Mustard Seed Farming & a Country Made Whole

Before I begin, I should let you know that in keeping with the theme of this service, I wrote this reflection in pencil on paper first. Wendell Berry is famous for eschewing computers for the primitive pencil and paper. Unlike Berry, however, I did not ask my wife Holly to type and print it out. There are some places to which I am not willing to follow even Wendell Berry.

Also in keeping with the Wendell Berry theme, who is a Baptist, I will be using the traditional Baptist three-point sermon format that I heard growing up. Dylan had a guitar, three chords, and the truth. I have scripture, three points, and the truth. Now, I will say no need to fear hellfire and brimstone. This is a pretty interfaith and farmer-friendly sermon J

Anyway, here we go.

This morning’s scripture comes from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13, vs. 31-32. I use the Douay-Rheims Translation:

"Another parable he proposed unto them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.

[The mustard seed] is the least indeed of all seeds; but when it is grown up, it is greater than all herbs – it becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come, and dwell in the branches thereof."

A quick prayer: “May thou be with me, thy humble and imperfect servant. And may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to thee, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” Amen.

The scripture like its topic is small in stature but packs a wallop. It comes to us from Matthew 13, which is a chapter steeped in farming metaphors. It is also found in Mark and Luke.

In the short parable, Jesus points to a theme that is central to Jesus’ message when he was on earth. That theme basically amounts to this: spiritual significance is found most in small things. In this small parable, we are provided an immense insight into the height of divine truth.

I offer three points as we consider this short parable.

1.) The World says, “More is More.”

2.) Jesus says, “Less is More.”

3.) Mustard seed farming shows us the truth of Jesus’ claim.

Let us go through these three as we look at our text.

1.) The World says “more is more.”

Now in the short parable, Jesus is giving a metaphor to reveal to his disciples what the kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven. First of all, we should note that for Jesus the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven are interchangeable. Matthew uses kingdom of heaven. The parallel texts in Mark and Luke use kingdom of God.  They point to the same thing.The 

The fact that Jesus uses these terms interchangeably does have significance, but that is a sermon for another day. You all will have to come back for that one.

Kingdom of God is a bit of a dated term. We no longer have a lot of experience with monarchies or kings. Theologian John Cobb argues for a different translation that I love, especially as a Massachusettsian. He uses the translation Commonwealth of God or Commonwealth of Heaven.

Jesus is a preacher of the Commonwealth of God. That is really the point of all Jesus preaches about. He is preaching about the Commonwealth of God amid and to the world full of empires and emperors. It is these kingdoms of the world, based on the assertion of power, wealth, war, and dominance, that declare loudly the political mantra – more is more. Get more and you will be more. 

Consumption means obtaining more and more. This leads to wealth and then power and dominance. That is the way of the world Jesus is forever preaching against.

This model of more is more, this model of a consumption-based economy of course has costs to the earth which we are a part of. Climate change is an unmistakable cost of that model. There is a spiritual cost as well. 

The more is more model is such that it has made its way to the realm of spirituality and religion. How often do we just sit where we are and rest contented with God and with the moment? How often do we come to church and count our blessings and seek to, in the words of Don Henley, “want what we have and take what we’re given with grace”? 

Or how many of us are in the market of religion and spirituality trying to find the perfect faith?

The consumption model affects everything, as it turns out.

2.) Jesus says, “Less is more.”

Jesus offers another paradigm. This paradigm comes from Jesus’ experiences and his insight based on those experiences.  This is to say, the paradigm Jesus offers, like his teaching, is steeped in agrarian life.

This should not surprise us. Jesus was a country boy. He was considered a redneck from the backwoods of Nazareth. 

Jesus fills his teachings to the brim with agrarian metaphors. Jesus teaches using parables, which are moral stories, storytelling itself an agrarian-rich method. The writers of the gospels are also steeped in the agrarian life. Look at the common images used in the gospels:

-        Shepherds – they visit Jesus as a baby. John the Baptist refers to Jesus as the lamb of God. Jesus himself says, "I am the Good Shepherd" in John 10. And of course, the shepherds that visited Jesus, John the Baptist, and Jesus would have known the always renowned 23^rd Psalm – "The Lord is my shepherd." So we have shepherds visiting the lamb of the shepherd, a lamb who later calls himself the Good Shepherd. Maybe they even sang “Mary had a little lamb” and “Ba-ba black sheep.”

