Our first reading today comes from the Book of Ezekiel. You probably know Ezekiel best from the story of the dry bones, that great vision that Ezekiel had of the valley full of bones, when the bones came back together bone to its bone, and muscle and sinew and flesh came upon them and the spirit of God gave them life. It was a vision of new life, a vision of resurrection, a beautiful vision of restored life for a people living in what felt like death.
Ezekiel was a prophet during the exile, a time when the life and faith of so many was disrupted. It was a difficult time filled with sorrow and longing. "By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept," the psalmist wrote during this time. I do not want to pretend that what we have been going through for the past year is in any way as bad as the exile. But perhaps in our own disruptions, exiled from our church and our routines, and in many cases exiled from our friends and our families, we have a little seed of understanding, or at least sympathy for the challenges of this time.
In the middle of this time, God sent Ezekiel to speak to the people. Ezekiel was sent to speak a word of judgment to the people, but also a word of hope. The valley of the dry bones is such a word of hope. The death that they were feeling would end. By the power of the Holy Spirit, just like those bones, they would be brought back together.
Today's reading is another one of those messages of hope that Ezekiel brings. God promises to take a tiny little cedar branch, make it root, plant it, and grow it into a new mighty tree that will be the home for untold birds and other winged creatures of every kind. For people without a home, this is a beautiful vision of God providing a new home for them, a place of rest and shade from the burdens of their life.
Jesus picks up on this very vision in today's parable about the Kingdom of God in our Gospel reading. The Kingdom of God is like this tree in Ezekiel that provides such a home for the birds. Jesus is taking this vision that came to Ezekiel and pulling it forward, reminding the listeners of his day and also us, that God was not only providing the vision to Ezekiel for that one particular moment, but that God had a vision for all time and all people. Whatever challenges we face in life, whatever wearies our souls, whatever sun beats down upon us, God provides a home to rest and to renew.
God is also taking this image and playing with it a bit when Jesus shares it in this parable. A cedar makes sense for a tree for birds, but a mustard seed? A mustard seed makes something more like a bush than a tree. It isn't something that you would envision for creating this kind of grand home. And yet that is exactly what Jesus said this mustard seed will do.
The Kingdom of God is not always obvious. It is not coming like a mighty cedar and mountain for all to see, but it is more like a mustard seed--easy to miss, and easy to underestimate. Not just any mustard seed, but a mustard seed that grows into something surprisingly bigger than we would expect or imagine. The Kingdom of Heaven can be our home, give us a place to rest our weary souls. It is subtle, perhaps even illusive at times. We have to pay careful attention to this world to discover it and to find a home within it in order to lay down our heads upon its pillows. The Kingdom of Heaven is found in the tiniest acts of grace and mercy and love.
Pay attention, my friends. Seek out the Kingdom of God. Allow it to grow and find a home for your weary soul within its branches.
AMEN
