Grace be with you, and peace from God our father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Dear congregation,

trees are wonderful. Have you ever taken the time to look at one? I don’t mean looking at a tree like everyday. I mean really looked at it. Closely. Walking up to one. Seeing the bark. Its structure. Looking down. Where the stem grows out of the earth. Big, thick upper ends of roots. Who knows how deep they reach? - If you have trouble to imagine one think of one of the big trees in our yard outside the nave. - Looking up. A stem high as if it reached the sky. And there, far up, the branches. The grow out of the stem. Thick, firm, they reach out. They end up in smaller twigs. Which are - during the warmer time of the year - full, overloaded with leaves. Small green leaves, thousands of them. They throw shadow at you. How small are we in comparison to a big old tree?

A tree. Today’s gospel talks about trees. That grow out of seeds. Mustard seeds. I am sure you, as well, know the parable very well. The parable of the mustard seed. It is in all three synoptic gospels and the gospel of Thomas. The mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up.

Jesus talks about the kingdom of God. My association right away was the church. The church which grows like a tree that was sown long ago. Of course, Jesus is that mustard seed. In another parable we hear that the grain must die to bring new life. That is why we are here. The growing tree of the church of God.

I will leave you in a few days. I am sure you’ll understand that the past days and weeks have been a time to look back. Look back at a full year in which I was Guest Pastor at your church. And look at something. The congregation of Christ the King Lutheran Church. A church that is itself a tree. When I look at it I see a great tree. It is very rich, has many branches and hundreds of lively leaves.

It stands quite in the middle of a big garden which is not very orderly. It is surrounded by all kinds of other plants, some more, some less pretty. If you look around the third floor or the bell tower you know what I mean. This tree stands there as if it had always been there, full of self-esteem. It, sure enough, has not. It is only a little older than sixty years. When you look at it you wouldn’t think that. It looks like an old tree. Maybe because of this relatively young age it is still very agile. In contrast to some much older church trees elsewhere in the area, the country, or the world.

Some other trees in the garden are much bigger. They also claim to be coming out of that one mustard seed. Sometimes it is difficult to say who of them has a right to say that. Probably most of them are. Some are bigger, but this tree has something that it does not need to be afraid.

I think this has to do with its twigs. Many of the twigs are persons who are very strong. They know what it means to be part of a big tree. They support it the way twigs do. They are good stewards of a tree. To hold on to the leaves or let go of them throughout the church tree year. They live the life cycle of this year. They know they have to cooperate with another and with the gardeners. Of which there are several: A senior gardener, associate gardeners - and a guest gardener. The twigs and gardeners know that they together keep the tree growing.

Looking at a church I lived with - and I served - for almost a year, I am happy that I got to know this great tree. I could be a part of it. And learn. About the way things are done about this tree - and learn about myself. I thank you for that.

All this out of the one mustard seed. Let’s hear the words again: yet when it - the mustard seed - is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs. Shrubs. No tree. What was it about shrubs? I can tell you now that I mixed up the versions of this parable. You, too? In our gospel text today, there is no word about a tree out of the mustard seed. That is in the gospel of Luke. And Matthew. Mark only talks about large branches. But he does not mention a tree. And yet, the weird thing is: There is no such thing as a mustard tree. Have you lived in the country? I did until I came here. I saw fields of mustard which is in Germany used as a natural fertilizer. It is grown after the summer harvest, in the fall - and as it is ripe it is ploughed in. Mustard actually is a crop. It is no tree nor does it grow any branches. When I read about this while preparing this sermon I was stunned. I had heard about the mustard tree as a child. I never questioned it.

Mustard weed. Jesus tells us something. Of course, he refers back to the words of Ezekiel which we heard today. But of course, we can be sure that he also knew that there are no mustard trees. The parable is present in the synoptic gospels and the gospel of Thomas; there is reason to be sure that Jesus in fact did speak about this. Jesus wants to tell us something. As Mark says: as they were able to hear it. We have to decipher the story. According to Mark, Jesus does not reveal the sense of his parables easily.

The kingdom of God does not come as a tree. Which is proud, growing high up into the sky. This picture was used by the Roman Empire. The Caesars liked to compare their empire with a tree. So, Jesus refers to that, as well. He tells his listeners, who knew about that, in two parables, that the kingdom of God is different. Someone scatters seed on the ground, and it sprouts and grows. He does not know how. It grows as weed, as shrub. It grows as underbrush. In fact, under the trees. It spreads out on the ground. It is not high, but can reach out. And it bears fruit. Mustard seeds. Jesus gives us something to think about. Think about the trees in our world. Who are they?

What about the Christ the King tree? Maybe my picture is not so good. Let’s compare the church to a shrub. In which, as well, birds can rest. Which, as well, casts a shadow. You might think about Christ the King Church as a bush of mustard as I did about a tree. And not forget that we here are one bush in the garden of other plants. The parables put us into a new perspective. There are other mustard bushes or just tiny weeds. And many, many other plants. To which this bush stands in relation. One mustard bush quite in the middle of the big garden of Houston, of Texas, of the US and of the world.

All this out of the one mustard seed. If all goes well I will soon live with - and serve - another mustard plant. In another part of the world. I am looking forward to that. And I will miss this one. Let’s keep in touch. Goodbye to you. -

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Amen)

Copyright 2006, The Rev. Peter Stockmann