July 23, 2023
You may have noticed that verses 31 to 35 were left out of today’s Gospel lesson.
But it those verses I want to talk about. So let me read them to you.
“He told them another parable. ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and all the birds of the air come and perch on it’s branches.’ He told them another parable, ‘the Kingdom of heaven is like the yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.’ Jesus said all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet; ‘I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.’”
Parables are part and parcel of Jesus’ teaching, so let me explain what a parable is.
It comes from the Greek word ‘Para-ballein’ which means ‘throw out together’.
So, Jesus throws out a story and with it he throws out the interpretation of the story. They go out together and if we are lucky, we can see the interpretation behind the story.
I don’t know much about seeds. Bern is the gardener in our family and our front and back yards look amazing this time of year.
But I know about yeast because for many years I baked bread.
I baked all kinds of bread—and all of it needed yeast to make it rise. So, when the woman mixed yeast into the dough, she would sit it in a warm place for 45 minutes or so, so the dough would rise and she could then make bread with it that would be fluffy and delicious.
But this I do know; a mustard tree is very big though it comes from the smallest of seeds. And I know yeast causes bread to rise and be ready to be baked.
The mustard seed and the yeast in the parables Jesus told stand for the ‘word of God’ planted in our heart and the yeast placed in our souls.
And in both cases, the Word grows and swells and we are made more powerful and more productive in our lives.
Mustard seeds and yeast make our hearts and minds more in touch with God.
That is the meaning behind the story.
The word of God gives us strength and courage and the growth we need to be God’s people in this world and to do what God wants us to do.
Imagine that we are doing God’s work here at Trinity.
We are feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, bringing peace to the afflicted and inviting those outside our world into the world of God’s grace and love.
Imagine that.
Imagine it.
Then DO IT.
Amen and Shalom.
