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 

 

Yesterday we read that, continuing His preaching to the crowds in parables, Jesus put forth to them another, 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 comments that the mustard seed and the leaven represent the disciples, according to Theophylact.  He said that they began as just a few men but "soon encompassed the whole earth."  They also stand for faith entering a person's soul, which causes an inward growth of virtue.  This soul, my study Bible says, will become godlike and can receive even angels.  

 

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."  St. Matthew quotes from Psalm 78:2.  In this context, the fulfillment of the words of the psalm teach us about the tremendous truths revealed in Christ's parables.  In this sense, just like Christ Himself, these truths are hidden in plain sight, so to speak.  They are revealed to those who will find faith, and come to understand; that is, to those with ears to hear.

 

 In today's reading, Jesus tells two parables:  the parable of the mustard seed, and the parable of the leaven.  The parables are similar in that they both tell of the growth of the Kingdom, although in each one the growth works in a different way.  That Jesus speaks of leaven as an illustration of the work of the word and the Holy Spirit is unusual.  Leaven is found frequently in the Bible, but most often it's used as an example of a bad influence; it's used negatively.  But here, this unusual reference is positive.  Leaven is a natural yeast.  It's enzymatic action works from within to transform the "whole lump" of dough.  St. Paul uses this illustration negatively in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8, comparing bread leavened with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, to unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.  Jesus uses leaven negatively when He teaches the disciples, "Beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (Matthew 16:6), indicating their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  Whatever way, positive or negative, that Jesus is using the term in this instance, leaven indicates a kind of surreptitious, hidden, quiet way of working from within, and we can certainly put the word of Christ the Sower into this category, and also the working of the Holy Spirit within us.  Faith works from within, in the changes we can see in people that take place mysteriously through God's working in their lives, in the seed that takes root in the heart to transform people.  There is a kind of quiet choice going on in the inner workings of the soul, in the depths of the heart that only God can reach, only Christ the Judge can know.  This is why we pay attention to the heart, to the inner life:  that is, to the thoughts we nurture, to the ways we spend our time, to our prayers.  We need to nurture and grow that inner life, the seed that may sprout a crop of a hundredfold, sixty, maybe thirty (see again the parable of the Sower).   St. Matthew gives us a quotation from the psalms indicating that Jesus is speaking of "things kept secret from the foundation of the world."   Like the work of the leaven, these hidden, secret things may not be visible nor are they obvious to the world, but they nonetheless work in us, even as we listen to Him.  This is the work of the Logos, the Word, the One who spoke into existence the foundation of the world, who opens His mouth even now for us all, if we can hear.