Jesus did not use concise, dictionary proof explanations about the workings of God (code word in the Gospels: the Kingdom of God). He used this code word to lay out what life could look like when human beings lived and worked in harmony with God. The Kingdom of God is when women and men structure their lives to make real in their lives what God wants for us.
When he used parables (i.e., story telling) to make his point he always opened it up to our imagination. With each example, you and I must ask: and what does this open us to see the working of God among us?
This Sunday we have the parable of the mustard seed (Mk. 4, 30-32). Now, all the farmers knew that this was a weed that began from the tiniest of seeds but grows into the shrub that would be about the height of a grown man. Its branches were large enough that the birds could make their nests within its branches.
The play on images is the tiny seed as opposed to the huge bush! From an impossible beginning this shrub grows very large. You can see why this is such a wonderful example for the workings of God.
But now, ask what kind of birds will come to rest on the branches of this mustard bush.
One of the first birds that would land on the branch would be the man or woman struggling with drug or alcohol addiction. They know they need the power that only God can give them to work through each day and reject any craving for another fix. This bird needs the power that only God can give to stay clean and lead a drug-free life.
A second bird that would land on the branches is the woman or man who knows they are different from the majority who hold power in society. They are a minority with different skin color, new-comers from a poor country in the South, a person with minimal training that can only find entry level jobs and the woman or man trying to survive with the limitations that old age brings.
A third bird that would fly to the branches would be the person who has served time in jail. When a prisoner is discharged into society they need to have a social structure, such as a place to live, dependable contacts and a job to support themselves. If they do not have a support system to become reintegrated into society they will very quickly slip back into crime and the cycle of incarceration starts all over again.
Now, it is your turn. Use your imagination and bring other birds that would rest in the branches of the mustard tree (i.e. the working of God among us). How many of your family relations will be one of those birds that will land on the branches? Or some of your co-workers?
Use your imagination to work this parable. You will gain some very powerful insights into the teachings of Jesus.
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