February 10th, 2013
“The Parable of the Mustard Seed”
Summary: In the Church by all means, let us take pride in our own branch; and
by all means let us frown upon unconditional uniformity; but amidst the
differences let us remember the Christ who unites us, the tree in whom all the
branches are stemmed and from whom all draw their life.
~
The venerable Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘stained glass’ as
transparent coloured glass, formed into decorative mosaics, used in windows (esp.
of churches). First Presbyterian Church, as we can see for ourselves is blessed
with stunning stained glasses that adorn the walls of this sanctuary. And we are
proud of them; especially the ‘Centennial Tribute’ window that sits high atop the
back of our sanctuary, the western wall!
Many of you also know that a brief literature sits atop the table in the
narthex that explains the historical background of our ‘Centennial Tribute’ stained
glass fixture. According to the pamphlet, this window was placed in favour of
those who first came to this prairie land to establish their homes, their schools,
and their church. As befitting such a tribute, our Lord Jesus Christ is centered in
the stained glass in the most colourful and glorious way.
All about the Christ are such people of diverse backgrounds and culture who
bow down before Him to sing praises to His name. The reason for this, according
to the pamphlet, is that the teaching of the Church is not only for those who believe,
but for those who have never heard of the love of our Lord Jesus. In short, this
stained glass was intended to convey the message that the Church is a family of
God.
What a wonderful tribute! Kudos to the artist who conceptualized the
‘Centennial Tribute’!
Now, I wasn’t around when the original artist was commissioned to create
this stained glass; but I suspect he/she was shared ideas to think about in
conceptualizing this great window.
1
Speaking of churches commissioning artists to create stained glass, there is a
well-known story that I have been privy to read about.1 Once a new church was
being built; one of the key features was to be a stained-glass window. The
construction committee hired a great artist to paint the picture from which the
window would be made.
After much endeavor, the artist finished his creation. He went to bed and
fell asleep but in the night he seemed to hear a noise in his studio. He went to his
studio to investigate; to his surprise, he found a total stranger with a brush and a
palette in his hands working at this picture. ‘Stop,’ cried the artist! ‘You’ll ruin
my picture.’
‘You practically ruined my picture already,’ said the stranger. ‘How is that’
asked the artist.
‘Well,’ said the stranger, ‘you have many colours on your palette but you
have used only one for the faces of the children. Who told you that in heaven there
were only children whose faces were white?’
‘No one,’ said the artist. ‘I just thought of it that way.’
‘Look!’ said the stranger. ‘I will paint their faces in every colour and shade
of every race. They are all there, for they have all answered my call.’
‘Your call?’ said the artist. ‘Who are you?’
The stranger smiled. ‘Once long ago I said, “Let the little children come to
me and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven
belongs.” And I am still saying it.’ Then the stranger disappeared.
To the artist, the picture now looked so much more wonderful now with its
children with faces of every shade and colour as well as white.
When the committee arrived in the morning, they commented, ‘Why, it’s
God’s family at home!’
1
William Barclay, The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark.
2
The Church is a family of God; the Church began in ancient Palestine, small
as the mustard seed. As we speak, that seed has grown into a tree with much space
for others to come and rest.
For those who first heard this parable, both the mustard seed and the tree, to
which this seed would eventually become, were familiar images. The ‘tree’, in
particular, was one of the commonest ways to describe a great empire, and is
described as so in many of the Old Testament writings. We have just read in
Daniel (4:10, 21) that the nations within the empire are like birds finding shelter
within the shadow of its branches.
Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God as the great empire, a great tree with
many branches in which many people shall find rest.
The Church, as the body of Christ, is called to be just that, a great empire in
which all nations meet - people from all over the world coming to worship God
and find rest in Him.
It is, or isn’t, amazing that the pamphlet for our ‘Centennial Tribute’ stained
glass says, all about the Christ are such people who bow down before Him to sing
praises to His name.
Few years ago, a ‘Christian Unity Service’ was held right here in this
sanctuary. We had in attendance our brothers and sisters from many
denominations right across the City of Brandon. While our fabulous choir sang
from the loft, our service was flavoured with the band from the Calvary Temple.
And to spice up the event even further, Pastor Mike Davis from the Bethel Temple,
Pentecost church delivered the message in the style that he is known for, dynamic!
As those in attendance swayed with eyes closed, hands in the air and clapping,
some, like our dear Margaret Edgar (God bless her soul) looked around in joyous
bewilderment! Albeit for that one evening, many in the Kingdom of God had
come to worship God together and to find rest. You really can’t find a diverse
group of people worshiping God in one place as such gatherings.
It did not and does not matter how many branches, or denominations, there
are in the Church, so long as they are all stemmed in Christ, as we were that
evening. So often people insist that their way is the only way and their
3
denomination is the only true Church, and thus the way to salvation! They are but
many branches of the same tree rooted in Christ. For a moment, at least, it seemed
that we had forgotten our differences which divide us at times, and basked in the
grace of our Master who united us.
Diversity is not the exclusive property of ‘the Christian Unity Service’ in
Brandon. I assure you of that. For at any given Sunday worship, and other
gatherings that take place in this sanctuary, diversity is a matter of given. Though
we identify ourselves as Presbyterians, you’d be surprised how diverse we are:
some find God more readily in speech, some in music, some in silence, some in the
art of cooking…etc.
I hope you can understand as to why I am often surprised to hear others
describe Presbyterians as being stiff, inflexible group of puritans – not that I’m
implying we’re sinful for anything. We really are not about exclusivity, or should
be in our ‘worship,’ ‘fellowship,’ and ‘outreach.’
If anyone is fearful about being different, perhaps this story from the Old
Testament might be helpful. When “the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new
cart with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark. David and all the
house of Israel were dancing before the LORD with all their might, with songs and
lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals (2 Samuel 6:4-5).” It
was an odd behavior coming from the behavior and without universal approval
amongst those watching.
There is nothing wrong in a person thinking of himself/herself as a member
of a congregation, this or otherwise and being proud of it, proud and loving the
particulars of Presbyterianism and the particulars of this tradition. But beyond this
congregation and beyond this branch of the Church, we must remember that we are
each a member of the Church of Christ.
This seems to obvious, doesn’t it? Today’s parable is a poignant reminder
of that unity in Christ which binds us together. And yet, at any given moment, we
stand to forget that it is Christ who unites us, the tree in whom all the branches are
stemmed and from whom all draw their life.
May the name of our Lord Jesus be glorified. Amen.
4
5