Pastor Hal Low
October 25, 2015

There is a wonderful poem by Joyce Kilmer:

I THINK that I shall never see  
A poem lovely as a tree.  
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest  
Against the sweet earth’s flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;  
A tree that may in summer wear  
A nest of robins in her hair;  
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;  
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,  
But only God can make a tree.

Only God can make a tree, indeed. In today’s gospel (Matthew 12:31-32) we encounter Jesus telling a very short parable that describes what the kingdom of God is like – like a tree, a tree that starts out life as the tiniest of seeds, and over time it grows, it matures, into a huge tree; branches spread out, reaching upwards, and in it the birds of the air make their homes.

Kilmer’s poem reflects that image – growing, living “intimately with the rain” and sharing of itself in giving home to the robins. The poem depicts the tree as always gazing up at God with arms uplifted in prayer, reminding me of Paul’s instruction to “pray without ceasing.” It is the life of the tree, it is its purpose, to gaze on God, to live intimately with the whole of creation, to offer of itself a home for those with no home, to give of its fruits to feed humans and animals, to provide shelter from the heat of the day.

And this image of a tree, connected and connecting, is an image Jesus used to describe the kingdom of God. Or as I have said before, the reign of God, because it’s not a place; the kingdom/reign is an action, a process – the reign of God is within so Luke tells us. In that sense we are the kingdom; we are the tree; we are the process and are in the process of being connected and connecting.

Through Christ we root ourself in the ground of God’s life, our tiny seed, our still small faith takes root in the ground of God’s life through Christ.  It is God’s great gift to us – this little seed of faith, for faith is a gift from God. And as it roots itself, it grows, and the more intimately it connects with its source, its grounding, the more it grows, and in time becomes a tree – strong and fixed and reaching out to all to offer hope, to offer shelter from the storm, to participate in the greater work of God.  That is the kingdom, the work of God we call redemption, the renewal of all things, all people, to be re-created into the perfect image of God in Jesus Christ.

Let’s look again at today’s gospel reading: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; (32) it is the smallest of all the seeds [each of us is exactly that, the tiniest of seeds; we are the seeds by which God builds the kingdom, in which God’s reign is manifest for the world], but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree [we all start as infants physically and also in the faith, but as we grow and mature we become a tree, and the strength of our trunk either becomes wide and strong enabling us by God’s grace to hold up others, or thin and weak and breaks under the slightest weight], so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”  If we are strong we gather others and serve as a haven, a shelter where it becomes possible, again by God’s grace, for others to grow. A tree full of singing birds, what a lovely sight, what a lovely sound.

And one tree plus another plus another becomes a forest – the forest of God, another way of saying the kingdom/reign of God – the trees of life.  Indeed we are, when we are open to God’s reign manifest in us.

In our second reading today (1 Peter 2:1-10) we heard that we are called to be – “living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood.”  Here we encounter another metaphor that is like the first metaphor of the mustard seed that becomes a tree. Like the tree, it is a living place of safety, nurturing growth. To be a holy priesthood sacrificing ourselves to make the house into a home.

And the church is a home, open to all. I’m not talking about the building in which the church gathers, but you the laity are the church, the home. Not just the ordained clergy but all the laity as well – all together called to be a “royal priesthood” – working together, sharing together, living together for the good of all, by and in the grace of God.

In our first reading (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12) we heard, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. (10) For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help…A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

You and me and the Holy Spirit together creating a cord, an unbreakable cord – a house – a forest.  All coming together by the power of God’s love, God’s grace.

All beginning from the tiniest of seeds – a mustard seed.