The meaning behind mustard

My last post was written w/ a pretty poor memory and no references. Not wanting to get caught in my own BS, I became curious as to what Jesus' parable about the mustard seed might actually mean - and to see if my comparison to Bermuda grass is at all relevant. The relevance of my reflections on social change being compared to these two 'weeds' depends on one's view of what Jesus was talking about when he used the phrase "Kingdom of Heaven." For some this is all about life after death, and for others this is very much about the here and now. And for the rest, it is a complex mixture of both. Here are some things I came across that may help stir up more useful questions re: the mustard seed and the possible weed-like nature of the Kingdom of God: The first is from a chapter in a book written by Fr. Thomas Keating, titled "The Kingdom of God is Like...". I found it here. It is well written and very thought-provoking. He talks about what the Jewish people may have been thinking when they heard Jesus choose the mustard seed to illustrate his point about the Kingdom of God. I am tempted to paraphrase his article for brevity's sake, but I'm afraid I would ruin the context of what he is saying. It is definitely worth looking at if you are at all interested in the topic. Near the end of the article he writes,

"If we are looking for a great expansion of our particular religion, nation, ethnic group, social movement, or whatever, into some great visible organization that fills the earth, we are on the wrong track. This is not God's idea of success. Where are the mightiest works of the kingdom accomplished? in our attitudes and hence in secret. Where there is charity, there is God. Opportunities to work for the homeless, the starving, the aging, are all readily available. No one may notice our good deeds, including ourselves. The kingdom of God manifests itself in the modest changes in our attitudes and in the little improvements in our behavior that no one may notice, including ourselves. These are the mighty works of God, not great external accomplishments." (boldness added).

I agree w/ Keating on many levels - but I wonder how to practice this sort of mustard-seed revolution - if we are not actually pouring into the social movements of our day. I understand the value of small-scale actions and believe they are very true to what Jesus taught us to do. I also realize that not one social movement will solve all the world's problems. I realize that individually they represent a fraction of the big picture. But does that mean they are not worth us pouring our time and energies into? A perfect example would be campaigning for Barack Obama. If there is any ounce of us that believes one candidate over another will bring more blessing and peace to our world, why would we hesitate in doing whatever we are able to help elect that candidate? And we do this knowing that they are imperfect people like the rest of us, and that they need us to hold them accountable, just like any of us would if we were in their shoes.

Another interesting anecdote re: the history of mustard I found here. This article talks about the understanding held throughout history that mustard represents something that is potent. This has very little (if any) connection with the previous article - but I still thought it added some interesting things to think about re: Jesus' choice of plant in talking about the Kingdom of God.

The pictures I've seen of the mustard plant are not necessarily unsightly or unruly, as I previously thought. But they are also not stately or glorious. I suppose it is very much a matter of perspective, similar to the way dandelions are regarded as a source of great nutrition and even beauty (picture a child blowing on a seemingly magical, fluffy seed puff) - and to others (like myself), who are battling the proliferation of them in my yard, regard them as little more than an annoying, uncontrollable weed. As Keating's article explains, the mustard plant was regarded as an unclean thing to be kept away from the vegetable garden in Jewish law, because of its weed-like tendencies to take over and rob nutrients and space from the other plants. It does not resemble anything like a tree, but rather, depending on the variety, a modest bush.
Once again this brings up more questions than answers. Jesus used parables to teach the people a concept that they could understand, right? He used stories w/ images and objects they were familiar with. Why then, does it seem so difficult to understand what he really meant by these stories? Perhaps I am over-analyzing. Perhaps it is just all about love. Isn't that the easy Christian answer? Love God, love people, and love God's world. If only that satisfied me...
(photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/handbookofnaturestudy/2330411003/)