What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?

Then He said, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches."

And again He said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."

And He went through the cities and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,' then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.' But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.' There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last."

- Luke 13:18-30

Yesterday, we read of Jesus' healing of a woman bent over with an affliction - an infirmity she struggled with for eighteen years. The healing was in the synagogue, on the Sabbath, in the presence of all. Jesus was criticized for violating the law of the Sabbath - but He pointed out that even animals are unloosed from bonds if necessary on the Sabbath. Therefore, why not this daughter of Abraham? She needed to be loosed from the bonds of evil that afflicted her and caused her to stoop so badly. See Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.

Then He said, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches." A note in my study bible reads, "The mustard seed is tiny, but the plant grows to a height of about 10 feet in Palestine." I always love this image of the mustard seed, and the tree or sturdy and large shrub that holds even the birds of the air so they may nest in the branches. It's a picture of a home, a retreat, for all of us, even the least among us. And it begins with a seed which we are given to water, nurture, plant and grow.

And again He said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened." A note says, "A small amount of leaven inevitably penetrates the entire dough. Such is the power of the Kingdom." Jesus illustrates the growth of the Kingdom in two ways: there is the height and breadth of the great tree that grows from the mustard seed, and there is the penetrating depth of the leaven, which seasons and changes everything. Both images parallel the effect of the kingdom in us as individuals, and among us in community.

And He went through the cities and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able." A note here says that "the narrow gate is a path to salvation marked by Jesus' teaching on discipleship and its cost." It gives us a picture of the opening to the Lord, through the Holy Spirit, that teaches us there is One Way for this; it is through our hearts and the teachings that we read in the gospels. We can't circumvent this work, this acceptance, the change it asks of us in order to enter through that gate. It asks for specifics, and for the humility to understand what is needed.

When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,' then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.' But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.' " A note in my study bible reads, "Jesus says I do not know you because they are workers of iniquity. If a person is not abiding in Christ, neither verbal confessions ("Lord, Lord," v. 25) nor previous experiences with Christ (v. 26) will be of any avail at the Judgment." This is a warning about preparedness, and the need for vigilance, to be always alert to where we are and what we are choosing in life. The entrance is through the narrow gate, in our hearts, through the choice to work on our spiritual eyes and ears. We can be in close proximity to the teachings, we can act as if we are a part of this kingdom - but until we enter into that gate, and take them to heart, we are still strangers to this relationship.

"There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last." My study bible says, "People of humble faith from all parts of the earth will join together in God's consummated Kingdom. Those who vainly think themselves secure because of honored status will be last." We recall that in yesterday's reading, Jesus spoke of the woman he healed as a "daughter of Abraham" and therefore deserving of the loosing of the bonds of evil that afflicted her. Here, He refers again to spiritual inheritance or heritage, but with an important twist. Those who presume themselves to be inheritors of this Kingdom may not rest secure in worldly notions of inheritance and relationship. He is asking for something more, something deeper that penetrates into us, for which we must enter through the specific narrow gate He has in mind, that He teaches us.

There is a lot of reference here to the "evening up" that takes place in this Kingdom. The worldly notions of reality and relationship are upside down. It's not a kingdom of inheritance via our ancestors or kin. It's not a kingdom made up of subjects via proximity or even familiarity. It is, rather, illustrated by the parables that Jesus gives us in the beginning of this reading today. A seed is planted in us - with tending it is nurtured and grows. Even the birds of the air (suggesting the angelic powers, the messengers of God) may nest in it and find refuge in the world. We take this leaven into ourselves, take it truly to heart, and with time it will season the whole of us, change us, transform us. This is the message that He gives - that it is this narrow gate of the seed and the leaven that will make us "saved;" that is, eligible for entry into this kingdom, and recognition on the final day when the Master returns. My study bible refers to parables as "word-pictures, revealing spiritual truth." Parable (in Hebrew and Aramaic) may also mean "allegory," "riddle" or "proverb." It notes that these images from daily life in the world give us the deep things of God, giving us glimpses of Him whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways (Is. 55:8,9). In this sense, we are given today an understanding that this kingdom does not work the way we think in worldly terms. The first, with seemingly the best seats and the closest proximity, are guaranteed nothing by any form of inheritance or belonging in the worldly sense. The last, and even the least among us, on the other hand, may be those who are humble enough to accept the reality of this power, this seed, this leaven, in their hearts - who can enter through that narrow gate, who can build the depth and height of the kingdom by their commitment and nurturing. We have a certain time in the world, what are we going to choose? Where is our emphasis in life? This is up to us, clearly, as Jesus puts it here.