Words are seeds.  Good words produce good trees producing good fruit.  Bad words are bad seed producing bad trees or belief systems or ways of life producing bad fruit.  In this parable, the mustard seed is the good seed.  The sycamine tree is a tree from a sycamine seed which is not a mustard seed.  That tree if we have faith as a mustard seed can be plucked up by its root and planted in the sea.  The sycamine seed might be the bad seed of inferiority producing the bad tree of alcoholism producing the bad fruit of a broken home.  The sycamine seed might be resentment producing drug addiction producing theft and lying.  The sycamine seed might be bitterness producing prostitution producing the fruit of venereal disease.  The sycamine seed might be the law producing self-righteousness producing the fruit of respecter of persons.

Now in the second half of this parable, Jesus is saying that those who merely follow the law are unprofitable people doing only their duty.  Those who justify themselves by performing the law do not have the power to uproot the sycamine tree.  Tithing, keeping the Sabbath, and honoring thy father and mother are good but do not pack the punch to uproot a tree of alcoholism, drug addiction, or prostitution.  The only seed that packs that kind of punch is the seed of Christ and that seed is the anointing which enables us and encourages us to use faith as our servant Jesus explained in this parable.  It is the anointing that must grow into a kingdom tree of love, freedom, peace, and faith that will produce the fruit of deliverance from the sycamine tree: alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution, gambling, etc.  It must be said however, that when Jesus tried to uproot the tree of Phariseeism that tree crucified him.  The prostitute did not.  Let us pray for the anointing which will produce love, a love that never fails which will uproot the bad seed and trees and fruit keeping us from entering the fullness of the kingdom.  It is only a love anointing that will succeed.

 Amen.