The Mustard Seed

 

In one of the early scenes in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, Billy Bigelow sings There’s a hell of a lotta stars in the sky and the sky’s so big the sea looks small; two little people you and I, we don’t count at all. Hammerstein knew as he wrote the lyrics that Billy was wrong; we do count. We do make a difference in the world.

Mark makes the point in his metaphorical reference to the tiny mustard seed. Despite its size and unremarkable beginning, the plant grows without effort or will. The sower in the parable doesn't even water or weed the field! The sower just sows and goes about his business while the earth gives of itself enabling the plant to grow organically and send out its branches. The kingdom of God like the mustard seed, grows organically. And inevitably, as day follows night, God's hidden, mysterious work plays out in the world… and in us. Mark 4:26-34 

God is in all things and the seed of His incarnation in the universe is love. God is Love. Despite man’s efforts, the future of the earth, therefore, lies not in science and technology, but in the spiritual power of faith and the power of love. We are born out of love, we exist in love, and we are destined for eternal love. We are transformed as we continually “reinvent” ourselves through love. The love of God, as with the tiniest of seeds, grows beyond anything we can possibly imagine. It grows, roots, invades and becomes all encompassing. 

Our presence in the world matters as we pick up where Jesus left-off centuries ago.  The Christ of the physical universe, the Christ of all humanity, the Christ of all religions is not a static figure, like a goal post with an endpoint in mind. We, like the incarnation of God in us, are constantly evolving, expanding our reach beyond anything imaginable and invading the Kingdom like the invasive mustard seed. (Adapted from Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation, Evolving the Universe, June 8, 2018.)

The Fishers of Men

Yes I know it’s February and Christmas is a distant memory, and while I love the holiday, I’m glad it’s all behind us and we are well into the New Year and closing in on Lent. So then why do I choose to use what many consider a Christmas classic, It’s a Wonderful Life as a segue to our gospel, (Luke 5:1-5)? In this reading we are reminded that Jesus is not talking to what we might consider leaders in the community…the people with power, money and authority. Jesus is talking to the common man and in words they will understand. He tells them that as fishers of men, they possess the ability to transform the world.

So what does this have to do with the movie? How well we have come to know the story of George Bailey, a struggling businessman whose dreams and aspirations are shattered as his life gets sidetracked by unintended consequences. I wonder how many of us can relate to unplanned events in our lives that have taken us far afield from our life’s plans. As we look back don’t we often wonder how different life would have been if unintended consequences had not intervened? The movie reminds us that everything that happens has consequences and that everyone in some way relates to one another.

There are two scenes in particular that reminds us that in some small way we are a force for change, although sometimes we don’t recognize it. In a discussion that George has with his father during dinner, the very evening of his father’s death, George condescendingly rejects any notion of following his father’s footsteps and take over the bank someday. His father tells him, you know, George, I feel that in a small way we are doing something important. Satisfying a fundamental urge for a man to want his own roof and walls and fireplace, and we’re helping him get those things in our shabby little office. And while not in his plan, George does follow in his father’s footsteps.

The other scene comes as George, a victim of unintended consequences and on the brink of despair, wonders if his life was all worth it. His “guardian angel,” Clarence shows and tells him that every man’s life touches so many other lives, and when he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?

We all know people who by their very presence have made us better persons just by being in our lives. How many, we wonder, have touched us without our or their knowledge. These are “Godly” people.

Truly Godly people are the ones who make a difference everywhere they go, although unintended consequences may prevent them from even knowing that they have. Somehow, they always seem to be in the right place at the right time and doing the very thing that is most needed at any given time. And the difference between Godly folks and everyone else, is that they try to live life as Jesus did by loving God the only way they can…by loving each other. We are not alone; we are not insignificant; we are loved, cared for and intended for wonderful purposes. It truly is a wonderful life.

 

And so in Luke 4:14--21 the day arrives…the local boy who has been making quite a name for himself, comes home. He goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath. He reads from Isaiah. He speaks a few words. The crowd whispers its approval: "Mary and Joseph certainly raised a good son." They say. But suddenly the crowd is beginning to get uneasy as his readings continue. Could he be taking Isiah's prophecy too far as if he were the fulfillment of the prophecy. Did they hear correctly?

They’re aware of all the miracles he has performed before returning home. And many had gathered to see him “perform.” Why not a little razzle-dazzle for the home town folks? If Jesus would just do some healings or some other miracle, they would know that God's power was here and now, once and for all, and he would finally drive out the pagan Gentiles and their ungodly influences in the city. But Jesus performs no miracles in Nazareth, and in fact he goes out of his way to defy expected convention by reaching out to sinners, toll collectors and outcasts. So what started as an initially positive response among the assembled, leads to anger and hatred when his mission opens up to include the Gentiles. 

