In Luke 13:18ff, we read two parables on the Kingdom of God. One is the reference to the mustard seed; the other to leaven hid in three measures of flower. Few of us garden enough, or cook often enough to catch the images of these parables.
Jesus says that the mustard seed grows into a tree in which the birds make their nests. The mustard seeds of Palestine grew into plants. Useful as a spice, but far from becoming a tree. Jesus speaks of something which is biologically impossible. Thus, his message is clear.
As he searches to find something to which he could compare the Kingdom of God, he finds none. It is so unlike anything else we have ever known. It grows beyond any persecieved limitations. A better understanding of mustard seeds allows us to see the Kingdom of God as something unlike anything else.
It is a place where those that flit from limb to limb find their rest. It becomes a place where we make our nests and reside.
Similarly the second reference: leaven. Even if we have never made a loaf of bread from scratch, we have seen the TV commercials where time lapse photography allows us to see the muffins grow over the edges of the tin. We understand the concept. There is something quite different about making the bread and watching it rise in our own bowls.
The bread recipe we used for years involves two opportunities for the yeast to do its work. The second is after the loaves are placed in the pan. The first is with the whole ball of ingredients. We mix it together and leave it in our largest mixing bowl. In keeping with the handwritten instructions of our teacher, we cover the bowl with a moist towel. It never fails to amaze me when I return to the bowl, to see that the bread has risen and begun to lift the towel off the top of the bowl.
It takes so little yeast. It expands greatly.
The Kingdom is like that. It may seem small. It has a tremendous potential to change everything around it. As I write this morning I envision those who gathered last evening for fellowship as small packets of leaven who are now spread all across the community. The joy, the acceptance, the love carried from God's house is now the leaven which can greatly alter the rest of the world.
The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed; it is like leaven placed in flour. It is unlike anything we have ever known. It is.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment