June, 2020 - A Well Examined Life

What Can We Learn From A Mustard Seed?

The Parable of the Mustard Seed, one of Savior’s shortest allegories, typically receives scant attention in our scripture study. The “New Testament Come Follow Me” manual predictably “Mormonizes” the scripture, claiming it is simply about the growth of Christ’s church in the latter days. But the parable makes no reference to a “church” and the Savior’s audience was definitely not 21^st-century Latter-day Saints. Further, the manual only references Matthew’s account of this teaching while ignoring those in Mark and Luke which, when properly understood, shed much light on the message Jesus was trying convey to his audience.

In actuality, this parable is about the “Kingdom of God/Heaven,” something altogether different from a church. And since it appears in each of the synoptic gospels, perhaps the Evangelists were trying to underscore the importance of this story.

An etching by Jan Luyken illustrating the Parable of the Mustard Seed in the Bowyer Bible, Bolton England. By Phillip Medhurst – Photo by Harry Kossuth, FAL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7549966

Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
Matt. 13:31–32 (KVJ).

When Caesar and God Collide

We often misread scripture because we don’t study it carefully, are predisposed to simply accept the interpretation of an ecclesiastical leader, do not read it in context, or fail to consider the culture and beliefs of the original audience. And sometimes, it’s a combination of all of these. Such is the case, I believe, regarding Christ’s response to the question: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Rome? (Matt. 22:15-22 NASB):

¹⁵Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. ¹⁶And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. ¹⁷Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” ¹⁸But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? ¹⁹Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. ²⁰And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” ²¹They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” ²²And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away.

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The Dysfunctional Family of Man

The names by which we know Christ’s parables are often our own invention; they usually cannot be found in the scriptures. While these labels provide a convenient way to refer to a given story, they sometimes distort and obscure its message. A good example of this phenomenon is the Parable of the Prodigal Son. After studying this text more carefully, I believe it would be more accurate to call it: “The Parable of the Dysfunctional Family of Man.”

Jesus recounted this parable as he traveled from Galilee to Jerusalem. And Luke makes it clear that his audiences, like us, were large and diverse, consisting of disciples, detractors (e.g., scribes and Pharisees), sinners, tax collectors, and curiosity seekers.

The Quick and the Dead: June 6, 1944

Seventy-six years ago this morning, the United States and its allies launched the largest amphibious invasion in history when they attacked German forces occupying Normandy along the northern coast of France. The invasion—which came to be known as “D-Day”—consisted of approximately 7,000 vessels, 1,200 of which were warships. But most were transport vessels tasked with landing 150,000 allied soldiers and their equipment on five beaches—code-named Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword—spanning some fifty miles.

The attack was preceded by an immense aerial and naval bombardment of the Normandy coast. Allied planes dropped more than 11,000 tons of bombs in the eight hours prior to the invasion, while the fleet’s artillery pounded the coast just before the troops went ashore. In 10 minutes, 600 naval guns fired 2,000 tons of shells at various German fortifications.

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