-        Carpenters – Joseph, Jesus’ father was a carpenter. Jesus himself was a carpenter before becoming an itinerant wandering rabbi. Carpenters in those days were also masons, the two trades were not separate like they are now. These are good rural-based jobs, aren’t they? Farm school students are probably learning to do a little bit of these themselves.

-        Fishermen – many of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen. Jesus himself used the metaphor to refer to himself – the fisher of people. Jesus grew up around the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea was just miles away. So fishermen, harvesters of the water, were everywhere. Fish was a staple of the diet there in the Mediterranean.

-        Farmers – Jesus knew farmers, knew about farming, and maybe even did some of it himself. It was hard to avoid in those days. This evident by the number of farm-based metaphors he uses. The mustard seed parable is an example of this.

 Agrarian teacher Jesus says, “Less is more.” Those three words pretty much sum up the meaning of the parable and the point of Jesus’ teaching.

3.) Mustard seed farming shows why less is indeed more.

To understand why, we must understand a little more about the mustard seed itself. In Jesus’ Ancient Palestinian context, the mustard seed, the black mustard seed, represents small things. Sort of how we use the word “peanut.” As in, "the job was horrible, it paid 'mustard seeds... or peanuts.'" 

So mustard seed, in Jesus’ society, is basically a one-word proverb representing “something very small and unassuming.”

The mustard seed in Ancient Palestine was the tiniest of food seeds. It was a herb that functioned as a tree and grew like a weed. Plant the mustard seed today and see it sprout tomorrow, expanding beyond the garden and becoming a field, and then growing to the size of a small tree. The plant itself could be used as an herb-seasoning and its leaves as food – mustard greens. More than just that, the tall shrub-like plant served more than just the human system, it served the whole ecosystem. Birds used it for resting and perching.

In other words, the mustard seed is a portrait of a sustainable community based on the truth that less is more.

Imagine yourself as someone looking to become a sustainable farmer in Ancient Palestine. The mustard seed would be a great way to start. It is tiny so cheap and easy to transport. It is inexpensive as well. It is simple to plant, and it starts yielding sprouts the very next day. It spreads without trying, and a garden becomes a field without much trying. You can go from a gardener to a small family farmer without much effort. The plant serves dual purposes – herb-seasoning and leafy food. So very little wasted. Plus, you can have a mustard sandwich and mustard greens every day and be okay.

But what puts the least of seeds over the top to becoming the greatest of herbs is this – it’s field serves, give back to the wider ecosystem. The small tree-like shrub that is the mustard plant becomes a resting place birds, yes. But because it grows so prodigiously, it takes in carbon at a very efficient pace.

The principle Jesus teaches and the mustard seed points to is this: focusing on the small and simple things in life leads to sustenance and sustainability. This is true for both we as individuals and for we as a community.

Remember the story of Mary and Martha. Martha was in the kitchen, keeping busy and trying to make things perfect. Mary was simply keeping Jesus and her brothers company, enjoying the gifts of friendship and the moments shared in relationship with others. Jesus points to Mary as the path to follow, knowing that what needs changing can only begin with the simple reality of meaningful relationships.

Remember Jesus saying, don’t worry about praying in public and trying to look big and important. Pray humbly, assumingly, in private in order to reconnect to yourself and to God.

Remember Jesus saying the measure of goodness in the eyes of God is how you care for the least, the vulnerable, the weak.

Remember the parable of the mustard seed and Jesus saying the measure of a good and sustainable commonwealth is how it approaches the least of things - what it does with the the most vulnerable and unassuming crop, or the most vulnerable land, or the most vulnerable communities or neighborhoods.

If society wants to transform itself, it will not happen by beginning with saffron but with mustard, not with silk but with wool; transformation will not happen at the top but at the bottom, not with the rich but with the poor, not with the most but with the least, not with the first but with the last, not with the found but with the lost.

And may we from this agrarian hamlet thick with trees, rock walls, and wind be thick with faith and compassion. May we be mustard seeds of wisdom and love. Unassuming and small as we may be, may the seeds of wisdom and love become a field that sustains us and the earth we are a part of. In so doing, may we begin to bring the change that transforms, the change from a kingdom of more is more and consumption is good to a commonwealth of less is more and conservation is good and growing. And may that change begin with us.