Sacred Scripture
Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.” Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.” (Luke 13:18-21)
Reflection
A mustard seed – tiny, not very impressive, average looking. But all of us know what a mustard seed can produce.
Today’s scripture has a way of turning conventional thinking on its head. In the American culture where power, wealth, and winning are so important, the parable of the mustard seed is nothing short of counter-cultural or even revolutionary. It challenges us to look through a different lens.
The kingdom of God is not a kingdom of power and might, but a reign of love. The kingdom of God (kingdom of love) comes into being by spreading from person to person and not by force. It is a quiet revolution: at first silent and imperceptible (like the mustard seed planted in the earth), but ultimately dynamic and transformative. Love is not linear, it grows exponentially.
That’s where you and I come in. That’s where you and I are so important.
The parable of the mustard seed challenges us to rethink what is possible. Even the tiniest of faith or positive action can have impact disproportionate to the “investment”.
The parable of the mustard seed allows us to visualize the future fruitfulness of our seemingly small actions on behalf of Christ whether they be small prayers, small sacrifices, or small, hidden acts of virtue. These are tiny, from the world’s perspective—not worthy of even a footnote in the annals of the relentless 24/7 news cycle, let alone a headline. And yet, hidden within these tiny acts of faith and responses to God’s grace is a great future, just as the tiny mustard seed contains in potency the largest of shrubs. Contemplating this comparison will enable us to continue committing ourselves to the small things, the things that don’t appear in the headlines, but the things that will be fruitful for an everlasting Kingdom.
As we live any day or our life, we should never discount the small things we can do: a word of love or support to our spouse, a few moments to affirm a son or daughter about something they are good at or something that they have achieved, a phone call to a friend who is grieving the death of a loved one, or even a thankful smile instead of a vacant stare as we approach the cashier in the supermarket. These are all small things, tiny things, things that could seem to have no significance. Yet they can be important because God can choose to use them to build up some person in our lives and to increase the goodness around us. We should never discount doing small things in the course of every day.
But neither should we overlook the importance of receiving small things each day. For each day there are people in our lives who give us signs of love and support. How much richer our lives would be if we were open to accept those signs and take them in: the smile of our 3-year-old as we come home from work, the person who breaks to let us into traffic, a friend who says to us, “How are you? How are you really?” All of these are signs that God is using to show us that we are loved and that there are reasons for hope.
Big and flashy things always seem important. But small things matter. Things as little as a mustard seed can shape our lives. We can be the farmer who plants the mustard seed or the soil that receives it—the giver or the receiver. In both cases small things like a mustard seed can make a difference. God uses the small things in our lives to build the kingdom of God.
Prayer of The Day
“Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and transform me into the Christ-like holiness you desire. Let me grow in your love by reaching out in love in all things. Even the shadow of my outstretched hand shows another that I desire to act in holiness and love in all things.”
Daily Note
Even if at present, the kingdom seems to be one of the tiniest of seeds, we know that that tiny seed — the grain of wheat that fell to the ground and died so that it could bear fruit, Christ himself (Jn 12:24) — already contains within the fullness of the kingdom, just as a mustard seed already contains in “fertilized embryo” the full identity of the future mustard tree. Likewise, the image of the Kingdom as yeast points to us the confidence Christ has that, together with him, one or a few faith-filled hopeful Christians in a neighborhood, in a work setting, in a school, are enough to lift up the entire environment. The confidence comes from our already having received in the present in embryonic form the power of Christ’s resurrection, which has lifted up the entire fallen world.
