The Mustard Seed (book)

The Mustard Seed is a Christian novel written by Peter Szondy. It was released in 2015.

The novel is based on an original story told to Szondy by G.M. Mercier, a friend of his, which itself is a fictionalized version of Mercier's granddaughter who was miraculously healed from an inoperable tumor near her heart.

Plot

In the small rural town of White Dove, California (portrayed as being in the mountains outside of Los Angeles), Sara Hopkins (age 10) attends church regularly with her parents (Alex and Bonnie) and brother Danny at The Congregation of White Dove (portrayed as a non-denominational Protestant church, important in the story line to follow).

One Sunday their pastor preaches on the Parable of the Mustard Seed; that afternoon Sara finds a dead sparrow while visiting her grandfather. Taking literally the verse that says if one has faith the size of a mustard seed, one can move mountains, Sara begins saying The Lord's Prayer repeatedly. Miraculously, the sparrow comes back to live, and Sara sees Jesus on the opposite side of a lake. Neither her parents nor her grandfather (who had no real belief in God, and lost Sara's grandmother in a car accident) take her seriously, and when her brother tells everyone at school what happened Sara is teased and mocked. Furthermore, her doctor (Dr. Riley) believes that it isn't "healthy" for her to "pretend" she's having conversations with Jesus (though he attends church with his wife, the doctor himself lost all belief in God when his son collapsed while running and died four months later; he's also guilt-ridden that his last words were in anger over their disagreement as to his son's college choice).

But one classmate, Mark Miller (a paraplegic, the result of a car accident two years prior that had severed his spinal cord) asks Sara to pray for him. The next day, Mark goes to the doctor's office; he is able to first wiggle his toes and then later is able to walk. Unfortunately for Sara, the whole account is overheard by another client -- Dolores Clark, a local news reporter -- who decides to run with the story (to the consternation of her boss who fears backlash from viewers and advertisers).

The story makes Sara a local success story; people brought their children hoping that she could heal them. One of them recognizes her: Theresa de la Paz, who had Stage 4 cancer (Hodgkin's lymphoma, it is later revealed); she is accompanied by her devout Catholic family consisting of her mother Maria (who is widowed; she has feelings for Sam -- who visits her restaurant every Sunday and also has similar feelings for Maria), her uncle (a priest from Mexico who previously worked with the priest for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which determines if a Catholic should be considered for sainthood) and his assistant who worked with him at the Vatican. Sara prays for Theresa and then for several other children, notably a blind girl in the crowd and a young boy in a wheelchair; after the latter she passes out.

The priests are very interested in what happened; they interview the reporter (who grew up in the area and knew the family personally, and tells of how Sara climbed a tall tree and rescued a cat when she was only five, not afraid of dying knowing that if she did, she would go to Heaven) and the pastor (who, though as a Protestant doesn't agree with Catholic views on sainthood, admits that Sara would be considered one). However, they also remember their last assignment with the Congregation, investigating a woman who had purported miracle-healing powers, yet herself died of cancer; several of the local people thought she was cursed as a result (even calling her a witch). The pastor and the priests go to the hospital to meet with Sara.

Sara is later diagnosed with a serious brain tumor, first thought to be inoperable; later, surgery is thought possible but with at best 50-50 odds of survival. The diagnosis leaves Sam in a crisis of faith; for the first time in quite a while he prays to God, asking Him to heal Sara. It also has the doctor and pastor (long time friends) at odds: the doctor insists that miracles don't happen (and provides documented evidence of placebo effects being real, plus he now has a specialist in his corner who believes the tumor is located at an area of the brain which causes hallucinations). Dolores continues to report on the miracles and on Sara's dire prognosis and (again to the consternation of her boss, though his boss thinks the story is bringing great ratings) asks people to pray for Sara; the story goes viral with people worldwide praying as well.

Meanwhile Sam has an idea: along with his dog, he gathers Danny, Mark and his siblings, and Theresa and Maria, and go to where Sara prayed for the dead sparrow. As Theresa makes the Sign of the Cross and repeats The Lord's Prayer, she (followed by the other children except Danny) see Jesus walking across the lake, approach each of them and touch them, and then walk back across the lake before disappearing.

The kids know now that they need to bring Sara to the lake, no matter what may happen to her, but believing that she will be healed there. Bonnie refuses and calls an all-adult meeting, but while doing so the kids take Sara (and Bonnie's car) and head to the lake, followed by the adults in a group of cars. The kids take Sara to where she prayed for the dead sparrow and in unison they repeat The Lord's Prayer. In time, the kids, followed by all the adults except the specialist, see a vision of Jesus approaching Sara, taking her in His arms, walking across the lake with Sara waving good-bye; Sara is still with the children when she suddenly goes limp.

