When the Lord ushered his people from Egypt to the promised land in the Old Testament, he did so by doing glorious things. Likewise, in Luke 13:10-17, Jesus freed a woman from a disability on the Sabbath, and the congregation that observed this healing recognized that Jesus was performing an “exodus” salvation. Jesus then told the parable of the Mustard Seed and the parable of the Leaven to help the people who had just witnessed this miracle (and us) better understand the true nature of the kingdom of God.
The Mustard Seed and the Kingdom of God
He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” (Luke 13:18-19)
Jesus anticipated the misconceptions people would have about the kind of redemption and the type of kingdom he was bringing upon them. What is the kingdom of God like? It is glorious, full of wonders, pomp and power, right? Jesus says, “No, it is more like a mustard seed.”
A mustard seed is not very impressive. It is a very mundane and insignificant comparison to the glorious kingdom. Mustard was a common agricultural product that grew quite prolifically. The variety of mustard grown in Palestine was quite like the mustard weed that now grows all around Southern California.
This is the first odd thing about this comparison. A man plants this mustard seed, and it grows into a tree. But mustard seeds don’t grow into trees; they may become tall weeds, but they are not tree-like at all. Thus, Jesus is using hyperbole to make a point—this “tree” is other-worldly.
Indeed, it is a cosmic tree, for all the birds of the heaven dwell in its branches! Jesus takes this line from two passages in the Old Testament, Daniel 4:10-12 and Ezekiel 31:6. The cosmic tree of these Old Testament verses was the one tree whose roots reach down deep into the earth, and its top most branches extend to heaven.
This tree was the link between heaven and earth, and it was a house for every bird, beast, and human. It was the life-giving tree and a picture of the kingdom that encompassed the world and mediated that heavenly life to all things. It was an ideal picture of kingdom life with God.
So Jesus is telling us that this is what his kingdom will become. The tree signifies the new heavens and new earth. The cosmic tree points to the resurrected life of the age to come. This is what Jesus’ kingdom is like, perfectly portrayed by him granting life and liberty from Satan’s power on the Sabbath (Luke 13:10-17).
The people rejoice, saying, “He is doing glorious things.” Jesus says, “You are right, for my kingdom shall grow into the cosmic tree—the new creation of resurrection.” But this is where irony and mystery come in. It starts off as a mustard seed—a puny seed that sprouts into a weed—how is this the kingdom? This humble, unimpressive beginning is contrasted with the glorious and universal end—God’s new creation.

We have a responsibility to communicate our needs to those closest to us. It’s not loving to sweep their sins under the rug or to tolerate their annoying habits without saying anything. This will only enable their behavior and feed bitterness in our hearts. Repentance is a gift of God that leads to life and healing (Acts 11:18; James 5:16). Let’s cherish it, cultivate it, and live in gratitude and dependence on God as we seek to model it in our lives.

Imagine you’re on Family Feud and Steve Harvey gives the following prompt: “We asked 100 sinners, ‘Name one reason why you do not repent of your sin to one another.’ The top seven answers are on the board.”
What do you think the most common responses would be? I’d offer these seven.
We don’t repent because . . .

We’re completely blind to our sin, or we don’t think our sin is bad enough to warrant repentance.
We don’t think the other person deserves our repentance. Maybe we think he sinned first, or he sinned more, or his sin caused our sin, so we refuse to repent until he does.
We don’t think repenting will help anything. Sometimes we fear our repentance will fuel the other person’s pride, appear to ignore her faults, or lead to further conflict. So we stay silent.
We are too proud. Repentance means admitting we were wrong—and that we need mercy—which requires Christlike humility. Sometimes we don’t want to stoop that low.
We are too ashamed of our sin or too afraid of the consequences. Repentance also means giving up (the feeling of) control over our own reputation and putting ourselves at the mercy of others. This takes vulnerability—something many people run from.
We don’t want to change. Biblical repentance requires turning—changing our behavior—which can feel a bit like heart surgery. Many resist confessing their sin because they love it too much to give it up.
We don’t know how to repent. Many people never had repentance clearly modeled in the home or taught in the church, leaving them unequipped to put it into action.

Why Should We Confess Our Sins to One Another?
James 5:16 gives us a helpful starting point: “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”
This verse gives us at least two motivations to confess our sins to one another:
1. Because God commands us to.
2. Because God commands us to for our healing.
Repentance is not a punishment God makes us pay after we sin; it’s medicine God uses to heal us from our sins’ ravaging effects. God uses our repentance to enliven us (Acts 11:18), refresh us (Acts 3:19–20), restore us (Luke 15:11–24), cleanse us (1 John 1:9), and enrich our fellowship with him and with one another (1 John 1:6–7). Repentance is not a curse to fear, but a gift to cherish.
How Do I Repent of My Sin to Someone?
Repentance can be hard, but it doesn’t need to be complicated.
Read More
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This was a building where former slaves had worshiped, where planning meetings were held in advance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s arrival for the Selma-to-Montgomery march, and where the church’s pastor served as a peacemaker in bringing blacks and whites together during the Civil Rights era.

