exhibit

ever held in the station

with over one and a half

million viewers

of the collection.

The beauty,

history,

and humanness

of those long forgotten

was honored

and celebrated.

Consider a good friend

of mine

who went to MIT

and studied

nuclear engineering

not to make money

but because he wants

to disarm the world.

His whole focus

was to join

the International

Atomic Energy Agency

and that's where

he's serving right now

as a nuclear weapons

inspector.

He has done such

good work

and his character

and virtues

have been so upright

that he is on track

to get a lifelong extension

something that rarely

happens to their inspectors.

He likens himself

to Joshua

and Caleb

who viewed

he views

nuclear weaponry

as the giants

in the land

and like Joshua

and Caleb

he reports that

yes there are giants

but God can do this.

God can do this.

And lastly

consider yourselves.

You're deeply embedded

in the government

and the arts

and education

and non-profits

and the sciences

and the media

and from all the conversations

I've had with you

you're committed

to being leaven.

Doing your work

with excellence

caring for those

around you

caring about justice

holding out Christ

to people

being salt

and light.

In a moment

we'll get to hear

from one of our own

Lauren Porter

about what it means

to follow Christ

in the sciences.

So we've seen

how the kingdom

is like a mustard seed

and how it's like leaven.

what

oh not

not quite yet

I have like two hours

still

it's fine.

What other ways

can we participate

in the life

of the kingdom?

How can we participate

in God

carrying through

his rule

against all opposing powers?

Well first

I think

we need to see

that the kingdom

is to come

into our hearts

as well

as into all the world.

To use the illustration

of the tree

a person is both quiet

and he's public

or she.

A person is both

quiet

and that would be

the roots

and public

and that would be

the branches.

To you

and to me

has been entrusted

the seed

from which one day

are to grow branches

which are to spread

over the earth

and give shelter

to the birds

of the air.

Don't seek

these branches

but rather

nurse the seed.

The seed

is nursed

in quietness

in contemplation

of God's word

and his love

for us.

It's nurtured

in regular

rhythmic prayer.

That's what it means

to seek first

the kingdom of God.

Without that

we would be

rootless trees.

And then we ought

to sometime

look at our household

or the neighborhood

we live in

or the place

where we work

and see whether

there are even

one or two persons

who are privileged

to dwell

under the boughs

of that tree

which was planted

in your heart

and mine

and whether

they are being

refreshed

and strengthened

in its shadow.

Second,

participating

in the kingdom

means some kind

of death.

Right?

Jesus said,

truly,

truly,

I say to you,

unless a grain

of wheat

falls into the earth

and dies,

it remains alone.

But if it dies,

it bears much fruit.

Whoever loves his life

loses it.

And whoever hates

his life

in this world

will keep it

for eternal life.

Dying means

we put to death

our sins

through confession

and repentance.

It means we die

to our own desires

and ambitions

and prefer those

of the people around us.

For some of our brothers

and sisters around the world,

this literally means dying.

It means getting your head

chopped off

for the sake

of the gospel.

And our brothers

and sisters

around the world

need our prayers.

So we participate

in the kingdom

by seeing it

move into our own hearts.

By dying,

requires a death.

And third,

by not losing hope.

We don't lose hope

because we know

the end of the story.

We know the end

of the story.

The end of the story

is the tree.

What we see

as a mustard seed

now

becomes a mustard,

becomes a mighty tree.

As for me

and my prayers

for Syria,

yes,

it looks awful now.

And I'm not the first person

to pray for Syria.

You know,

St. Augustine said

that the prayers

of the church

are the prayers

of one single man

across time and space.

people have been

praying for Syria

for almost 2,000 years now.

I'm not alone.

God loves the people

of Syria more than I do.

So I won't lose hope.

I know the rest

of the story.

My friend

who posted on Facebook

where's the promised

hope and restoration?

That's not the only thing

she posted.

I edited that.

The full post was

wondering where

the promised hope

and restoration are,

praying unceasingly.

Even she hasn't lost hope.

She knows the rest

of the story.

The rest of the story

about my friend's grandfather?

Well, his grandmother

and the wives

of the other men

who died

took their families.

The women

and their young children

went into the jungle

and made contact

with that tribe

and they forgave them,

the murderers

of their husbands

and fathers.

And then they told them

about God's forgiveness.

They had never heard

about forgiveness.

They didn't know

what it was.

It sounded strange

to them.

All they knew

was killing and revenge.

That's it.

But they accepted

Christ's forgiveness

forgiveness.

And they stopped

killing,

started forgiving.

And my friend's father

eventually became

best friends

with the man

who had killed

his father.

Let's be specific

about what the rest

of the big story is.

I mean, for you,

like, can you see

the end of the story?

Or do you just see

the mustard seed?

Perhaps we need

to see the whole story

beginning to end.

To rescue and restore

a broken world,

God sent his son

to save a people

for himself.

Jesus,

Jesus was the seed

that fell

and died

and bore much fruit,

you and me.

He willingly

took upon himself

our own sin

and the punishment

it deserved

and we became

God's sons

and daughters.

We became united

to Jesus

and because he

rose from the dead,

we too look forward

to when we will

rise again

and be given

new resurrection bodies,

feasting together

with our Lord

in the new heavens

and the new earth.

That feast

is what we look forward

to right here

when we do this feast.

So as you eat the bread

and drink the wine,

experience God's love

for you.

Experience

the rest of the story.

Let's pray.

Lord,

we now need

you to speak

into our lives

to affirm

the rest

of the story,

the end

of the story,

Lord,

in the midst

of our brokenness

and our weakness,

in the midst

of our communities

and neighborhoods

and families

that are experiencing

brokenness,

in the midst

of our nation

that's experiencing

brokenness.

We need you

to give us hope.

Help us keep in mind

the end of the story.

God, we look forward

to celebrating

with you one day

with our new

resurrection bodies

in the new heavens

and the new earth.

Give us faith

and hope

and love

and patience

and endurance

until that day.

Even now,

as we participate

in this meal,

strengthen us.

Communicate to your love

and your grace

and give us hope.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.