Thoughts for the Day

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Jesus put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’

The Parable of the Yeast

He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

We should never forget the amazing way Jesus used such simple images to such effect to explain God's plans for His world. By using parables that concerned every day items - objects that could be seen in their fields and homes - and which still exist today, his stories have stayed fresh and bright for thousands of years. In the Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Parable of the Yeast Jesus uses these ordinary 'pictures' to describe the way the Kingdom of God will spread.

Yes, there is exaggeration, after all the mustard seed is not the smallest of seeds (what about poppy seed among others?) and the bush is not a redwood tree, but we must allow the exaggeration. Parables are not real stories and we mistake their intention if we try to explain each tiny section. Jesus is uttering a prophesy that God's Kingdom will one day grow from its humble beginnings of a few ordinary men and women in Galilee to every part of the world, and these images have transcended barriers of language, culture, race and time, and remain as vibrant today as when they were first spoken.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed appears in all three Synoptic Gospels, and the Parable of the Yeast (often called Leaven) only in Matthew and Luke. But the message is similar. The image of the mustard seed reflects the spread of Christianity around the world, and the image of the tiny bit of yeast in the dough its spread spiritually within the hearts of God's people. Jesus' message spreads within us slowly transforming us so that we in our turn begin to influence our society. When all has been completed, then, as the Book of Revelation says, 'The kingdom of the world (will have) become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and He will reign for ever and ever.’ (Revelations 11.15).

Lord Jesus Christ,
when we feel upset about the state of our world,
may we do our best to be agents of Your word,
passing on Your message of love and peace
through our actions and our speech.
May we allow Your teaching to grow in us
and inspire us to greater efforts
to help spread Your Kingdom here on earth.
Amen.