Lk 13: 18-21
He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”
And again he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
The Kingdom of God is Anything But Insignificant
Jesus describes to us what the kingdom of God is like. Wow! The kingdom of God begins with what seems so insignificant, a mustard seed and a few grains of yeast, but these are not insignificant at all. When mixed with water and soil or flour, these tiny grains have the power to grow into a home and into food. Home and food are basic, but they are anything but insignificant.
Each day I encounter moments which, like the mustard seed or tablespoon of yeast, are easy to forget and discard: they often appear as fleeting moments of comfort, hope, reassurance, insight.
Yet when I let these seeds sink into the good soil of my heart, through attention to them, and when I water them with prayer and Word of God, they grow in miraculous ways and become a real home and real food and drink for the world.
—Ryen Dwyer, SJ, is a Jesuit from the Midwest Province studying theology at Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California.
Prayer
Jesus, I thank you for the gift of seeds and for you, the sower. Please help me to notice and pay attention to the small moments, the seeds of faith which you provide each day, which through your power can grow beyond what I myself can imagine and become a home and food for the world.
—Ryen Dwyer, SJ