The Mustard Seed

Mark 6
6 He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary[a] and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense[b] at him. 4 Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown and among their own kin and in their own house.” 5 And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief.
Then he went about among the villages teaching. 7 He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff: no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, 9 but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. 10 He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11 If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. 13 They cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Sermon Text: Mark 4:30-34
30 He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 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.”

Hi everyone! How I have missed you! As many of you know, this is my first week back after a 4 week sabbatical. And I’ve visited some exciting places- Santa Barbara, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite…but now I’m glad to be back home. And together we are looking at the parable of the mustard seed together. The parable of the mustard seed actually appears in Matthew, Mark and Luke’s Gospel writings with just minor differences.
There are a variety of parables in the Bible. Jared C. Wilson in his book, The Story Telling God writes, “Robert Stein says it’s nearly impossible to define parable. That Jesus tells a variety of parables- some involving characters and others not, some offering positive examples and others negative, some sounding more like proverbs-or similes than stories with a narrative- makes it somewhat difficult to nail down precisely what a parable is. One common definition is that a parable is ‘an earthly story with heavenly meaning’…”
We heard two passages today- one about the disciples being sent out and the amazing work they did. And we heard this parable- our sermon topic. But in the Bible these passages are actually told in reverse. Jesus tells them this parable and then a little bit later sends them out- and I think this parable helped them have that faith to go out and do the work.
Jesus used things that his disciples would have regularly interacted with to teach them about the kingdom of God. And at that time mustard seeds were the smallest seed they would regularly interact with. I have a sister who is 2 years younger than me and who serves in the Coast Guard. Right now they are stationed up by Altadena. Growing up my sister and I used to exchange crosses every few years. And she had this one that was clear with sterling silver all around the edges and in the middle was probably some sort of plastic and in the very middle of that- in the heart of the cross was a little yellow mustard seed- a constant reminder of faith and Christ’s teachings. But to be honest beyond that cross I never really interacted with mustard seeds. It’s not something that is native to California. So, I was thinking about if Jesus were telling us Californians this parable, what might he use? And giant sequoia trees came to mind. I got to see some giant sequoia trees while in Yosemite, two weeks ago.
I actually used to live and work right outside of seminary. The year before Seminary I worked at a Presbyterian Camp right outside of Yosemite in fact you can just see Half-Dome from the dining hall. It’s called Calvin Crest. And most people assume it’s named after John Calvin…because you know- we are Presbyterians…but actually the camp is named Calvin Crest because they bought the land from a man named Calvin. And right at the edge of Calvin Crest there was this great 1-mile loop hike near the camp that was all giant sequoias. And it was just magical. These giant trees- thousands of years old. Some as tall as a 20-story building, and we could get 30 high schoolers to surround the giant base of one of these trees and stretch out their hands and they could just barely reach each other’s hands. And you would expect something so big to have big pinecones but they don’t they have these really small pinecones, and in those small pinecones are even smaller seeds. And interestingly enough, those seeds need small forest fires to open up the pinecones in order to release the seeds- which to me sounds like a wonderful example of the Holy Spirit.
And the seeds are so small that 90,000 seeds equal 1 pound. And a tree can produce 60 million seeds in it’s life time but only 3 or 4 of those seeds will grow into a 100 year old tree.
So, I suspect that if Jesus came and visited us Californians he would say, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a seed of the giant sequoias, which is such a small seed but grows one of the largest trees in the world, that lives thousands of years and reaches up to the heavens, making a home for small creatures of the grounds and birds in the air.”
So, I thought today we would explore at 3 mustard seed or “sequoia seed” stories.
Story 1: Takes us back 2,000 years to a ragtag little gang of Jewish men and women. Their leader was born in a barn of all places -behind an inn to an unwed teenager, who then became a refuge when they ran off to Egypt when he was just a toddler. He grew up and made some friends, 12 of them actually. They weren’t exactly the dream team according to the leaders at the time, there was a tax collector, smelly fishy men, a liar…and they did things like hangout with prostitutes and outcasts. Quite the scandal. After 3 years of wondering around teaching on boats, and in houses, in synagogues, and outdoors-telling stories and parables…the leaders had enough of the trouble he was making and murdered him in a public execution. They were pretty sure that was the last they would hear about this Jesus of Nazareth. They were wrong. The largest religion in the world bears his name. And we gather here today generations later to learn about and worship him.
Margaret Mead wrote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” I can’t think of a group that better embodies this than Christ’s small group of disciples.
Story 2:
The girl wasn’t even 50 pounds or 50 inches yet. Just a whisp of a 6-year-old. There were actually 3, 6-year old’s but we all remember this little girl specifically. That’s because 2 of her kids were going to be going to a school together, but Ruby Bridges she was going by herself. And the images of 4 white tall adult men guarding a small black 6-year-old girl in a 1950’s dress struck a chord with people- grown men having to protect this child from adults screaming at her and threatening her. It even inspired a powerful painting by Norman Rockwell. 50 plus years later, she shared about her experience- that her parents only agreed after praying about it, and when she had to go to the school without her parents, her mother told her, “Remember, if you get afraid, say your prayers. You can pray to God anytime, anywhere. He will always hear you.”… One day, Mrs. Henry her teacher was watching her enter from the window and she saw what looked like, Ruby talking to angry mob and she was confused because she had never seen the child do that before. And she said to Ruby, “I saw your lips moving but I couldn’t make out what you were saying to those people.”
6-year-old Ruby Bridges replied, “I wasn’t talking to them. I was praying for them…. Please be with me, I’d asked God, and please be with those people too. Forgive them because they don’t know what they’re doing.
This small mustard seed of child helped change the tide of integration in America. Faith got her through it.

Mustard Seed Story 3:
In 1949, a very small group of parents were concerned about a lack of Christian Education group of parents were concerned about a lack of Christian Education for their children. By October, blessed by the Presbytery of Los Angeles. The parents organized a Sunday School but struggled to find a place to meet. They started meeting in vacant barns, in patios under trees, and in discarded homes.
On February 26th, 1950 The Shadow Hills Presbyterian Church was officially organized by the Presbytery with Rev. James Baird. On Palm Sunday, April 2nd 1950 twenty-five children were baptized and on April 9th Easter Services were conducted on Pastor Dennis’ lawn.
In the spring of 1951, a building program was started and present site was purchased. The Rose Chapel was donated by the Burbank Presbyterian Church. In November, the Women’s Organization and Chapel Choir were organized. In October 1952, the Nursery School was started.
Match 1953, The Fellowship Hall (now the Sanctuary) and the kitchen were dedicated. In January 12, 1954, the Church was a fully fledged church and no longer a mission Church of Los Angeles Presbytery. The Church entered into a period of relocating refugees and in November 1956, 12 displaced refugees were sponsored.
Mary Louise Bowden, a missionary in India was sponsored in 1958. In 1965, was “The Year of the New Neighbor.” We stepped up our Evangelism and spread the word throughout the Community with renewed vigor, especially to recent arrivals. In 1966 the Sportsman service was inaugurated for those who wanted to worship before the day’s pleasures. By 8:00am the yard was filled with horses, boats, and cars with surfboards. In the Sanctuary there were boots and spurs, swimming trunks, and yachting caps.
In the early 70s, huge Earthquake hit the area and this brought out true Christian concern. People were scurrying about helping their neighbors. Tending to the homeless, providing food, shelter and equipment. At the Sunday service after the earthquake, in the middle of the service there was creaks, groans, and shaking due to an aftershock!
During 1977 our church assumed a leadership role in establishing the Sunland Tujunga Temporary Aid Center. Many remember 1976 when under the direction of B.J. Schramm we produced a musical entitled, “What Do You Do On A Rainy Day In An Ark.”
In June of 1980, Rev. Craig Hall became the Pastor. Pastor Janet served as Pastor from April 1996-December 2012. Pastor Janet implemented Mission Possible and her ministry is remembered fondly for the many fellowship activities and events. The Church also began the Bailey’s Center Food site as part of our mission ministry. Following Janet’s departure Rev. Rebecca Prichard served as Interim from April 2013-December 2014.
Starting in the late 90’s membership numbers slowly fell and the age of its members was rising. With declining membership it became more difficult to begin and sustain programs of the Church. The Church decided to participate in the New Beginnings Program. The New Beginnings evaluation program in 2013-2014 helped us understand how inward facing we had become. The Church made a commitment to be more outward facing. We recognized that we had a heart for the working poor.
In April 2015, I got to join you all. The Church has continued to expand its commitment to be a Church for the Community. In February 2016 we established a community garden on Church property with a local Girl Scout troop and Tierra del Sol. We have also expanded our relationships with Tierra del Sol (a program for adults with special needs) and Ahead with Horses (an equestrian therapy program for children with special needs). We are looking forward to the ways that God will use us. A small mustard seed of people, in love with G-d and love with our community. What exciting ways will we grow this year?