STEP ONE: BREATHE

Take a deep, cleansing breath. Allow the air to fill your lungs and expand your body. Exhale and empty yourself into the room. Repeat three times - once for the one who Created you, once for the Incarnate One who walks beside you, and once for the Spirit whose life fills your being.

STEP TWO: DWELL IN WORD

“[Jesus] 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.”
”

— Mark 4: 30–-32

Seeds

Consider the small, insignificant nature of a tiny mustard seed. At first glance, it isn’t much of anything—a speck, the tiniest of all seeds. If you didn’t know otherwise, you would be hard-pressed to guess that it would amount to much of anything.

Big seeds seem to produce big things. At least that is the mathematics that we usually employ to weigh and judge things. Go big or go home. Size matters. The bigger you are, the louder your voice, the larger your checkbook, the more likely you are to make friends and influence others.

Jesus challenges these ideas. When you think about God’s Kingdom, you don’t have to think big. In fact, you are closer to the reality when you start small. A tiny mustard seed is a good illustration. Over time, by the grace of God, the tiny seed is transformed into something that produces shelter and shade for vulnerable creatures. It becomes useful and grand.

This should encourage us to take care in our judgments. Do not discard the small things. Do not push away the little things. If you do, you run the risk of thwarting potential shelter and shade. What is more, you run the risk of missing the very Kingdom of God.

Why is this lesson important to Christians?

Christians are as susceptible as anyone to the allure of big and shiny things. We buy into the fallacy that success and grandeur are prerequisites for our time and energy. We overlook, as quickly as anybody, the small things and people in life—sometimes judging them not worth our effort.

If a church is not growing, it must not be doing anything significant. If a person is low on the social or financial totem pole, he or she must not be trying hard enough. The Prosperity Gospel has so saturated our culture that we might even uncritically include that person n our judgmental thoughts that link success with God’s favor. Those who are small in success are that way because they are too small in the eyes of God to be noticed, loved, and blessed.

Take care—consider the mustard seed. Even the smallest of all seeds has the potential of growing and offering needed shelter and shade. Don’t buy into the lie that is so popular and convenient because it assuages the guilt of those who don’t want to share what they have with those in need.

You see, even the tiny mustard seed knows the truth about God’s Kingdom. By the grace of God, even small things grow and participate in God’s radical hospitality. We grow so that we can offer shelter and shade to those who are vulnerable.

Instead of being disregarded, God has favor on the lowly, the small, and the ones who are judged to be “unworthy.” That is the point of most of the parables that Jesus taught. Our belonging to God’s life has the implication of discipleship built within it. Disciples care and share the steadfast love of God with others. As a group, we are not about amassing fame and fortune for ourselves. Instead, we are about serving the ones who struggle.

In this chapter, we will be looking at ordinary examples of the potential of God’s Kingdom. From stories about dandelions to zucchini and rhubarb, I invite you to consider that we have cause to hope that the future might be different. We need not be trapped forever by our past mistakes or the muck of the present. God is able to bring new, unexpected, and unimaginable life to the places that otherwise appear to be dried up and dead. God’s action is mysterious and hidden right in front of our eyes. Christian faith longs for God’s coming and the peace, justice, and transformation that it brings.

STEP THREE: PRAY

Gracious God,

sometimes I feel small and insignificant. No matter what I seem to do or how hard I try, I fall short of being noticed by others. I become discouraged and overwhelmed. Grant me the wisdom of the mustard seed. Allow me to recognize your presence in my smallness. Direct my attention toward your grace and love so that I might participate in what you are doing in my life.

Through Jesus Christ, amen.