On a recent Road Scholar
trip to Acadia National Park, my friend provided treats to all the hikers
during their lunch break. While people were hydrating with water and eating
their sandwiches after a two-hour hike, he reached into his backpack and gave them
each a treat. People were surprised and appreciated his kind gesture.
This is what the parable of
the mustard seed is all about. It’s about those small acts of kindness,
whatever it was, that stay in our memory. Small acts, of cruelty of
kindness, leave their effect long after the effects of events of seemingly much
greater importance have passed away.
There is, I believe, a
profound lesson in this. The Kingdom of God, as Jesus assures us, is about
mustard seeds, about small seemingly unimportant things, but which, in the long
run, are the big things.
I
have always found it ironic that we easily forget the big things, the events
that seem of great importance. Who won the Nobel prize for literature two years
ago? Who won the academy awards last year? Who won the Super Bowl three years
ago, the World Series last year, the Stanley Cup this year? It’s funny how
quickly we tend to forget these things. It is also curious what we do not
forget.
We tend to forget quickly
who won such or such an award, or who starred in such and such a movie or play.
But we remember, and remember vividly, with all the healing and grace it
brought, who was nice to us all those years ago on the playground at school or
who gave us “Smarties” on top of Cadillac Mountain after a challenging three
hour hike.
Falls come, winters come,
springs come, summers come and go, and sometimes the only thing we can remember
from a given year is some small mustard seed, of cruelty or kindness. Taking
the time to cross the Canadian border to buy “Smarties” for your hiking
partners was a wonderful act of kindness that will never be forgotten. So when
you wake up tomorrow morning, it’s your choice what mustard seeds you want to
plant.
Lord,
I pray for all my Sonshine Friends and thank them for all the small acts of
kindness that they have given to their family and friends. I believe that God does
cares a great deal about the small things we do for one another.
