The Gospel today offers two of the shortest parables in Scripture. Both challenge any tendency we might have to think small. Mustard seeds and yeast are seemingly tiny contributions to amazing community experiences, whether that community is a flock of birds seeking shelter or a host of hungry neighbors who feast on an abundance of bread.
These stories are invitations to pay attention to what is right here before us—and then to act. The mustard seed must be planted and tended and watered. The small amount of yeast that is carefully added and kneaded is disproportionate to its impact. Scholars tell us that “three measures” in Hebrew terms are equal to about fifty pounds of flour!
The parables invite a familiar question: “What is ours to do, and what is not?” The slow work of planting and watering. That’s ours. It is also ours to add the yeast to flour, to add the leaven of our own lives to the efforts of those around us. What is not ours is to control the outcome. And here we see the creating energy of God moving with our own efforts.
What is ours to do, and what must be left to God? It’s an important distinction. Our world’s history has enough examples of things going quite badly when humans mistake themselves for gods. Every right response to this question includes a sacred choice, a touch of divinity as we share in the work of God and do our part to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and engage in powerful and courageous acts of hope. And then, we will not be surprised when a beloved community takes shape before our eyes.
