In today’s Gospel, Jesus shares two parables of the Kingdom of God. In the first, he compares the Kingdom to a mustard seed. What does this imply? First, that the Kingdom begins small. Tiny, in fact. Perhaps, easily missed. Second, seeds usually develop gradually, often slowly. “Presto” is not God’s usual way of doing things. God’s ways are more slow-but-steady. Third, a seed is not the finished product. It is hidden potential.
Then Jesus says the Kingdom of God is like yeast that a woman (in her kitchen) mixes with “three measures of wheat f lour”—enough for sixty loaves! Was she feeding an army? More likely, a wedding feast. Yeast works secretly. A tiny amount has a huge effect on the entire dough. These two short parables (only four sentences long) can raise some questions worth pondering.
Are we too enamored with the big and spectacular in our world? Little is beautiful. Small can be good. Are we too focused on the loud, the showy, the sensational in our lives? What lies hidden can matter the most.
Do we expect instant results? Growth takes time. The gradual is God’s modus operandi. Do we demand the total package, the finished product in individuals, in our institutions, in ourselves? Maybe we need to detect and nourish potential more. Do we downplay the ordinary in our daily lives? Instead, may we learn to see the miraculous in the mundane . . . and come to believe that all places—even gardens and kitchens—can harbor the holy.
