What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?

 

 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.  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."   My study Bible comments that the mustard plant grows to a height of about ten feet in Palestine.   It notes that both the mustard seed and the leaven represent the disciples who, according to Theophylact, began as just a few men, but "soon encompassed the whole earth."  These also stand, it says, for faith entering a person's soul, which causes an inward growth of virtue.  This soul can become godlike and receive even angels (the birds of the air).

 

 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."   My study Bible points out that the description of the two ways was widespread in Judaism (Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Proverbs 4:17-18, 12:28, 15:23; Wisdom of Sirach 15:17) and in early Christian writings such as the Didache and the Epistle of Barnabas.  Here in Luke's version, this sense is more eschatological than in Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 7:13-14), and refers to the end of the age (as is evident from the parable that follows).  My study Bible comments 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.'  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." My study Bible asserts here that neither verbal confessions (Lord, Lord) nor sacramental experiences (we ate and drank in Your presence and You taught in our streets) avail anything, unless we also do the works of faith (see Luke 6:46-49).  In terms of the last and the first, Theophylact sees 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."   Note that Christ's teaching consistently places more responsibility upon those who already know the gospel, as opposed to those who do not (Luke 12:47-48).

Let us study the language of Christ's parables of the Kingdom, and the great beauty He inspires from so few amazingly well-chosen words.  Jesus teaches, "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."  This extraordinarily simple parable fills us with images that explode with a vivid illustration of growth.   The tininess of the mustard seed already speaks to us of something extremely small and compact, from which one will observe growth that surprises.  My study Bible speaks of the growth produced from the mustard seed in the region from which Christ came, that they are not just the bushes we might be familiar with, but trees which can grow to ten feet.  But Christ's parable takes us on an added journey, by remarking upon the birds of the air that nested in its branches.  These birds of the air resemble for us angels, which can accompany those who grow in the holiness of the Kingdom and expand the energies of God which work through their lives, the activity of the Holy Spirit in our world.  One can simply think of the kind of growth Christ describes here, and think of the possibilities it arouses in our imagination from the parable.  Through such growth in our world has been produced countless hospitals and charities, over the time of history, universities, and beautiful art and architecture from so many periods, in so many styles, across the world.  One can simply reflect on the aspect of creativity that accompanies such type of growth, and understand that the work of the Kingdom is one that is attributed to the unlimited creative potential in God the Holy Spirit, the Creator of life (Nicene Creed).  The kind of growth described in this image of the mustard seed become a tree which can nurture and house life gives us a sense of broad expansion, and support that offers shelter for those who can nest in it, including the messengers of the air (the angels).  In the parable that follows, we receive a highly significant image of a different kind of growth, one that is equally mysterious (how does the great tree come from the tiny seed?), and also internal, but one of which we take cognizance when we recognize the transformation it produces.  This is the mysterious process of a natural yeast leavening a lump of dough, working its natural enzymes to the point where all of the dough is changed, transformed.  This is also the power of the Holy Spirit, working to transfigure us, from the inside out.  Indeed, if we study the word for leaven in the Greek, ζύμη/zyme, we'll get a closer picture of this kind of action.  Zyme/ζύμη (pronounced "ZEEmee" in modern Greek) is the root of our modern English word enzyme.  Its action speaks to us of a powerful but compact dynamic activity, working in a way through the interior of the smallest components of life, speeding up chemical reactions within the cells that comprise organisms.  In fact, according to one definition, enzymes are catalysts that do so without being consumed or altered by the reaction.  They are a kind of activation energy.  This is the evolution from the root understanding of Christ's words here, the use of language and its evolution from the Master, our Teacher, who is the Word Himself.  While we ponder how the activities of the Kingdom and the action of the Holy Spirit take place both among us and within us, let us marvel at the great gift of language and teaching we're given in the Gospels, from the word of Christ, thankfully with us always. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 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 will 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.  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."  My study Bible comments that in Palestine, the mustard plant grows to a height of about ten feet.   It notes that the mustard seed and the leaven represent the disciples.  According to Theophylact, they began as just a few men, but "soon encompassed the whole earth."  These also stand for faith which enters a person's soul, which causes an inward growth of virtue.  This soul may become godlike and can receive even angels (the birds of the air).

 

 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 will say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able."   In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus contrasts the narrow gate of salvation with the wide gate and broad way that leads to destruction.  This description of the two ways was widespread in Jerusalem, my study Bible comments (Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Psalm 1: Proverbs 4:18-19, 12:28, 15:21; Sirach 15:17), and also figures prominently in early Christian writings (Didache, Barnabas).  Luke's version, in today's reading, is the more eschatological, and refers to the end of the age.  Because we wrestle against sins and human weakness, 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 comments here that neither verbal confessions ("Lord, Lord"), nor sacramental experiences ("We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets") avail anything unless we also do the works of faith (see 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 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."   We see the clear eschatological reference to Judgment.  My study Bible cites Theophylact, who sees the first who becomes last as not only faithless Jews, but 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."

In the middle of eschatological warnings about the time we have in our lives before we all face Judgment, Jesus gives us two famous parables about the Kingdom.  One of them is similar to the agricultural parables He gives, about the growth of a tremendous shrub, with all kinds of potentials (including providing a home for birds of the air, akin to angels), that grows from the tiniest of mustard seeds.  In the middle of warnings about what can go wrong when we're on the wrong path, Jesus gives us a couple of examples about how the path of the Kingdom works.  It's like the tiniest mustard seed -- the tiniest bit of faith or trust in God -- that has the capability for tremendous growth.  In today's reading, there is the very important theme about the "two ways."  One way is narrow and difficult, and this is the way of the Kingdom.  The other way (as described in the similar passage from Matthew) is broad and wide.  But if we take this "gardening" metaphor a little ways, in the theme of the mustard seed, we can see for ourselves how we need to tend our own garden of this narrow and difficult way.  To make a garden fruitful, to grow sturdy bushes with beautiful flowers and branches, takes vigilance.  We have to find ways that shoo off the pests without harming the good growth and potential of the mustard plant.  We need to trim it when it needs trimming, and remove the dead growth that takes up the energy of the plant.  We need to make sure it's nurtured with water and good soil, assisting that soil and its nutrients at regular intervals -- and we also need to weed out the plants that might harm the good growth we want.  This is similar to the narrow and harder way than the broad way of easy access where anything goes.  Then there is the parable of the leaven, which also teaches us about the "little bit" of faith we need -- and to allow that to permeate the rest.  If we extend this leaven metaphor to the garden, we know what beautiful things can come from effort that is continual, work that tends and nurtures, and does not give up nor allow things to go to seed.  This is the work that needs doing continually, the fruitful way we use the time of our lives as good servants and stewards of what we're given.  We stick with what we need to do, and let go of what is not our concern, not part of this narrow path.  Jesus gives stark warnings once again (as He has in the past several readings) about how we use the limited time of our lives, and the extreme consequences of neglect.  Let us use our time as we would in tending a good garden, being vigilant, and remembering what we are to be about.  This is what it is to be a good steward, to remember what it is the Master asks of us, and to be His good servants.