What is the kingdom of God like?

 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 from 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 these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for 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."   The parable of the mustard seed is meant to give us a picture of the "kingdom of God."  My study bible says that in Palestine, the mustard plant grows to a height of about ten feet.  Both the mustard seed and the leaven are also interpreted as representing the disciples.  According to Theophylact, they began as just a few men, but "soon encompassed the whole earth."  But the kingdom of God isn't only among us, it is also within us.  These images stand also for faith entering a person's soul, which causes an inward growth of virtue.  This soul, says my study bible, "will become godlike and can receive even angels" (the birds of the air who nest in the tree's branches.)

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."  In Matthew's Gospel, the narrow gate is contrasted with the broad way that leads to destruction.  This description of two ways is part of a widespread tradition in Judaism and in early Christian writings.  But Luke sets this saying about the narrow gate one must enter in order to be saved as part of a more eschatological teaching, given as Jesus is approaching Jerusalem for His Passion.  Jesus speaks of Judgment and the end of the age.  My study bible says that 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 that neither verbal confessions (Lord, Lord) nor sacramental experience (We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets) avail anything unless we also do the works of faith, living our faith.  See also Luke 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 from 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 quotes Theophylact, who sees the first who becomes the last not only as 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."  The teaching that they will come from the east and from the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God refers to the Gospel going out to all the world, and those entering in who live it.

What does it mean to really live our faith?  If those who enter by the narrow gate does not necessarily include nominal faithful, who go to services and confess the faith, then who does it include?  How is it that the Pharisees and scribes are so often described by Jesus as those who are hypocrites -- and repeatedly given His warnings about the woes to come to them?  This is in fact connected to the parables of the Kingdom, given earlier in today's reading.  What is the kingdom of God?  How does it work?  How do we enter into it?  The parables are meant to give us a sense of what it is.  A mustard seed is tiny, but grows into a tree, capable of giving a home to even the birds of the air.  Jesus will later give an image of faith as a mustard seed (17:6).  The first parable of all, that of the Sower, is the image of Christ sowing seeds.  The seeds give yield depending on the soil and and the endurance and patience necessary for bearing fruit.  (See Luke 8:4-15.)   All of these parables of the Kingdom teach us about something growing within us.  Particularly the parable of the Leaven, in today's reading, gives us an image of something that not only grows but comes to permeate even that which is not like it, thus changing the substance of the whole.  And there we're given an even deeper clue about the reality of this Kingdom and how it works within us.  Jesus' narrow gate is that which is entered by those for whom this Kingdom, this way of life, becomes the fullness of the way we live life.  That is, it's not just window dressing.  It's not just about appearances we make that put us in a good light. It permeates to the heart, it allows us to wrestle inside with everything we think and know that struggles against it.  To actively live our faith is to have it truly dwell within us in such a deep and permeating way that our choices reflect that faith.  To do the works of faith can be as simple as choosing to say a prayer for someone who needs it, or perhaps even for an enemy.  It means fulfilling and living Christ's teachings.  It means striving to conform to the image He gives us, and even including that mystical reality that is at work in its mysterious and secret ways like the leaven within the whole of the dough.  Jesus is not just another lawgiver:  the mustard seed and the leaven work within us and among us in ways known to God.  We simply come to know their effects.  It's a very mysterious reality that goes on in the heart; we cannot predict it nor can we even picture what "perfect" is.  That is something else we have to discover through living our faith and allowing the Kingdom to do its work in us.  So it was with the explosive growth of the early Church in the world as well.  To truly enter the narrow gate is to allow this depth of work within us, so that what we know and believe becomes not just a set of "good deeds," but more, a way of life and a way of living -- a growing fullness of meaning and purpose that permeates all that we think, say, and do in its continuing challenge.  There is a goal worthy of being called a "narrow gate."