I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.

Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."

All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables, and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

"I will open My mouth in parables;

I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world."

- Matthew 13:31-35

We are reading about Jesus' use of parables in His ministry, in Matthew's Gospel. The readings, in context, that would proceed this one came up a little while back. See The Parable of the Sower, and Therefore hear the parable of the sower as the readings which begin Jesus' use of parables. In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His parable teaching with the parable of the Wheat and the Tares. He followed up on the parable of the Sower with one about a man who sowed good seed in a field. But when all men were asleep, an enemy sowed tares or weeds also in the field. When the grain sprouted and began to produce a crop, so also did the tares appear. Jesus continued, "So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." ' "

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." Here we have another teaching about the Kingdom, and particular as it is related again to seed, and therefore Sower. Jesus teaches us this time about the growth of the Kingdom, the powerful energy hidden inside of these seeds He sows. My study bible says about today's parables: "These two short parables signify the startling success of God's Kingdom. A few weak fishermen will convert the whole world because of the divine power of the gospel." I really love the image of the birds nesting in the great sturdy bush that comes of the little mustard seed. It gives us an idea of the power of growth that is possible in this Kingdom, and all of the things it can grow to support as well.

Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened." This is a different kind of growth, a kind of permeation of something, an analogy to the work of the kingdom that takes place within us and among us, until all is changed, transformed, and creates growth. I find something comparable in the birds of the air and the leaven that permeates the meal. The action of leaven creates a kind of aeration or oxidation. If we examine the idea of "air" we see its relation to Spirit (the word in Greek is the same as the word for breath, air, wind). And so we get an analogy to Spirit in these parables, in which the birds of the air are like messengers or angels, that which comes through the action of the Spirit. And it is the action of the Spirit that permeates us, our lives, our communities, and grows and transforms with its energies, its "breath" that breathes in us.

All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables, and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world." Again, we go back to the power of the Holy Spirit at work in Jesus' ministry, and in His preaching in parables. The Holy Spirit will work within us and among us, growing and transforming. It is our capacity for reception of that Spirit that makes all the difference, as Christ has said in earlier readings from this week. How are we capable of receiving? Are our hearts ready for what is hidden in the parables?

If we look at the parables for today, there is a hidden secret, and something we may not even understand unless we are familiar with the action of the Holy Spirit in our own lives. These things work through experience, something that is hidden from those unwilling to go forward with a love of God and of the action of the Spirit in their own lives. Hence, our own capability, desire, and "yes" to this action then becomes important. It is all the work of the Spirit, of course. It is the seed that does its work, the Sower and Creator of the seed responsible for its action. But there is also a place at which we agree to this work, we perceive its goodness, and we are responsible for what we are capable of accepting. And then the parables fall into place. We have a choice: an acceptance or refusal. Sometimes these things happen within us without our least expecting it, and certainly without our understanding until the growth becomes apparent. But always we can count on one thing: that God will be at work in us as long as we are fertile ground. And the powerful and transforming energy of this growth can't be overestimated, nor can it be predicted. It is simply a question of allowing the sower and the seed to do its work, the leaven to work its work in the meal. We can't predict what that will be, but we can welcome it, and we certainly reap the profit from it, as it grows in us, so that "even the birds of the air may nest in its branches" -- therefore, it's ready even for a family, for new eggs, and new growth unforeseen by us in the mere seed. But what is on offer to us is of the greatest importance, hidden beauty, great treasure for those who are capable of seeing it and understanding it, even "things hidden from the foundation of the world."