“IN my kitchen cupboard I have a little jar which I need to be careful not to confuse with a jar of couscous. The contents look very similar: tiny little beige balls.
“They are in fact mustard seeds which I brought back from Galilee a number of years ago.
“Put one of those tiny seeds into your hand and you can easily drop it, or lose it.
“Interestingly, this is how Jesus chooses to speak of what is most important of all to him in his teaching: the kingdom of God. And he chooses to speak in parables.
“In the midst of everyday scenes Jesus’ parables invariably tell the tale of the unexpected, disruptive of our “default settings”.
“In this Sunday’s reading from Mark’s Gospel, Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed.
“It sounds religious and safe and romantic, but wouldn’t you expect a rather more grand and impressive object, maybe a fortified castle, to speak of God’s kingdom?
“Instead, Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a plant that has
tiny seeds and grows like a weed, that cannot be controlled, and that offers shelter to some possibly weird and wonderful
birds.
“The growth of God’s kingdom breaks the rules of our expectation.
This like all parables is less about explanation than
an invitation to exploration.
“The journey of faith is an adventure indeed. As next week’s reading will illustrate.”
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