Luke 17, 5 – 10
How tiny is a mustard seed? How big is a mulberry tree?
In our Lord's time, the mustard seed was used in proverbs to represent the smallest of things. The biggest mustard seed has a diameter of two millimeters. If we lined up 150 of these seeds, the line would be about a foot long. In contrast, the black mulberry tree, the type common in the Middle East, grew to nine meters. That would be roughly higher than a two-story building.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all used the parable of the mustard seed to illustrate the dramatic growth of the Kingdom of God.
Quoting our Lord in Matthew:
The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'
Matthew 13, 31 – 32
In Mark:
To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.
Mark 4, 30 – 32
In Luke:
What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a person took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and 'the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.'
Luke 13, 18 – 19
Matthew and Luke also used the seed in parables on faith. Matthew contrasted the mustard seed against a mountain.
He said to them, "Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
Matthew 17, 20
while Luke contrasted the mustard seed against the mulberry tree.
Both mustard seeds and mulberry trees were valued, probably even more than we appreciate now.
Crushed mustard seeds formed mustard, a condiment to add taste to Middle Eastern food. Greeks and Romans had been using it for medicine. Since the Jews had been conquered by them, they were probably aware of its medicinal uses too.
As for the mulberry tree, it was planted for shade as well as fruit. Furthermore, its wood was hard. During the time of Christ, it was used for caskets.[1]
The evangelist Luke masterfully combines the mustard seed imagery with the mulberry tree. He thus maintained the lesson of the Kingdom's humble beginnings but dramatic expansion to something significant so that 'even the birds of the sky would dwell in its branches.' He juxtaposed a parable on faith, on a parable on the Kingdom of God! In developing the theme of faith, our Lord asks his apostles to increase their faith in Him.
We recall that in this chapter, he had told his disciples that they could expect failure. They had come to realize that failure was due to a lack of faith in Jesus; hence their earnest petition to the Lord was:
Increase our faith.
Luke 17, 5
Furthermore, Jesus, on telling his disciples that if they had faith the size of a mustard seed, they could order the mulberry tree in front of them to uproot itself and plant itself in the sea, they were being reassured that He would take care of them. He was telling them to do what was seemingly impossible: plant a tree in the sea.
Remember that for the Jews, the sea was frequently seen as the devil's domain. For the Jews, the sea was a sign of chaos. Thus, to plant a tree in the sea and see it prosper was to expect God to create the unexpected, smack in the face of the most potent opposition imaginable, the devil.
Increase our faith, Lord!
This increase in faith requires action, which springs from the servant's attitude. The more accurate translation would be 'slave' not 'servant.' This increase in faith requires action, which starts from the slave's attitude.
Luke used the Greek word δοῦλον (doulon), not ἐργάτας (ergatas). A δοῦλον (doulon) was a slave; he was his master's property. An ἐργάτας (ergatas) was a hired hand; he worked for pay. Thus a δοῦλον (doulon) or slave had no free will compared to an ἐργάτας (ergatas) or hired hand, who could always walk away after he had done what he had been paid for. The lot of the slave was so pitiful that Jewish law required the slave to be freed after six years. The book of Deuteronomy would say:
If your kin, a Hebrew man or woman, sells himself or herself to you, he or she is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year you shall release him or her as a free person. When you release a male from your service, as a free person, you shall not send him away empty-handed, but shall weigh him down with gifts from your flock and threshing floor and wine press; as the Lord, your God, has blessed you, so you shall give to him.
Deuteronomy 17, 12 - 14
Our Lord acknowledged that his disciples had free will. Faith can only come from a person with free will. Our Lord's point was that our disposition, in faith, should be such that our choices should be completely aligned with God's will for us.
This alignment with the will of God was not simply in mind and heart. It was not a bland and perfunctory 'thoughts and prayers.' St. Luke's context was a Christian community with rich and poor members. People of means were together with slaves. In extending the parable, he reminded the rich that they should not strut around as they were tempted to do among those they considered below their station. The rich should be willing to follow the Lord in selfless, humble service, as a slave would because his or her will was that of the master.
I am confident that St. Luke would have liked the following prayer.
Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my entire will, all I have and call my own.
You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and grace, that is enough for me.
St. Ignatius of Loyola
[1] https://www.wayoflife.org/reports/trees_in_ancient_israel.php
No comments:
Post a Comment