The Holy Prophet Haggai (6th c. BC).
Nativity Fast.
Ephesians 2:11-13; Luke 13:18-29.
Read Luke 13:18-29
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
It is hard to imagine a better comparison than the one Jesus Christ made of the similarity of the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed or yeast. The mustard seed is mentioned in two Synoptic Gospels: Luke 13:18-19 and Matthew 13:31-32, but Luke and Matthew place completely different emphases. Unlike Luke, Matthew emphasizes the size of the mustard seed, which, being the smallest of all seeds, is capable of growing into a sprawling tree. Consequently, according to Matthew, there are no small or insignificant deeds in spiritual life. Every smallest good deed can grow into something very significant. Luke, on the other hand, emphasizes not the mustard seed, but the mature tree in which numerous birds make their nests. This image is taken from Ezekiel 31:6; 17:23, where the tree and the birds are compared to an empire that unites many nations. As a universalist, this is how Luke envisioned the Church as a living and growing entity that is called to unite everyone and everything in Christ. For Luke, the Kingdom of God is an environment that does not make a difference among races, genders, and nationalities, but rather provides space for different types of worship and different spiritual experiences that do not negate but complement each other.
Even more interesting is the image of yeast, which Mary, the Mother of Jesus, constantly added to the flour, so she could bake delicious bread for her Son. Obviously, this image is firmly etched in Jesus’ memory because, according to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus points out how a small foreign element can completely change even the largest mass of homogeneous material. In the same way, a small group of Christians can change the entire pagan world. A genuine and vibrant religion cannot accept spiritual stagnation and inevitably brings about revolutionary changes that, in the words of St. John Paul II, “can change the face of the earth.” Another great spiritual figure, William Barkley, put it very aptly: “The Kingdom of Heaven is the leaven that fills a man at one and the same time with the peace of God and with the divine discontent that will not rest until the evils of the earth are swept away by the changing, revolutionizing power of God. “This is our vocation as Christians – to change the face of the earth with revolutionary determination and, by doing small good deeds, to be the leaven that can make a difference in the life of the whole world and grow into a spreading tree of the Church, with enough room for everyone.
Bible References