Reflection for February 24

Mark 4:21-34

 He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’

He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples. 

Reflection – Karen Hile

As with yesterday’s post, as a gardener I love the analogy Jesus draws of the tiny little mustard seed being the Kingdom of God. This seed grows quickly and profusely until it becomes a sturdy shrub 2-3 feet high and at least as wide. As Jesus points out, birds can rest in it. We may be the birds, finding a niche for ourselves in God’s Kingdom. I imagine I am a small songbird, a black-capped chickadee pecking at a birdfeeder in winter, or perhaps a colorful summer goldfinch, munching on the seeds of a purple coneflower.

Out of its native Middle East, the mustard plant is invasive, choking out other plants; in 44 of the lower 48 states, black mustard is considered a noxious weed.* Furthermore, here it is an annual seed, dying when the season grows too cold. Most mustard plants readily self-seed, however, so that the next year a new plant or plants will spring up whether we like it or not. Once sown, it is hard to eradicate.

Maybe this is the point: we wouldn’t want to – and couldn’t – abolish God’s love. It is here, whether or not we ask it to be; it spreads quickly yet is sturdy; it can hold us; and it isn’t going away. There is something fierce and giant beyond our imagination that comes from a miniscule seed. This is the wonder of God.

*Source: naturecollective.org