[Jesus] put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” (NRSVUE)

These two verses make up one of Jesus’ “parables of the kingdom.” I love this idea of different kinds of birds flocking to a tree, weaving nests, settling in, making their homes in the sturdy branches. (I was slightly mesmerized by this video of a robin making their nest.)

It is a lovely image indeed; and it is not an image that Jesus makes up. He pulls this image straight out of the Jewish scriptures:

In the book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a huge tree: “The animals of the field found shade under it, / the birds of the air nested in its branches, / and from it all living beings were fed.” (Daniel 4:12)

In Ezekiel, God speaks of planting a tree: “Under it every kind of bird will live; / in the shade of its branches will nest / winged creatures of every kind.” (Ezekiel 17:23)

And God compares the nation of Assyria to a cedar of Lebanon in which “[a]ll the birds of the air / made their nests.” (Ezekiel 31:6)

The use of this metaphor in Hebrew scripture makes clear that the tree is a home for all kinds of birds; it offers a welcome to all people—not just the privileged, not just the “chosen.”

It is a beautiful image: this tree full of colorful nesting birds.

Of course, that is not quite the metaphor Jesus gives us. The nests, yes. The birds, yes. But the mighty, tall, majestic tree—not so much. Jesus’ parable turns the cedar of Lebanon into a scraggly, unwieldy shrub.

The trees in the Hebrew scripture passages represent the great nations of the world: Babylon, Assyria, Israel. Jesus is, of course, speaking about a different kingdom—the “kingdom of heaven.” If the kingdoms of Babylon and Assyria and Israel are mighty cedars, we would expect the kingdom of heaven to be something even greater, even grander—some kind of cosmic super tree. But instead, Jesus gives us a mustard plant.

I imagine Jesus’ listeners are confused. Actually, they’re probably confused from the point where Jesus says, “a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field.” Because no farmer in their right mind would plant a mustard seed on purpose. They were a nuisance. A weed. Farmers would pick them, not plant them.

How is this pesky mustard seed that grows into a scraggly nuisance bush at all like the kingdom of heaven? What is that about?

I’m sure it’s about a lot of things. Meaningful things like communicating to the people in the crowd—people often considered insignificant and even bothersome—that they are deeply valued in the kingdom. Less significant things like trying to wake people up and provide a little comic relief on a warm afternoon. Jesus used this image at that time for those people for some very specific reasons.

And what does this image have to say to us now? How does the mustard plant relate to our lives, to our situation?

The more I have thought about it, the more I love this as an image for the church: a mustard plant. It grows where it is. It does not grow with a clear direction and a set plan, but reaches out and spreads out and creates spaces for all kinds of people to come and nest—and this broad growth allows for people to be on an equal level—not some way up high and others down low, but everyone in the mess together.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in her field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

May it be so. Amen.