Given by Rev. Madison Shockley June 13, 2021
Our reading talked about Jesus teaching the crowd with a sermon of parables. Jesus always had a revolutionary message in his parables. He taught against the status quo. One of these parables was about the mustard seed, a small seed that grows into a large plant. Parables are easier to remember, use common images that people can relate to, and the meaning of the parable relies greatly on the context in which it is spoken or read. This enables the parables to have meaning far beyond its first telling. We understand the contrast between smallness and greatness. People who suffer need to hear a message of change and of hope. Jesus had a message about the empire of God. He talked about what it meant to be a citizen in the empire of God that welcomed everyone. The parable’s message is that you may see something small and insignificant but God sees something special and strong. What you see is not what you get. The mustard plant shelters the birds. The birds were common and numerous like the people Jesus was speaking to but God was aware of each bird and each person. Each were important. Pilgrim Church is also like a mustard seed. We may be small but we are powerful. We are more than what people see.
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