As I planted the mustard greens this evening, holding the tiny seeds in my hand and then sprinkling them into the black dirt, I thought as I always do when planting mustards of the quote from the Bible which goes something like this:
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
And I wondered to myself why in the world people hang onto that verse when, as far as I know, no matter how large anyone's faith has been in the history of the universe, a mountain has never removed itself to yonder place.
Why isn't it enough that when I plant that tiny seed a sprout arises from the dirt which grows into a spicy plant which will feed me all winter long?
Another mystery which I will ponder as my faith in the planting of a mustard seed and receiving a mustard plant is rewarded with reality again.
It must be a parable or something like that. The Bible is filled with lots of metaphors and parables. I like the idea that a plant grows from a seed. That seems enough to me. Mountains move by plate tectonics. I get that.
ReplyDeleteThis is the best bedtime story I've ever been told. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteBut we do move mountains. All the time.
ReplyDeleteI just read an article by ajournalist father, whose second daughter was recently born wiht Down's Syndrome. And how they're coming to deal with it. That's a mountain that he's moved.
Anyway. Hebrew... seven possible translations for every sentence, I heard... how can we trust anything the bible says!
It was a damn parable. Syd is right. The morons out there who want to interpret the Bible literally really get to me.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I am a wee tad grouchy this morning. Go figure.
Love you!
Syd- Of course it is but for me, the very miracle of seeds is better than any parable. But that's just me.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth- I hope you had sweet dreams.
Jo- But it is not faith which moves them. It is huge and vast energy, directed and focused.
Ms. Bastard-Beloved- Love you too, my precious friend.
i am still loving the image of the seed in your grandmothers wedding ring...
ReplyDeletexoxoxoxoxox,
rebecca
It's a powerful one, though - you remember it, and back when I was still a miniature religious nutcase, it was one of my favourites somehow.
ReplyDeleterebecca- It's not going anywhere.
ReplyDeleteMwa- Miniature religious nutcase? I love that!