Monday, March 13, Lent Calendar* Invite: Read a parable of Jesus: The Mustard Seed, Matthew 13:31-33.
I love seeds. I admit that it’s a little obnoxious. I dog ear page after page of seed catalogs. When the local nursery had a sale of barely expired seed packets, I bought more seeds than I could actual use in our backyard homestead. Seeds lie on our kitchen window sill, on my desk, in my bathroom makeup drawer… wherever I happened to be emptying my pockets from a hike or a walk down the street or stroll across the campus. I can’t seem to help myself from collecting seeds.
For the past ten winters, I have planted tomato seeds with students at the school where I have served as campus pastor. I have the students hold a lone seed in the palm of their hand and take a moment to just look at how tiny it is. Then I tell all the littles that the tomato seed will become a plant taller than them and produce lots and lots of tomatoes. How amazing is that?! The students gently place the seed in the soil, tuck it in for night-night, and then we wait. We watch as it peaks from the dark, becomes a seedling, and eventually becomes a plant big enough to sell at our annual spring plant sale. I always hope that the students see the wonder of how small things can become mighty things.
In chapter 13 of Matthew, Jesus tells stories of farmers and seed sowing and how small everyday things like seed and leaven become big things like plants and bread. Jesus says this is like God’s kingdom. It is in the small every day acts of faithful living that growth happens.
This got me to thinking about the power of us simply telling our story of faith to one person. I have always loved how Frederick Buechner said, “A Christian is one who points at Christ and says, ‘I can’t prove a thing, but there’s something about his eyes and his voice. There’s something about the way he carries his head, his hands, the way he carries his cross-the way he carries me.’” My husband and I have both shared the video Strangers, a 4-minute story of how one person sharing their faith in God leads to another person finding uncommon hope to another person finding saving grace. One seed, one story… when planted and told, they grow.
As you read today’s parable of the mustard seed, how is God speaking to you?