A Mustard Tree

God’s Kingdom is Like…

Today we continue our series: God’s Kingdom is Like… 

This series examines a few of the parables from Jesus that begin with the phrase “God’s kingdom is like…” Together, we’ll read these texts with the voice and audience of the author in mind as we listen for the hope and truth Jesus shares through his words about the Kingdom of God and construct our own understandings of what the Kingdom of God is and how we are called to participate in its construction. 

Today, we tackle two parables, and like last week’s, we find them in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew is considered to be the ‘most Jewish’ Gospel as he cites the old testament more often than any other Gospel writer. It is believed that Matthew’s intended audience was the Jewish people living in the years following Jesus’ resurrection and ascension as he regularly cites the Hebrew Scriptures to explain what is happening with Jesus in the New Testament. 

This particular passage comes from an entire chapter of parables from Jesus. It contains two parables and ends with a reference to the fulfillment of Psalm 78, where it is written:

My people, hear my teaching;

    listen to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth with a parable;

    I will utter hidden things, things from of old—

things we have heard and known,

    things our ancestors have told us.

Psalm 78:1-3 NRSVUE

Jesus teaches in parables as a way of communicating truths that run deeper than our words can express. Let us hear these parables together. 

_______

A Mustard Seed and a Bit of Yeast 

“He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field;it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:

“I will open my mouth to speak in parables;
    I will proclaim what has been hidden since the foundation.”

Matthew 13:31-35 NRSVUE

Commentary

These parables are sisters. Though they differ in some ways, their primary message is identical: the Kingdom of God is like these things that require some work, do things the world would tell us are impossible, and would require an immeasurably long time to organically happen.

He begins with the parable of the mustard seed growing into a great tree where eagles can nest. The mustard seed is exceedingly tiny, which makes it the perfect seed for this illustration… except for the fact that mustard plants are not trees; they are shrubs that sprout up and reach maturity in about 90 days. 

Similarly, he speaks of a woman taking some yeast and mixing it with three measures of flour – about 50 pounds of flour – in order to make leavened bread (which means that flour is also mixed with water, separated into portions, and shaped – only to have the woman wait for it to rise. This is an impossible quantity for one woman to work with – especially without modern day machinery – and the idea would have been a little ridiculous for a little bit of yeast to leaven so much in one batch. 

Both of these parables rely on work from a regular person, only for impossible things to happen which can only be attributed to God. A tree growing from a tiny seed that only makes a bush, fifty to a hundred loaves of bread being made in one batch – not only are they impossible, but even if we hoped for them, we’d have to wait patiently a long time… only for us to maybe be disappointed if it didn’t work. 

This parable offers incredible wisdom to all Christians, but especially to those living in our world today where we can so easily be discouraged when our efforts at spreading the Gospel, sharing God’s love, or advocating for divine justice prove fruitless. 

It speaks of hoping for things that feel impossible, of doing work that feels ordinary, and letting God make the miraculous happen. The acknowledgement that those things won’t happen every time is built into the parable by the human listeners. The Kingdom of God is like those long-time-in-the-works, didn’t-think-it-possible miracles. 

These are ideas that are hard to communicate without the parables, yet if we sit with them, we will find that they feel true inside us. The Kingdom of God cannot be like any process we know and do regularly; it must be full of miracle, of the great growing from the small, of the regular work of humans being transformed by God. 

May we plant the seeds and do the kneading, with faith that God will do the rest. 

Questions

Do you struggle at all with having consistent patience or hope? How do these parables meet you in that struggle? What might these parables hold for you if you read them again?

What are you planting or kneading at this time? How can you pray for God’s kingdom to come within that work? How can you invite others to pray with you?

What small seeds have you planted or giant batches of dough have you kneaded that grew or flourished beyond what felt possible when you started? Did you see the work of God in that? How can you offer glory to God for that, and how might that empower you when you plant your next seed?

A Blessing for Your Week

Child of God,

May your planting bring you peace.

May your kneading give you hope.

May the Spirit teach you patience

Not only patience to wait, 

but patience to watch

To notice new shoots

To celebrate fresh leaves

To see that the dough is rising,

and to give glory to our God 

who makes flat dough rise 

and causes trees to grow 

where bushes are expected.

May the kingdom of heaven

transform the ordinary of your life

And surpass each expectation.

Amen.