The essence of Jesus’ ministry is the love of God for all people. What is it that sparks this abrupt shift from awe to rage for the hearers of Jesus’ words? As for Jesus, it’s hard enough to live up to anticipated expectations. It’s harder still, of course, to meet up with unexpected rejection. There is a very human dimension to this whole story. When the hometown boy makes good, there are usually more than a few who resent his success. Why? As for us, there are all sorts of people in our lives who call us to compassion and justice. Some of them are very ordinary. What is it about the ordinary that’s so hard to see?

My Hour Has Not Yet Come

 

Of all the Gospels, the Wedding at Cana is unique to John’s and is the first of the evangelist’s seven signs.  John referred to Jesus’ “miracles” throughout his ministry as signs pointing to the Lord’s divinity. Yet, while the scene conjures up a beautiful image of Jesus as a young man accompanying his mother to a wedding feast, it reminds us that the mystery of God’s incarnation in Jesus, has as much to do with Jesus’ humanity as his divinity. That God could do miraculous things is easily understood. After all he is God. But that he could live fully human just like us with all our fears and joy, is still amazing. He is one of us… and that’s the point.

The exchange between Jesus and his mother is personally familiar and humorous. Mary, who John never calls by name, senses the embarrassment of the wedding hosts and advises Jesus that they have run out of wine. (Jesus’ might well have answered they should have hired a better wedding planner.) But without paying him any mind, Mother Mary tells the servants to do whatever he says.

I remember my mother encouraging me on the high diving board in Steeplechase pool in Coney Island: “Come on, you can do it! I know you can!” “But, Ma, I’m not ready yet, it’s too high and I’m scared.” “Don’t be afraid, I’m here, you can do it, I know your can do it.”

Or a time much later time in my life when in the throes of an ongoing job interview process I really wanted, my mother comes home with the telephone number of a “big shot executive” son of a friend who is expecting my call. “Ma, this is not how it’s done” I protested; “it’s embarrassing. You don’t get a job just because you work with someone’s mother.” Oblivious to my response, she replies “Never mind, just call him at 10:00 AM tomorrow; he’s expecting you.” 

I wonder what my mother or Mary saw in their sons at that moment. Why did my mother know that I could dive off the high board or that I could get the job of my dreams?  Mary had faith in her son and believed that such a miracle was possible? How did she know that this was his time? How did my mother know that I was ready and just needed a little push? 

And can we relate to the unspoken “dialogue” between Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King. In many ways the exchange between Mary and Jesus is somewhat reminiscent of that unspoken “dialogue,” characterized by Rosa’s refusing to yield her seat. Could this well-publicized event have provoked King, whose time he thought had not yet come to transform history. His time had come.

It is more than coincidence that Jesus’ mother surrounds his earthly ministry. She is there at his birth, the very beginning of his ministry and at his painful death. She is the nurturing force and the earthly mother of the Word of God made flesh as she shares parenthood with God. Perhaps this sign in John 2: 1--11 serves to remind us that whenever Jesus reveals his divinity, he is simultaneously revealing something about his humanity. Could this also serve to remind us of transformative changes in our faith as God’s incarnation in Jesus is about his ever-present incarnation in us. Are we ready or do we need a little push?

You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased

 

I wonder how many of us celebrate our baptism as we might our birthday or anniversary.  I’m not sure I can even locate my baptismal certificate much less know the month or day it took place. This Sunday we will anticipate the baptism of Jesus according to Luke 3:15-16, 21-22  and despite the fact that this event in our church calendar was once considered an even more important feast than Christmas, the baptism of Jesus is acknowledged with just a Gospel reading  and possible sermon. Yet, along with the Epiphany, it is a celebration of the true nature of the incarnation of God in the world and in each of us. Perhaps we should wait before we put our manger scenes away. 

I suspect that for many Christians of this generation baptism can be puzzling. If you ask parents why they want their children baptized many would be hard pressed to explain. Do we do it for the grandparents?  Is it a cultural act?  Is it a “ticket to admission” for a particular church or pre-qualification for communion? How many of us were raised believing that it was intended to “wash away” our sins? Isn’t that sad, although I admit that it was part of my understanding based on my early religious education. 

No, the sacrament instills a sense of God with us and in us that is essential to our very nature and being. While baptism reminds us of our being united as part of the Christian community, we were invested in God’s Kingdom long before any sprinkling of water or liturgical incantation took place. 

When John protests baptizing Jesus, Jesus responds with “for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." In so doing Jesus makes it clear that he aligns himself with all people and not just the followers of Moses, “the chosen.” It is the birth rite of all peoples. 

So, while we are marked as a member of God’s Kingdom, Baptism enrolls us in this most “inclusive” of all clubs. “In a very profound way we are in fact brothers and sisters to one another. Each of us has already received the first great gift of our spiritual inheritance: the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God resides in each of us as the source of the divine life and the source of all life…The life of God in us means that we are closely bonded to one another. We are more closely united by the living presence of the Spirit in us than we would be by family blood lines. The shared life of God of which we are all temples, make us family in a profoundly personal way. This is the faith vision of the reality which we call Church.” (John Powell, S.J. The Christian Vision, p131)