“The Apostles said to
the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ And the
Lord said, ‘If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to
this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey
you.’”-John 17:5-6
(ESV).
Who
among us has not desired an increase in our faith? In Matthew’s account of the statement about
faith as a grain of mustard seed, it was preceded by the story of Jesus’
healing the boy who was an epileptic, described by his father as falling into
the fire or water when one of his attacks came upon him. The boy had first been brought to the
disciples for healing, but they could not help him. Jesus said to them: “O
faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to bear with you?”(Mt.
17:17). When the disciples asked Jesus
why they could not cast the demon out of the boy, Jesus told them, “Because of your little faith.” Then he gave the statement about having
faith as a grain of mustard seed. Is
there a meaning behind this statement that we sometimes do not understand
fully?
Mustard
was a large plant in the Holy Land which grew rapidly. Its seeds were thought to be the smallest of
those in the plant world. Jesus used the
mustard seed to symbolize the rapid growth of the kingdom of God as seen in
Matthew 13:31-32: “The
kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in
his field. It is the smallest of all
seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and
becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its
branches.” As in our focus
verses for today, Jesus used the mustard seed to teach a lesson about
faith. When the disciples asked Jesus to
increase their faith, they were talking as if they expected Him to imbue them
with faith. The truth is that faith must
begin within the believer. And if it is
present and active, it can flourish and grow (as the simile of the small
mustard seed shows). The small mustard seed
brought forth a plant eight to twelve feet tall. Jesus used practical and well-known illustrations
to drive home His truths. Just like the
little mustard seed produces annually a plant big enough for birds to build
nests in, so a little bit of faith can develop and grow in the believer and
bear remarkable results.
As
I read this passage from both Luke and Matthew, I recalled a time in my life
when my faith had to develop from the small seed I had. I finished my bachelor of arts degree from
Mercer University in December of 1952. I
applied for and received a job teaching fifth grade at a public school,
beginning in January. In an interview
with the principal, I learned that the class had already had five teachers in
the short period from the time school had opened in the fall. She advised me the job would be hard and that
I would have to be a strict disciplinarian in order to manage the class and
teach them. She asked me if I thought I
was up to the task. Needing a job badly,
and wanting to try my skills as a teacher, I responded that I thought I could
meet the challenge.
Children
in the class were from what was known as “the peach orchard section,” a somewhat
underprivileged area. Several of the
children were behind for grade level. I
sensed a bit of belligerence and questioning on my first morning with the
class. I thought it best to talk to them
gently, with a few funny stories mixed with my “teacherly” advice. We discussed goals and what they would like to
accomplish in the half-year of school remaining. Before I signed and received the job, I had
prayed that I could be well-matched with my students and that we would have a
strong rapport and a good second semester of school. Every day, I prayed that God would work
through me with His love to reach the children at their point of need. Certainly that first day with them had been
bathed in prayer.
We
were well into the first class when suddenly there was a serious
interruption. I realized that one of my
students was having an epileptic seizure.
My principal had warned me that one of the students had epilepsy. I did not expect a seizure on my first day
there. I had some sterile tongue
depressors in my desk, so I quickly went to little Peggy and began to apply
what I knew to do for a child with the affliction, although I had never before had an experience working with
one. I asked one student to go quickly
for the principal, who immediately came.
As it happened, with her mother going early to work, Peggy had to get
herself ready for school and catch the bus.
She had either not taken her medication—or else she was out of it. With that and the excitement of a new
teacher, she had gone into seizure. This
was before the time of regular on-site school nurses. The principal and I were able to give little
Peggy the help she needed and the seizure did not last long.
I
remembered the incident from Matthew’s gospel and applied it immediately to my
situation as a new teacher in a challenging environment. My principal and I were able to have a
conference with Peggy’s mother, and with the nurse who visited several schools
within the district. With proper
medication for Peggy, patience on my part, and cooperation from a class room of
students who were hungry for a little tender, loving care, that half-year of
teaching became a very memorable way to start a thirty-plus year career in
education. You can be assured that I did
much praying, even while Peggy was having that epileptic attack on my first day
as her teacher. I am thankful to God
that my seed of faith grew stronger just like the small mustard seed grew into
a large plant. The issue is not the size of our faith but the presence of it in
our heart. Another metaphor concerning
our faith is having enough to move the tree from where it is planted to the
sea. The Bible has many illustrations
about accomplishing what seems impossible.
We have to apply our faith to the challenges we face in order to move
through them and work in them.. “ Now
faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not
seen.” (Hebrews 11:1). – Ethelene Dyer Jones 06.08.2014
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