27th Sunday in Ordinary (revisited)

Gospel – Luke 17: 5-10

Judge Me By My Size?a

Western Wall, Jerusalem

You see this dot at the end of this sentence.  Yeah, that punctuation mark, the period!  That’s how big (small) a mustard seed is.  That tiny little dot that Jesus talks about in today’s Gospel.  That smidgen that can end up growing to a height of over 9 feet!  Such a tiny thing that grows to majestic heights!  What Jesus doesn’t mention is that the mustard plant is essentially a weed!  It is considered the largest of all shrubs.  Once it takes root, it grows with great abandon and is almost impossible to get rid of.  Kind of like kudzu in the South!  Nobody sows mustard seed; nobody puts it in their garden.  If they did, it would over-run the garden and choke out all other plants.  

I have to admit this reflection has been a bit of a struggle.  I keep shifting back and forth from talking about Yoda (from Star Wars) and Frodo the Hobbit (from Lord of the Rings).  Yes, I know, where the heck is he going with this?

In the end, let’s consider both characters!  Frodo and Yoda are both very short in stature, generally quiet and unassuming, humble, selfless and perfectly content to stay at home.  But life intervenes! They were dismissed, ignored, and mis-judged!  They were overlooked and literally and figuratively looked down on as unimportant.  And in spite of all the other larger-than-life characters in their stories, they are the real heroes!  Yoda said “Judge me by my size, do you?”  And it is said of Frodo “The time will come when hobbits will shape the fortunes of all.”  Especially for Frodo, his neighbors and townspeople can’t see him beyond their own experience.  He is just Frodo, a Baggins.  And yet he saves all Middle Earth.

Most of the people in Jesus’ time dismissed Him as unimportant; they saw Him only as a carpenter’s son from a little country town in Galilee and were blind and deaf to anything He may have said or done.  They decided He would amount to nothing.  He was basically too insignificant, too small (like a mustard seed) to amount to anything.  That attitude leaves us all with questions.  Do we see and yet not believe?  Do we hear and not understand?  Do we at times try to throw Jesus out of our lives thinking we know better?  Do we miss the greatness in others we consider undeserving of our attention?

A simple, humble carpenter’s son from a little backwater village! Never travelled all that far from home! Largely ignored and dismissed as a passing fancy!  Selfless and compassionate! Misjudged and condemned to a miserable death on a cross.  And yet He is the Savior of us all!

Small is beautiful!  And often it is the small and insignificant ones that God calls to do great things.  Young David, the youngest in his family, slays the giant Goliath and is anointed king.   Paul, whose name literally means small and humble, becomes the Apostle to the Gentiles. 

So what’s going on?  We know Jesus is a master storyteller. He is also a master exaggerator for the sake of making a point!  And the point here is all about faith, real faith in God and in Jesus!  It’s all about a faith so deep, so strong, that once it takes root in our heart, it grows with abandon and is impossible to uproot from our lives.  It is a faith that energizes our hearts and our lives to spread it around.  It fills us with love and hope for the future; it feeds our souls!

No matter how small or insignificant we may feel, we are all called by God to do great things!

Creator of all life, no matter where we turn, You are there with us, to guide us and to shelter us from the storms of life. Be with us today and every day.  Help us to grow in faith in You and love for our brothers and sisters.