The Mustard Seed

 

In one of the early scene of the musical Carousel the male lead 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. Carousel was Hammerstein's adaptation of the French playwright and philosopher, Ferenc Molnár's play, Liliom. Both playwright's knew that Billy was wrong; we do count. We do make a difference in the world. Yes, two little people you and I count.

Mark makes the point in his metaphoric reference to the tiny mustard seed that despite its miniscule beginning the plant grows without force of will. The sower of the parable doesn't even water the seeds or weed around it! The sower just sows and goes about his business while the earth produces of itself, and the mustard plant organically grows and sends out its large 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 is in the universe. We are born out of love, we exist in love, and we are destined for eternal love. We continually “reinvent” ourselves through love. The love of God, as the tiniest of seeds, the mustard seed, grows beyond anything we can possibly imagine. It organically grows as it's pervasive roots invade and is all encompassing.

Our presence in the world matters because our love for one another results in the ongoing incarnation of God and renews the work began by Jesus. 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. Rather, Christ is in evolution because we, are constantly evolving, spreading and pervasively invading the Kingdom like the mustard seed. (Adapted from Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation, "Evolving the Universe," June 8, 2018.)