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 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 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 in Palestine the mustard plant grows to a height of about ten feet.  Let us note that Jesus says that the birds of the air nested in its branches.  This is an allusion to the angelic ministers who may make a home with us; but it all begins with a tiny seed that grows through faith.

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."  First Jesus gave us the image of growth of the tall mustard tree, which begins with a tiny seed, but can provide a foundation for the nests of birds of the air.  Here Jesus adds to our understanding of the growth of this Kingdom; it can also grow by permeating and enfolding, transforming the nature of whatever substance with which it is mixed.

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."  Note the juxtaposition; the Kingdom is energetic and expansive, transforming whatever it enters.  But here, as Jesus goes about His mission through the cities and villages, He gives a caution to all, and the emphasis is on judgment, discernment, awareness.   In Matthew's Gospel, He contrasts the narrow gate with the wide ("wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it" - Matthew 7:13).  There, the description of these two ways reflects a widespread teaching in Judaism, which would also carry over into early Christian writings attributed to the apostles.  But here in Luke, as Jesus has already set His sights on Jerusalem, the perspective is more eschatological.   Put together with the parables about the growth of the Kingdom, it strikes a warning note, that this gracious gift is open to those who will take it as seriously as its true weight and value is worth.   Its growth and its transformative properties are a part of the process of repentance and awareness.  They also require of us the discipline of good servants, responding to His commands in living lives of faith. 

The "two ways" are an important theme in both Jewish tradition and early Christianity, as mentioned above.  In the Didache, they are referred to as the way of life and the way of death.  There is a sense that one is either going in one direction or another -- on the path toward a fullness of communion with Christ, or not.  In today's reading, Jesus stresses an urgency to making this choice for life, for the gift of the Kingdom.  We're first given descriptions of what this Kingdom is like and what it does.  Jesus describes a tremendous and mysterious growth from something very small, but which produces great branches that can even host new life, a foundation for the nests of "the birds of the air."  Then there is the enzymatic growth of the fermentation of leaven, which works mysteriously as an ingredient which transforms everything from within.  But when, as He teaches in the cities and towns, He warns that this opportunity for participation in the Kingdom is a narrow gate, He gives us the perspective not only of discipline and making astute choices, but also of a limited time in which to do so.  He gives us a sense that this gift of the Kingdom is rare and precious, and that it takes a kind of awareness and alertness to enter.  A narrow gate implies a limited sort of a choice, one which we must choose deliberately.  We can't just go along with the crowds to enter into a narrow gate.  We must seek it out, we must truly want that particular entrance.  The narrow gate brings to mind Jesus' statement regarding the difficulties with which a rich person enters the Kingdom:  "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" (found in Luke 18:18-29).  In one interpretation of this statement, the "eye of the needle" is understood as a particularly narrow gate of the city, for which a camel loaded with baggage would have to be unburdened altogether in order to pass through.  However we look at Christ's statement, it is clear that He is demanding of His listeners the proper attention necessary to their salvation, an urgency they don't seem to grasp.  His warnings take on the familiar sense that our time is shorter than we think, and life more urgent in its call of what we are to be about, and the particular things that require our attention.  Our complacency with what we already have and know, and particularly with an assurance that we are doing all we need do, seems to be particularly emphasized here.  What our ancestors in faith have done before us is not enough, if we wish to join them in this Kingdom.  Where is your narrow gate?  Is there a particular choice you need to make?  Are the great gifts of this Kingdom something you take for granted?  The nests of the birds of the air await the root of the tiny seed He offers us.