Can anyone explain how a tiny acorn can grow into a sixty-foot, powerful oak tree that in turn produces thousands more acorns? And what percent of acorns ever become tall oak trees? How many are eaten by squirrels, buried in the ground, or tossed into the yard waste pile? We human beings will never understand the mystery of a simple seed.
Jesus talks about the power of a seed today (Luke 13:18-21).
“What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush, and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”
Amazing how a tiny seed, carefully planted by a gardener, can grow up to become a home for hundreds of birds! And imagine a garden filled with mustard bushes, how it becomes a “hotel complex” for every bird in the neighborhood. How does this happen?
How is the Kingdom of God like a small seed? Isn’t a Kingdom a huge territory ruled by a powerful king who lives in a magnificent palace and runs a government that employs thousands of people?
The Kingdom of God is the presence of the Holy Spirit in the heart of one who has come to believe in Jesus Christ. At baptism a “seed” of the Holy Spirit is planted by the “Gardener” in the soul of a human being. At the time of the planting, no one, including the person being baptized, has any idea what it will become some day. When we read the lives of saints, such as Mother Cabrini, and realize how the mustard seed of the Holy Spirit in them grew into mighty bushes we are startled. Little Frances Cabrini during her time on earth founded “67” hospitals, schools, and orphanages.” Do you know of any corporation that has accomplished so much in such a short period of time? The little mustard seed in Mother Cabrini grew into a great “bush” that in time took care of thousands of people.
Saints attest that they faced many struggles which tempted them to come up short of what God intended for them. The seed planted in us by God does not always reach maturity. Many such seeds grow for a while, but the Enemy of God steals the Kingdom of God planted in them or stunts its growth in some way, so that its potential is never reached.
For the cooks in the crowd, Jesus gave a parallel parable.
“To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of what flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”
A tiny packet of yeast is put into a bowl of flour and disappears. Though we no longer see the yeast, its presence is powerful. When the dough is put into the oven, the yeast explodes throughout the flour and causes it to rise until it becomes a delicious loaf of bread. So is the “pinch” of the Holy Spirit that is planted in our hearts at baptism. As it mixes into the dough of our inner lives and is put into the oven of hardship, it explodes open and causes us to rise into a “loaf” of holiness that feeds many people with God’s love. Jesus is reminding us that the Kingdom of God is more than a big organization. It is a seed of life planted not in some geographical space but in the hearts of those who activate their faith in Jesus Christ. Looking at how the mustard seed of the Holy Spirit has grown since that day of Pentecost when the new believers walked out of the Upper Room of Jerusalem, we are filled with awe.
Our challenge is to cooperate with the grace of God so that the “mustard seed” of the Holy Spirit will accomplish in me all that God intended for it.
