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

Jesus teaching His disciples.  Gospel of Matthew, 1684, Ilyās Bāsim Khūrī Bazzī Rāhib, Coptic Monk, Egypt.  Walters Ms. W. 592; Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD

 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."

- 13:31-35

In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus has begun speaking in parables.  First He told the parable of the sower.  In yesterday's reading, He taught another parable, saying:  "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.  But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.  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 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."  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."  My study bible says of these parables that the mustard seed and the leaven represent the disciples who, according to Theophylact, began as just a few, but "soon encompassed the whole earth."  These parables also give us an image of faith entering a person's soul, and causing an inward growth of virtue.  The soul will become more "like God" and can receive even angels (the birds of the air).   The parable of the leaven is unusual in that in Scripture, leaven is usually used as a negative term, and here it is positive.

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."   This quotation is taken from Psalm 78:2 (Septuagint).

Each of the parables Jesus gives illustrates a different aspect of the kingdom of heaven which is "at hand" in His ministry (3:1-2, 4:17, 10:5-7).  First we were given the image of the sower who sows the seeds of the word, and the type of ground it fell upon, the various pitfalls to its fruition.  Jesus explained this in detail to the apostles, and the symbolism of the parable.  Then we were given the parable of the wheat and the tares, in which all grow together until the harvest, or the end of the age.  This, too, tells us of another facet of our experience of the kingdom which is at hand, that in this world there will be those who understand and those who do not, there will be truth alongside of heresy, and everything will grow together.  In today's reading Jesus gives us yet more images of this kingdom as we may experience it.  Faith is a key component to its realization, for without faith there can be no understanding, nor experience, nor grasp of the presence of this kingdom.  But faith is so powerful, that only as much as the tiniest seed will grow an herb into a great sturdy tree, so that even "the birds of the air come and nest in its branches" -- a metaphor for the angels who may make their home with us, sheltered within the branches and growth of our faith.  This is a powerful metaphor of tremendous growth, which Theophylact saw as an image of the explosive growth of the Church, which within the first decades of its inception went out to all the known world of its time.  But the parable is clearly also a metaphor for one's own life and the growth of faith and its potential fruitfulness, even a metaphor of a faithful home -- anyplace we make a space for faith and the kingdom "at hand" to grow through our lives.  The mustard seed gives us this tiniest of images (in Christ's very words) that teaches us about the power of the small, the power of humility, even meekness and gentleness, which is accompanied by a welcoming of the kingdom and the mysterious power that works to make the growth happen.  All it takes is the tiniest seed of faith, and grace -- that mysterious power of God at work in all this -- does the rest.  Finally there is the leaven, a wonderful image that teaches us about the growth that permeates whatever it is introduced into.  Even the word in Greek, as it has evolved into modern language, tells us something potent.  The word for leaven is ζύμῃ/zyme, which is the root of our modern word enzyme.  It echoes into our modern language the potency described by Jesus, which transforms everything into a different substance than we started with.   So the leaven of the kingdom can change us, our communities, our families, our circle of friends, the way we relate to all around us.  Our faith can be the source of transformation of our environment, creating growth that will be surprising both to ourselves and to those who think they already know us.  It can change our lives into a new substance, hidden on the inside, and yet producing something new on the outside.  The earlier parables have already taught us about patience, perseverance, overcoming obstacles, endurance.  In today's parables, we're given stories of surprising growth and change.  But faith is where we begin, with Jesus' incredible tiniest of seeds.  All of these parables give us facets of the kingdom, images of this marvelous jewel Jesus brings into the world for each of us.  Let us continue to discover what our faith may bring throughout the length of our lives, and the places into which it may lead us.