Dear Friends,
Last Saturday Julia and I hosted a Confirmation preparation day for Tina and Ella whose baptism and confirmation will be taking place soon, on Sunday 11th October.
For the part of the day focused on Jesus’ teachings, I retold the Parable of the Mustard Seed in Godly Play style, with a golden box, a yellow-seed like piece of material, a cut-out tree shape and a picture of a man:
“The kingdom of God is like a man who took a mustard seed and planted it in a field; it grew and became a great tree, and the birds of the air came and made their nests in it.”
That’s it! So simple! But what does it mean? Godly Play invites us to ‘wonder’ about the possible answers. A few days ago I retold the parable with the Wednesday morning Communion congregation in place of a sermon. What did we make of it?
Some of us thought the ‘man’ was Jesus planting the ‘seed’ of faith in our lives, and the ‘birds’ were those we cared for. Others wondered if we were the ‘man’ planting the ‘seed’ of good works in the world, which grow up and help others to feel at home. I wondered if the ‘seed’ might be the original congregation of St Nic’s, and the ‘tree’ the church that has grown since, and the ‘birds’ those who currently nest here as they pass through life…
Who knows? The point of the parables is to invite listeners to think for themselves. Jesus’ attitude to preaching allowed great freedom in his listeners, and it also showed great confidence in their capacity to respond.
What might the parable of the mustard seed tell you about what ‘the Kingdom of God’ might be like, where it might be, and what your place might be in it?
Revd Dr Mark Laynesmith