Seminary Conclusions.

Weeds of faith.

Pentecost 3B
This is my sermon for:
Mark 4:26-34- Kingdom of God as a mustard seed.


Let us pray.
Holy Creator, you do extraordinary things with little resources, You make the small, mighty, you make the weak, strong. Bless our hearts and our minds to your service, so that we might be extraordinary through you and in your service. Amen.


After reading the Gospel for today, I got interested in mustard. I had always thought of it as a condiment, as an addition to sandwiches, burgers and deviled eggs. I never had really thought about what a mustard plant looked like, or where or how it grew.

I looked it up, and found out some pretty cool stuff.

There are several household uses for Mustard such as: a Food additive, muscle cramp reliever, clears congestion, aids in digestion, odor remover (skunk and smelly foods), can be used as a facial cleanser, household cleaner, muscle relaxer (good in soaking feet, or back aches). The leaves can be eaten, or used in marinating meats.

The mustard plant can grow to a height of eight feet tall. It’s a weedy looking plant, taking over gardens, and practically impossible to remove once it starts growing.

In Jewish law, mustard plants are unclean to keep in the garden.

So why does Jesus use this image of a mustard seed as a mighty plant? They aren’t even the smallest seeds around, although as you can see they are pretty tiny (indicated a jar full of mustard seeds).

This confusing image that is presented is to tell us about the Kingdom of God, so why then does it seem as if Jesus is exaggerating?

The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed? The Kingdom of God, that which we are to inherit, is like a small invading plant, that takes over whole gardens, and is basically seen in the farming community as a weed.


When I think of weeds, I think of things that are undesirable. Things that take away from the plants I’ve been intentional about. We try to take out the weeds, we try to separate them from what we desire.

When I think weeds, I think dandelions.

Dandelions are often one of the most hated weeds around. They poke up out of lawns all around the country. It seems as if there is never enough weed repellant to make dandelions disappear. They keep coming back. Ruining lawns we have worked hard to perfectly manicure.

It seems as if we struggle so much to get rid of them so that our situations are perfect that we become consumed by them. But what are the dandelions in your life?

Do we struggle to get rid of our racial identifiers, to be equal to others? Throughout the years people have attempted to assimilate into American “culture’ meanwhile losing their own culture.

It often seems that those things which make people unique, are hidden, so that they can appear as if they blend in. People try to hide their family situation, their background, even some of their physical attributes, or talents.

We as people try to appear perfect by society standards that we lose perspective. We look up to become great and tall like that of the cedar. We look up expecting God and Christ to come in a roaring thunderous way. We look up, expecting that perfection can only come dripping in Gold with trumpets blasting on high.

But what if we are looking in the wrong direction? What if instead of looking up for God, we should really be looking down? Looking low on the ground in the common weeds. In the dandelions and mustard plants.

Looking in the humble forms that God appears in our lives. Looking in the weeds for the unexpected. Looking in the scraggly plants that take over gardens, for the unexpected God coming in the form of man, to give up his life to save us all.

We are so busy looking up, that we miss the unexpected in the weeds. We miss the life giving power of the Gospel, invading our lives, taking over our garden like hearts, and not being able to be removed.

We as a society have been consumed by the bigger is better thought for a very long time. American society has adopted a strong consumerist attitude, using up all our resources to make sure we have the newest of things. Looking as if we are big and tall is the image we seek to portray, but what about those dandelions?

So let’s compare cedar trees to weeds for a moment. In the forest, you would get rid of a tree by chopping it down. The size of the tree would mean that it would take more time to remove it, but it can be removed so that it never grows again.

For anyone that has gardened before, or knows a little bit about it, you know that weeds are impossible to get rid of. They can be pulled out, sprayed with weed repellant, covered in wood chips and even mowed over, but they still find a way to come back. They grow in the most inhospitable of places, in the cracks of sidewalks, at the corners of foundations, in planted fields, in urban gardens, and in the wilderness. They grow where they are unwanted, and even despised.

Isn’t this exactly how we should view the kingdom of God?

Maybe this image of the weedy mustard seed is perfect to think about the Kingdom of God. Flourishing from a tiny seed, with little resources, and nothing can stop it. It can be neglected, left aside, unwanted, forgotten, but it will never stop growing. Isn’t the Gospel message exactly the same?

We hear about faith all throughout our lives, often we are busy and in tune with church when we are young, when we are encouraged to attend church by parents or mentors, and for some of us, it fades as we grow. People see the world around them, and think that this God they had grown to know through Sunday school, isn’t what they see around them. They are looking up for something mighty, something profound to come out of the sky, for a great presence. And miss the weeds at their feet. The weeds that pervade their daily lives, that exist in poor conditions, even though all else has left.

The Kingdom of God is of the weeds. It is of the unexpected, disregarded people, the broken and sinful people, the hurt and the weary. The kingdom of God is the pervading weed that is in all our lives, whether we see it creeping into our lives, taking over our gardens and sidewalks, or even if we try to get rid of it. That weed will always be there.

Jesus prepares us for the unexpected. We are the mustard seeds, the Kingdom of God together. We are the undesirable, unclean seed, tiny little seed that gets tossed aside by society standards. We flourish with little resources, and nothing can stop us.

We do not carry the word perfectly, but somehow it keeps flourishing through and in our lives. The message of Christ is in the world, and nothing can stop it.

I’m going to place this pot of mustard seed, out in the narthex, and as the seeds grow and flourish, I want you to watch. To watch for the unexpected. So that each time you see these weeds, or ones out on the street, you think about the Kingdom of God. Think about God being in the unexpected places, in the weeds. And know that you are part of the pervasive Kingdom of God that cannot be stopped, no matter if we are neglected, alone, mourning, scared, or looked down upon. We, as the mighty weeds of God’s kingdom, shall continue to grow and spread the message of God. Let us remember that although we may not have the best of resources, we might not have giant seeds, we have enough to flourish. Let us use our resources to spread the Gospel message, to share with others the invading and life giving power of God.

The cedar trees of the world may be cut down and removed, but the Kingdom of God cannot be cut down or ripped out or removed in any way! Thanks be to God! Amen.

Labels: faith, Looking low, mustard seed, sermon, small and mighty, weeds

posted by Dana @ 8:08 PM