"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a Mustard Seed"
Today's Mass Readings
We can approach today’s readings from multiple perspectives – from that of Moses, from that of the people, from that of Aaron, and from the perspective of the Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed. Let us lay each of these out in brief. First, the people – we are left to marvel at the fickleness of the people. How is it possible that an entire people who had witnessed such mighty works on their behalf, abandon the great “I AM.” Why did they have to create a god at their own hands? Second, Moses – his grief at the people’s sin and his willingness to be himself sacrificed so that the Lord may spare his people is the characteristic of a great leader. He is willing to take upon himself the sin of his people. Later, Jesus would take upon this role upon himself. God spared Moses but not his own Son. Third, Aaron – his leadership lacked both in will and faith in God. Underlying all these perspectives is today’s gospel reading – the parable of the mustard seed. The parable, along with the first reading suggests that small decisions, either on behalf of God or against God, has huge implications.
Human beings have always toyed with the temptation of either becoming “like God” themselves (Genesis), or to create a God themselves (Tower of Babel and now the golden calf). This process continues even in the modern age. The Enlightenment movement that started after the French Revolution aimed at making human reason and potential the center of human civilization. It was a deliberate attempt to dethrone the biblical world view. Even today, human beings are tempted to tamper with human genetics and create predetermined human beings. Alas! Man has always tried to expel God from his garden.
What does it mean to be the mustard seed in this context? Let us look that the life of Jesus to answer that question. That one life was the one mustard seed. Human beings have been unable to comprehend the impact that his solitary life has had on human civilization. His message of love and forgiveness, his self-sacrifice, his selflessness and his compassion has captured the imagination of the whole world. Even today, Jesus makes all the differenence. Indeed, “The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.”
As disciples of Jesus, each of us has choices to make. In a world that is like the people of Israel, we can be either Moses or Aaron. We can be either Jesus or Pilate, John the Baptist or Herod. Either way, each life is like a mustard seed. The choices we make will determine whether we are on the side of the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of human creation.