We have another parable before us today!
Literally, the word – “parable” means “riddle.” We know that Jesus often taught using parables. As a matter of fact the scriptures say, that he didn’t teach them without using parables.
Parables leave the listener with the task or responsibility of “figuring out” – just what the parable itself – means.
The onus is on us. Not the teacher!
Jesus actually told over forty parables during his ministry and he only explained one or two of them to his disciples that we know of… So that left the disciples with a whole-lot-of-figuring –out-to-do!
So here we are – some 2,000 years later still thinking about and talking about his “various parables” and there various or possible meanings…
The German theologian – Helmut Thielke said we cannot comprehend the meaning behind the parables until we see ourselves in them.
So we are the snotty son or daughter who takes our inheritance and runs away and squanders our parents’ good fortune.
We are the Levite who passes by the beaten man laying on the other side of the road and we leave him for dead.
We are the wise man who builds our house on solid rock…or, we are the foolish man who builds our house upon the-ever-shifting-sands.
Sometimes it is easy to see ourselves in the parables and sometimes, not so much!
Remember, parables are riddles to be figured out.
So, try this one on – for size, for fun!
“What is stronger than God, more evil than the devil, poor people have it, rich people do not need it and – if you eat it, you will surely die?” (Say it again!)
With what can we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable or riddle can we use for it?
There are tons of answers or explanations for the parables. I do not believe any answer is wrong or incorrect. It is, after all, your take on the riddle. It is your personal understanding.
Agronomy is the science and the technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, fiber, and land reclamation. Modern agronomy has shown that the mustard seed is not the smallest of all seeds. In fact, the orchid seed is as small as a speck of dust.
So size is not the point!
The point must be elsewhere.
What we know is that the Kingdom of God comes as a small seed…and that somehow…it grows in mysterious ways.
Ancient people knew nothing about the power that transformed a seed into a plant, or a shoot into a head of grain.
They had no time lapse photography. For them it was all miraculous.
The farmer would sow seeds and then wait. He would hope. He would pray. But wait he did. The rains would come.
The farmer would get up night and day – and watch the growth with amazement. When the harvest time came, he would reap what was sown.
The farmer would then give thanks to the Almighty who nurtured and grew his crop. It was God who caused the growth. It was God who sent the much needed rain. Or better yet, it was the spirit of God…at work in the world.
We sow and hopefully the seed finds a home for germination.
We stand back and wait. We hope. We pray. We trust in God.
There are tons of variables. Wind, sun, drought, rain, weeds, seed eating predators, rocks and clay, disease and blight and animals who will feed off of the tender sprouting plants…
It is a miracle that anything ever grows.
It is hard sometimes for us to understand that our task is to plant the seed…and then, sit back and wait.
We want what we want-when we want it. We do not like to wait. Patience is not necessarily “our virtue.” We want results. We want success in all of our endeavors. We worry about the bottom line. We are uncomfortable with things that we cannot control. We want to control everything and everyone!
Sometimes, the best that you can do is wait – and let God do his thing…and hope and pray and be faithful.