–Civil rights landmark is a total loss–Three worshipers escape–Leaders say they will rebuild
(Selma, Alabama) There’s nothing left standing of the Selma Reformed Presbyterian Church building except a portion of the basement. The wood-frame landmark that had been built for freed slaves to worship in, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., had planned civil rights initiatives, and whose members had started a school, a hospital, and a YMCA when equal access to public services was still a dream—that landmark is dust.
In that building three people were studying the Bible and praying in a basement classroom on January 12, 2023 when a tornado struck.
Rev. Winston Williams, a supply preacher for the congregation for the past five years, had heard a forecast for severe weather but decided not to cancel the prayer meeting because a new couple had come the previous week, and he knew they would be there at 11:30 a.m. looking for him. Some members of the church decided not to leave their houses after hearing the forecast.
So it was just the three of them, and they opened the Bibles to the book of First John. Just after noon there was a sudden quiet that was quickly followed by a sound like a rushing train. Rev. Williams’ first impulse was to lead the group to a room he thought would be safer. “We tried to get into the room and couldn’t. The suction wouldn’t let me open the door.” It all happened fast, he said.
They hit the floor as the building rumbled. Dust circulated in the air, and papers flew around. But their senses didn’t fathom the gravity of the tornado’s impact.
Before long, they heard voices outside, and the sound of chain saws. They left the building and saw that the building above them had been flattened. “I was shocked when I went outside and saw the destruction.”
“At no time did I ever feel any fear or that I would die,” Williams said. “I put that to our confidence in Christ.”
The woman who had been in the church building injured her leg as she hit the floor, but otherwise the three were OK.
Rev. Williams’ next thought was for the children at the school next door—the school that the Reformed Presbyterian Church had founded to provide education for children of freed slaves. Later, Knox Academy became a public school and is now known as the School of Discovery. Williams said there were over 300 children in the building when the tornado struck.
He found the children all safe, but scared. Some cried. Three trees had been toppled, and large air conditioning units had been picked up by the storm, but the classrooms were intact. Williams and the other adults stayed with the children a long time until parents came for them.
Next Steps
“Our plan is to rebuild,” said George Evans, clerk of session for the Selma Reformed Presbyterian Church and a former mayor of Selma. “We do not plan to call it quits.”
This was a building where former slaves had worshiped, where planning meetings were held in advance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s arrival for the Selma-to-Montgomery march, and where the church’s pastor served as a peacemaker in bringing blacks and whites together during the Civil Rights era.
Organized in 1875 as a place for freedmen to worship after the Civil War, the Selma Reformed Presbyterian Church arose out of Knox Academy. That school eventually grew to over 600 students and trained many future leaders. The first principal was George Milton Elliott, first black pastor in the Reformed Presbyterian Church and first pastor of the Selma congregation. Nearby, a hospital was started by one of the church members to provide equal access to good medical care.  The local YMCA grew from the boys’ club founded by Selma pastor Claude Brown and was eventually named for him.
Dr. King was present at some of the planning meetings in the church building. The building had also held the only planning meeting for a group of whites who went on the Selma-to-Montgomery march. The church was later honored for “courageous support of the voting rights struggle in the ’60s,” and a plaque was installed at the back of the auditorium. The plaque was recovered from the rubble. The church building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (https://www.ruralswalabama.org/attraction/reformed-presbyterian-church-selma-al/) .
Church members don’t say much about their past accomplishments or present ministry, preferring to live quiet lives for Christ. “We’ve always been a low-key church,” George Evans said.
Leaders have met once with the insurance company, and another meeting is scheduled next week to form an action plan. Some debris removal needs to be done before they can assess the full extent of the damage. When they do rebuild, they’ll have many guidelines to follow for a historic building.
Insurance will cover the depreciated value of the building, so there will be some costs to be borne by the church, as well as a lot of work. In the meantime, Selma University has offered its cafeteria space to the church for their services, and another Presbyterian church has offered its chapel for future services as needed.
There was no loss of life in Selma, and no member of Selma RP Church was injured or had dwellings damaged. George Evans is grateful for the mercy of God in that. Of course there is no way to replace, with lumber and nails, the unique history of the church building or to reproduce the courage and sacrifice to which the building was a testament.
Along with the collapse of the 145-year-old wood-frame church building, the manse next door received major damage, as well as Rev. Williams’ car.
When Williams left the school building and returned to the church basement to gather his belongings, he could look up and see nothing but air where a tall church structure had once stood. When he entered the area of the basement that had protected him and two others, he found the Bible he had been using still open to the same page in First John that they had been studying when the EF2 tornado blew through.
Selma Reformed Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (reformedpresbyterian.org), a 230-year-old denomination that banned slaveholders from membership and that supported the Underground Railroad. That story, and where the Selma church fits into it, is told in the book A Candle Against the Dark.
In the next several days, an account will be set up for anyone wishing to donate online to the church. Information will also be available for anyone wanting to help in person once arrangements are made. Currently, checks for Selma relief can be sent to the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, 7408 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15208.
Drew Gordon is editor of Reformed Presbyterian Witness. 412-805-4999

PHOTOS AVAILABLE AT THIS LINK OR BY REQUEST
https://assets.adobe.com/public/95bf0061-a579-4e05-50c4-b04faf37ddfd
SelmaBasementRoom.jpg—Where Rev. Winston Williams and two others were meeting when the tornado struck (credit: George Evans)
SelmaChurchSide.jpg—Basement with church structure collapsed into it (credit: George Evans)
SelmaChurchAndManse.jpg—Original buildings, pre-tornado
SelmaInterior.jpg—Looking from the basement into the collapsed sanctuary (credit: George Evans)
SelmaManse.jpg—Showing the manse and Rev. Williams’ SUV (credit: George Evans)
SelmaPlaque.jpg—civil rights plaque mentioned in the article
HistoricGraduation.jpg—Knox Academy students on graduation day in the Selma RP church building (credit: Reformed Presbyterian Witness)
HistoricChurch.jpg—Old photo of the church when it had a steeple (credit: Reformed Presbyterian Witness)

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