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 from the foundation of the world.’* Matthew 13:31-35
Tonight is Halloween, the eve of All Saints'. I am in Washington DC to be a part of, and witness, the service of installation for Michael Curry. An historic and powerful event that reminds us the world is turning towards justice and God is calling us all to pay attention. Halloween, throughout the generations is a time of turning, when there is a thinness between worlds and things are turned upside down - the poor can be fed by the rich and children can demands candy and receive it.
Jesus told the story of the mustard seed and yeast, to reveal what had been hidden so long from the people. The life of the spirit is not concerned with the world's winners and losers, but always about making the smallest powerful and enriching the possibilities of those who have had impossible challenges. God wants us to hear that the blessing of these days is understanding and seeing God's activity and transformation of the least. God invites us to suspend our need for control in order to witness the love of God flowing from the most remarkable and unsuspected places.
Today I ask God to help me trust in God's presence in the hard places, in the least likely and in the most profoundly troubled moments. May we be shaken up today, so that the Creator can transform our weaknesses into God's glory.
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