Posts
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 whom 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 that Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day." The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound -- think of it -- for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?" And when He said those things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.
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." My study bible says that the mustard plant grows to a height of about 10 feet in Palestine. According to ancient commentaries, some have seen this as an example of the handful of apostles who would evangelize the world. Also a mustard seed can stand for faith entering a person's soul, and reaping an inward growth of virtue. My study bible says, "This soul will become godlike and even receive angels" (birds of the air making a home and supported by its branches).
And again He said, "To whom 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." The leaven has similar properties to the mustard seed as an analogy of the Kingdom. It eventually is "worked into" all, changing the whole composition of the flour mixture, like the work of the apostles in the world. Similarly, it works inside of us, seemingly "hidden" and working within, until the whole is leavened. Interestingly, the Greek verb for "to leaven" shares the root of the word given to us as "enzyme." This gives us another picture of the work of the Kingdom, which changes and transforms. Looking at Wikipedia, a definition for enzymes states that they "are responsible for thousands of metabolic processes that sustain life." A catalyst that is necessary to sustain life (in the sense of Jesus' "life in abundance") is another good way to describe the Kingdom.
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." Jesus is journeying toward Jerusalem, toward the Passion. All is being prepared for His exit (exodus) and for the Holy Spirit, the true force behind the examples of the Kingdom given above. Here, the image is about the urgency of seeking the Kingdom, the Way of Christ. My study bible says that the description of "two ways" was widespread in Judaism (Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Proverbs 4:17-19, 12:28, 15:24) and in early Christian writings such as the Didache or Barnabas. Here, in Luke, as Jesus is journeying toward Jerusalem, the outlook is eschatological, looking toward the end of the age that is initiated here. It notes, "Because we wrestle against sins and human weaknesses as well as spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12), entering the Kingdom is the more difficult way."
"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.'" My study bible says, "Neither verbal confessions (Lord, Lord, v. 25) nor sacramental experiences (We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets, v. 26) avail anything unless we also do the works of faith (see 6:46-49)."
"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." Cyril of Alexandria says that those coming from the east and west, and north and south indicate Gentiles, from all the world, coming in faith to rest with the saints (Commentary on Luke, Homily 99). My study bible cites Theophylact as seeing the first who becomes last as not only faithless Jews, but also those in the Church who "from infancy have put on Christ and have been taught the Word, but who become last by transgressing against it."
Jesus' warnings at this stage grow very stark; they are a reminder of the age that is being initiated here in His ministry. As He is walking now toward Jerusalem, and therefore in some real sense toward Judgment, He strikes a sharp tone of warning. His aim is for salvation; that is His mission in the world. He wants us to take His words seriously, to understand the full seriousness of His teaching, of the work of the Spirit in the world, the work of the Kingdom. And that's why, effectively, these (seemingly) two themes are linked. The work of the Kingdom in the world is the work of the Spirit that is to be given, the fire which is to be given to all the world after Jesus is "baptized" with the Passion. He's emphasizing two ways in order to make clear the importance of the work of the Kingdom, our response to the Holy Spirit when it comes. This is the reality of Judgment, how we respond to the work of the Kingdom, the working energies of the Holy Spirit in the world. In addition to the Gospel we now read, Luke the Evangelist has also written the Acts of the Apostles, the story of the beginning of the Church, the work of the Holy Spirit in the world, the Kingdom at work. From the beginning of that work, it is clear that Jesus commands the apostles to wait until the Spirit is given before departing from Jerusalem. They must wait for the "baptism of the Spirit" promised by John the Baptist. In that baptism (see Acts 2), we receive two "images" of the Spirit: one is the sound of wind, as in the analogy given by Jesus to Nicodemus in John's Gospel (John 3:8 - "The wind blows where it wishes . . .") and also the image of fire as given so often in Luke's Gospel (see Acts 2:3, "tongues of fire"). This fire divides or cleaves to sit upon each of them, but its Source is one, a unity. And it is this fire that tests all things, all people. It seasons all of us. It is the leaven at work in the world, the mustard seed that starts small and is able to shelter the birds or angels of the air, so that God's message "nests" in each of us. Let us consider the opportunity, let us consider the great grace immeasurably poured out in this baptism of fire. Let us consider the energy at work in us if we but accept the gift. So much depends on it.
