Create Sanctuary
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”
33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
I think most of us are familiar with both stories that I have read. Of course the first part of this scripture is the parable of the mustard seed and the second part is the story of Christ calming the storm at sea.
The scripture helps for this week recommend just the parable of the mustard seed, yet I believe both of these narratives relate very well to today’s theme, Create Sanctuary.
In the second half of our scripture, Christ and his disciples are in a boat on the Sea of Galilee along with several other boats, when a great storm erupts and begins to rock the boat. As the boat rocks with the waves, the disciples become frightened and wake Christ in an effort to be saved. Jesus, of course, uses this as a teachable moment. That is one of the things I like about Jesus, he never lets a good crisis go by without turning it into a valuable lesson.
However, back to the boat. It is rockin’ and rollin’ and the disciples have turned to Christ to save them, once again, from certain death.
With a word of rebuke, Christ quiets the storm, creating sanctuary.
Sanctuary, defined as “any place of refuge”. That, I believe is an accurate description of Jesus Christ himself. Whether it be in person or in spirit, Christ is sanctuary. His disciples learned this and we have been taught it as well. Any time we find ourselves in need of shelter from a storm, be it real or metaphorically, we are able to turn to Christ and, with a word of rebuke, his is able to quite our troubles.
Christ not only created sanctuary that day on the water, but it exuded from him like steam from a tea kettle. Think about all the stories and parables Jesus shared. Think about all the different people who heard these stories and had their lives dramatically altered for the better.
Never did we see Christ refuse someone, never did we see Him tire of the stream of requests for his blessing, never did we see Him not offer exactly what the individual person needed at that moment. That sounds an awful lot like a place of refuge to me.
The parable of the mustard seed, in relation to the theme, gives us a kind of road map or diagram of how our actions might affect those around us.
You might be thinking, “Chris what are you taking about?”
Bear with me. As we read the verses, we know that the mustard seeds are spread out. The seeds represent other people. These seeds are spread out on the ground, which represents us, the followers of Christ.
Now, as that dirt, we play a huge role in the outcome of those two or three seeds that are close to us. If we are toxic ground, those seeds wither and die. If we do not provide water and nutrients those seeds with not take root. Yet, if we are rich and fertile, not only will those adjacent seeds take hold of our nutrients, but they will blossom and erupt into, as verse 32 says, “the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."
By being that full and bountiful soil, we have provided sanctuary to those seeds. We have allowed the smallest, yea, the weakest, of beginnings to flourish into something that many others can find comfort in. Once that mustard bush reaches maturity, many others can find value in it. Birds can nest, animals can take shelter from the heat and sun, others animals may find a meal or two from the leaves. This now fully grown plant or if we translate it back into human terms, this fully functioning Christian, can offer so much to so many. We, the dirt, have reached provided sanctuary to someone not necessarily of our clan. We could have gathered our dirt friends together and pulled away from the mustard seeds. We could have rejected them as too small or not of our “kind”. We could have withheld water and minerals necessary for the seed to grow or we could have even provided contaminants to the seeds and stunted their growth in that manner.
However, we come back to a simple question. WWJD. What would Jesus do? Of course, Christ would not have withheld water and minerals. He would not have called his disciples together and left the area. What He would have provided is the best of nourishment, the best of water, the best of whatever that seed needed to flourish to its fullest extent.
Christ would have done everything to ensure that seed took root and produced its full bounty. That is providing sanctuary. That is providing a place of refuge. That is what we, as the dirt, as Christians, are called to do.
I think if we read a verse from section 163 of the Doctrine & Covenants, our scripture of continuing revelation from our Heavenly Father, it will crystallize my thesis today.
Read D&C 163:9
Faithful disciples respond to an increasing awareness of the abundant generosity of God by sharing according to the desires of their hearts; not by commandment or constraint. Break free of the shackles of conventional culture that mainly promote self-serving interests. Give generously according to your true capacity. Eternal joy and peace await those who grow in the grace of generosity that flows from compassionate hearts without thought of return. Could it be otherwise in the domain of God, who eternally gives all for the sake of creation?
Our giving, our willingness to share the same sanctuary our Lord has given us, should not come from a sense of duty nor be based on a commandment. It must come from a compassionate heart concerned only about the one receiving, not because we will be rewarded or celebrated.
We are a blessed people, not only or even necessarily because of our material wealth, but more importantly because of our spiritual wealth. We have all the gifts, our cups do indeed overflow. We are called to share that overflow with those around us who, without the same spiritual nourishment we have, will wither and die, just as the poorly cultivated seed will die.
We never know who, or when, a particular seed will come in contact with our brand of dirt. Was our seed that person who we meet standing in line at the mall or the co-worker who we pass by everyday at lunch? Might it be our neighbor three doors down, or the young man who rings up our latte purchase every morning? The point is we may never know the impact or the need of those who pass through our lives on a daily basis.
The greater point is that we are called to offer whatever sanctuary we can, at that moment it is needed, for as long as is necessary. It may be a shoulder to cry on, an empathetic ear, an understanding smile or a simple “Hello, good to see you today.”
We are abundantly blessed by the wonderful and willing generosity of our Lord and Savior. He asks us now to share that abundance, to create that sanctuary, for those whom we come in contact. When we do, we can be assured that our own tiny mustard seed will be given every change to grow into that large plant, capable of providing sanctuary of its own.
