33 And he told them yet another parable. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with a bushel of flour, then waited until the whole batch of dough rose.”
34 All these things Yeshua said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without using a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet,
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will say what has been hidden since the creation of the universe.”[Matthew 13:35 Psalm 78:2]
17th Week in Ordinary Time
The Kingdom of heaven is like… (Matthew 13:31)Online map programs, satellite navigation devices, and even old-fashioned street maps can’t identify where God’s kingdom is or how to get there. So what are the markers of the kingdom? Everyone agreeing about everything and attending the same church on Sundays? Nothing but smiles and hugs? Unity and conformity?
Not really. Look at the images of the mustard seed, a large bush, a sprinkle of yeast, and a lump of dough, and you might get a better understanding of what this kingdom is and what it is not.
Jesus didn’t paint a picture of a kingdom free of difficulties and disagreements. If it weren’t for these differences, we would never see any growth or deepening of understanding. In reality, the kingdom of God is constantly spreading and bringing life, even in those places where we don’t yet see God at work. Every day, tiny seeds are sown in the world—in prisons and barrios, in boardrooms and bedrooms, in war zones and classrooms, even in the darkest places of our hearts. And every day, those seeds are watered by the Holy Spirit. Every day, they grow closer to bearing fruit, even if we don’t always perceive it.
Mind you, not all of these seeds will mature fully. But that doesn’t mean God isn’t at work. You may never see the fullness of what he is doing, and you may never see the perfection of his plans. Still, the kingdom of God is in this entire world, just as it is within you, and it’s advancing. It’s growing, even if you become sidetracked by imperfections —in you, in the people around you, and in what you see of the kingdom. Still, no matter what happens, this one thing is true: God is in control, and his plans will be fulfilled.
Today, trust that God is watching over all the seeds that have been planted, no matter what you think his kingdom looks like. St. Paul saw many of his fellow apostles martyred. He stepped into disagreements and all manner of contention in, and between, the infant churches. The kingdom on earth was newborn and shaky. Yet he prayed with confidence that love would abound more and more, so that the kingdom would advance. That prayer is for us, too!
“Jesus, advance your kingdom in me and in the world! I place my trust in you.” Amen!
Exodus 32:15 Moshe turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets inscribed on both sides, on the front and on the back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When Y’hoshua heard the noise of the people shouting he said to Moshe, “It sounds like war in the camp!” 18 He answered, “That is neither the clamor of victory nor the wailings of defeat; what I hear is the sound of people singing.”
19 But the moment Moshe got near the camp, when he saw the calf and the dancing, his own anger blazed up. He threw down the tablets he had been holding and shattered them at the base of the mountain. 20 Seizing the calf they had made, he melted it in the fire and ground it to powder, which he scattered on the water. Then he made the people of Isra’el drink it.
21 Moshe said to Aharon, “What did these people do to you to make you lead them into such a terrible sin?” 22 Aharon replied, “My lord shouldn’t be so angry. You know what these people are like, that they are determined to do evil. 23 So they said to me, ‘Make us gods to go ahead of us; because this Moshe, the man that brought us up from the land of Egypt — we don’t know what has become of him.’ 24 I answered them, ‘Anyone with gold, strip it off!’ So they gave it to me. I threw it in the fire, and out came this calf!”
30 The next day Moshe said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin. Now I will go up to Adonai ; maybe I will be able to atone for your sin.” 31 Moshe went back to Adonai and said, “Please! These people have committed a terrible sin: they have made themselves a god out of gold. 32 Now, if you will just forgive their sin! But if you won’t, then, I beg you, blot me out of your book which you have written!” 33 Adonai answered Moshe, “Those who have sinned against me are the ones I will blot out of my book. 34 Now go and lead the people to the place I told you about; my angel will go ahead of you. Nevertheless, the time for punishment will come; and then I will punish them for their sin.”
Psalm 106:19 In Horev they fashioned a calf,
they worshipped a cast metal image.
20 Thus they exchanged their Glory
for the image of an ox that eats grass!
21 They forgot God, who had saved them,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wonders in the land of Ham,
fearsome deeds by the Sea of Suf.
23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them,
[and he would have,] had not Moshe his chosen one
stood before him in the breach
to turn back his destroying fury.
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