May 24, 2022 – When Things Fall Apart, Pema Chodron

Out of Place

“He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.” Matthew 13:31

“What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” Luke 13:18-19

“…what we habitually regard as obstacles are not really our enemies, but rather our friends. What we call obstacles are really the way the world and our entire experience teach us where we’re stuck. What may appear to be an arrow or a sword we can actually experience as a flower. Whether we experience what happens to us as obstacle and enemy or as teacher and friend depends entirely on our perception of reality. It depends on our relationship with ourselves.” Chodron, Pema. When Things Fall Apart (Shambhala Classics) (pp. 87-88).

Out of Place

I was talking about the parable of the mustard seed with a friend – explaining how one Gospel places the planting of the seed in a garden and another Gospel has it planted in a field. It is an interesting difference in the accounts of this parable to which I explained that one community would never plant a mustard seed in a garden because it is a weed. She looked at me and shared this wise observation: “A weed is simply a plant out of place.”

So many people feel like a weed in our society today. Too many people feel out of place in our world, in our society, and in our communities. They either believe they have been planted in the wrong place, or have grown out of place.

Pema Chodron gives the observation that one person may see an obstacle as a sword, while someone else may experience it as a flower. The more familiar observation would be one person may be a “glass is half empty” personality while another will be a “glass is half full”. One sees the blessings in all experiences while others see only doom and gloom. She observes that it all depends “…on our relationship with ourselves.”

When Jesus says that the Kingdom of G-d is like a mustard seed, do you perceive he is saying that the Kingdom is exclusive or inclusive? Does the Kingdom weed people out or welcome people in? Will people feel “out of place” or “welcome home?” For me Jesus makes it abundantly clear that the Kingdom of G-d is welcome for the small and the mighty – the outsider and the insider – the welcome and the unwelcome. It is a mystery we struggle to understand – but it is also something we anticipate to experience not as out of place, but as people who are welcome home.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, so much of this world wants to make us feel out of place. Help me to remember that you are preparing a place for all of us, a room for everyone who has the faith to trust and believe that you welcome us all. Amen.

Pastor Dave