I’ve been thinking a lot about the parable of the mustard seed. In my small group on Tuesday morning we’ve been looking at the parables, trying to approach them in a fresh and childlike way, full of wondering and simplicity. It’s harder than you might imagine setting aside pre-conceived ideas about these very short stories that Jesus told. I’ve heard them so many times over the years that they barely penetrate my curiosity anymore. But in taking another look at them I’ve discovered they are much like a pebble you pick up on the beach. They slip easily into your pocket and as you finger them over the course of a day, a week, the nuances start to appear.
In the case of the mustard seed story, I have revisited one of the most troubling aspects of this parable. Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is like the mustard seed, tiniest of all seeds, which grows into a tree in which the birds of the air take shelter. What is he talking about? We have mustard growing alongside the roadways here and it does NOT turn into a tree, ever. Hardly any bird is small enough to perch on its flimsy branches, let alone build its nest there. I began to wonder about whether they have some type of Mustard Tree in Israel that I just never heard of. Thanks to modern technology, answers to these kinds of questions are only a few clicks away. But no, they have the same mustard that we have. It sprouts up in the spring, grows into a small bush and then dies off in the winter. Not really anything like the Kingdom of God. So I have rolled this stone of a story over and over, wondering what in fact Jesus was saying about the Kingdom of God. I think the answer I like the best is that the Kingdom is not what we expect it to be. We plant a small seed and expect a small result. We would be satisfied with a few bright flowers that last a season, but in fact the Kingdom is bigger than our imagining. It flourishes in mysterious ways and produces enduring results that take us by surprise.
I would like to encourage you to take a fresh approach as you read the scriptures. Maybe you would like to join me by reading one parable a week and letting the strange bits make you curious. Don’t look for ways to explain away the troublesome spots, but let them cause you to start wondering. And if you have any idea why the woman in the parable of the yeast used 60 pounds of flour, I’d love to hear what you think!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Using My Librarian Voice
This is banned books week, which is observed by libraries, bookstores, authors and journalists to remind Americans not to take the democratic freedom of free speech for granted. The right to read, write and exchange ideas even when they’re unpopular or go against your beliefs is one of the hallmarks of intellectual freedom. Of the 100 top novels of the 20th century, almost half of them have been challenged or banned at one time or another.
The reason for bringing this up is that even in our own Oak Hills Library we have had the occasional challenge to a book and it seems to me that we need to be reminded from time to time how to approach a book that we might disagree with. First of all, just because it’s in our library doesn’t mean you have to read it. There are many books that are on the shelves that I would not endorse or recommend, but others have enjoyed them and believe them to have value (Even on the shelves of staff recommendations, I am sure that not all the staff equally approves of all the books. Rather, they are a compilation of individual staff person's lists of books they consider worth reading). If you read a book that you find offensive in some way, ask yourself why it upsets you, what the author wanted you to believe or feel about something, why it was written in the first place. If it is something that was recommended, why did they think you should read this book? Is there a challenge or a door that opens on the way you see the world? Is there some unsettling that may be good for you?
One of the books that has stirred up passion on both sides is The Shack. It is a novel that has been continuously checked out since we got a copy in the library. Most people who read it really enjoy it, some don’t get it, and a few are upset about it. If you want to do a Google search, you will easily find diatribes against it with warnings of dangerous theology and you will come up with passionate defenses of how it has touched and healed someone. It is a perfect example of why we need to keep things in context. If you decide to give it a read, keep in mind why it was written, who it was written for, and the fact that it is a novel. It is not likely to win any prizes for theology or literature in my opinion, but it is a wonderful book to spur conversation, reflection, and make you consider your own ways of “seeing” God. As with all banned books, the people most opposed to it have rarely ever read it.
Having said all that, we must still guard our hearts and minds and consider with care what we allow in. Our faith should be able to stand up to opposing viewpoints and ideas, but we don’t need to embrace them or entertain them all. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Everything is permissible” – but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible” – but not everything is constructive. (1 Corinthians 10:23)
I often blog here about a new idea or way of seeing that I've picked up from a book. If you’ve read a book that challenged your thinking for the better, expanded your world view, or given you some new insight on faith or God, I would love to hear about it!
The reason for bringing this up is that even in our own Oak Hills Library we have had the occasional challenge to a book and it seems to me that we need to be reminded from time to time how to approach a book that we might disagree with. First of all, just because it’s in our library doesn’t mean you have to read it. There are many books that are on the shelves that I would not endorse or recommend, but others have enjoyed them and believe them to have value (Even on the shelves of staff recommendations, I am sure that not all the staff equally approves of all the books. Rather, they are a compilation of individual staff person's lists of books they consider worth reading). If you read a book that you find offensive in some way, ask yourself why it upsets you, what the author wanted you to believe or feel about something, why it was written in the first place. If it is something that was recommended, why did they think you should read this book? Is there a challenge or a door that opens on the way you see the world? Is there some unsettling that may be good for you?
One of the books that has stirred up passion on both sides is The Shack. It is a novel that has been continuously checked out since we got a copy in the library. Most people who read it really enjoy it, some don’t get it, and a few are upset about it. If you want to do a Google search, you will easily find diatribes against it with warnings of dangerous theology and you will come up with passionate defenses of how it has touched and healed someone. It is a perfect example of why we need to keep things in context. If you decide to give it a read, keep in mind why it was written, who it was written for, and the fact that it is a novel. It is not likely to win any prizes for theology or literature in my opinion, but it is a wonderful book to spur conversation, reflection, and make you consider your own ways of “seeing” God. As with all banned books, the people most opposed to it have rarely ever read it.
Having said all that, we must still guard our hearts and minds and consider with care what we allow in. Our faith should be able to stand up to opposing viewpoints and ideas, but we don’t need to embrace them or entertain them all. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Everything is permissible” – but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible” – but not everything is constructive. (1 Corinthians 10:23)
I often blog here about a new idea or way of seeing that I've picked up from a book. If you’ve read a book that challenged your thinking for the better, expanded your world view, or given you some new insight on faith or God, I would love to hear about it!
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