Sara is returned to the hospital but cannot be revived. As her family spends one last moment with her, with Bonnie heartbroken, Sara miraculously awakens and says that she asked Jesus to let her come back so her mommy wouldn't be sad. (She also tells Dr. Riley that she met his deceased son while in Heaven.) The next day the doctors find no trace of her tumor and she is discharged. While she is let out the back door (to avoid the ever-growing media presence, now involving national news organizations), Sam seeks Dolores interviewing a former Vietnam buddy of his, who tells how he was diagnosed with cancer and went to Sara's house (but stayed in the back and asked God for strength no matter what); he also received a cancer-free diagnosis.

In the epilogue, Sam and Maria marry and attend both her Catholic parish and the Protestant congregation regularly. The priests, returning to Mexico, are involved in a fatal plane crash, silently thanking God in their final minutes for having met Sara.

Characters

• The Hopkins Family
  • Sara Hopkins - the main character, age 8. Taking God's promises at their word, she begins praying for others and sees them healed as a result. (In total, seven miracle healings are attributed to her: the sparrow, Mark, Theresa, a blind girl, a wheelchair-bound boy, Chuck Carter, and her own. Plus her actions resulted in Sam coming to faith and Dr. Riley having his faith restored.)
  • Danny Hopkins - Sara's older brother. He isn't as serious about spiritual matters as Sara.
  • Bonnie Hopkins - Sara's and Danny's mother. She is reluctant to allow Sara to visit the lake before her surgery, having wanted a daughter she is fearful of losing her.
  • Alex Hopkins - Sara's and Danny's father.
  • Sam Donovan - Sara's and Danny's grandfather (and Bonnie's father). He doesn't have much of any spiritual faith, but has a secret affection for Maria de la Paz. Most of the events of the story take place on or near his property.
  • Butch - a black Labrador retriever who belongs to Sam. He is also able, along with Sara, to see the visions of Jesus that she sees.
• The Miller Family
  • Mark Miller – a classmate of Sara. Paralyzed as a result of a car accident two years prior, it is his miracle that propels Sara into the spotlight.
  • Ellen Miller - one of Mark's sisters, she drives the car to take Sara to the lake.
  • Sylvia Miller - Mark's other sister, she ultimately plays Sara at the end to allow the real Sara to escape the hospital unnoticed.
• The de la Paz Family
  • Theresa de la Paz - another classmate of Sara. She has stage 4 Hodgkin's lymphoma and is also healed, which attracts the attention of her uncle, a priest.
  • Maria de la Paz - Theresa's mother. A widow who operates a local cantina, she has a secret affection for Sam Donovan (at the end, the two marry). She and her daughter are devout Catholics.
  • Father Alanzo Echevarria - Theresa's uncle (and Maria's brother). He is a priest in Mexico visiting his family, who hears the initial reports of Sara's ability. He previously served in the Vatican within the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which determines if a Catholic should be considered for sainthood, and ultimately investigates the stories.
  • Father Bernardo Moretti - Father Echevarria's assistant who works with him in Mexico, and accompanied him to see his family. He, too, worked for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (along with Fr. Echevarria).
• Other Characters
  • Bob Jenkins, Jr. - Pastor of The Congregation of White Dove (a Protestant church) where the Hopkins, Miller, and Riley families attend. He is willing to believe that the healings were genuine miracles.
  • Dr. David Riley - the local doctor. Having lost his faith in God when his son died unexpectedly, he seeks to find a rational answer to the healings.
  • Elizabeth Riley - David's wife. Unlike her husband, she maintained her faith after their son's death.
  • Dolores Clark - a local news reporter who breaks the story on Sara's healing abilities.
  • Dr. Sanjay Saxena - a specialist who Dr. Riley calls in to take a look at Sara's tumor. A second-generation Indian-American, he is the only person not to witness the events at the lake.
  • Chuck Carter - a friend of Sam's who served with him in Vietnam. He is the last person to declare a healing as a result of Sara's prayers.
    • Nick and Ryan Carter - Chuck's sons. In an early chapter, Sam confronts them at Maria's cantina after they bully a patron; at the end they are crying over the miracle healing of their father.

Values Portrayed

The main theme of the book is the belief in (and necessity of) faith as well as the reality of miracles.

Controversial Elements

The book has some controversial elements: several of the characters are showing drinking alcohol and using profanity (though the latter, in anger over Sara's fatal prognosis).

But the most controversial element is the ecumenical nature of the portrayal between Catholics and Protestants throughout the book, each of them being totally accepting of the other's views (in reality there is often sharp disagreement between the parties) and ultimately ending in Sam's and Maria's interfaith marriage.

Film Adaptation

The book was made into a faith-based movie, The Girl Who Believes in Miracles (featuring Kevin Sorbo, who regularly appears in Christian films as a skeptic -- in this case, Dr. Riley -- along with Academy Award winning actress Mira Sorvino and Emmy Award winning actor Peter Coyote, who starred in E.T.), which was released on Good Friday 2021. The movie was rated PG (for thematic content, a brief fight, and brief smoking) and was filmed in Oklahoma, but many of the controversial elements of the book were not included. It opened with a credible $546,000 given an Easter weekend release date and a limited showing (only 640 theaters).