65. Speaking in Parables

He said to them, “Is the lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Isn’t it put on a stand? There is nothing hidden, that shouldn’t be made known; neither was anything secret, that shouldn’t come to light. Whoever has ears to hear, should listen.”

“God’s kingdom is as if you cast seed on the ground, and days go by, and the seed springs up and grows, but you don’t know how. The earth bears fruit: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain on the ear. When the fruit is ripe, you put in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of God is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but at night, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the blade sprang up and produced grain, the weeds appeared also. The servants came and said to the farmer, ‘Didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these weeds come from?’

“He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’

“But he said, ‘No, because gathering up the weeds could harm the wheat. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

He said, “How can we explain God’s kingdom? Or with what parable can we illustrate it? It’s like a grain of mustard seed, which is the smallest of seeds when it is sown in the earth, yet when it grows up, becomes greater than all the herbs, and puts out branches, so that birds of the sky can lodge under its shadow.”

Again he said, “To what shall I compare God’s kingdom? It is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”

With many such parables he spoke to the crowds, as they were able to hear it. He rarely spoke to them except in parables; privately, he explained everything to his disciples, to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables;
    I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.”

Reflection

The nature of God’s kingdom is hard for us to understand: we’re not sure how it’s growing, we don’t always like the way it’s growing, but ultimately we’re amazed at how much it has grown! How do you rate your own grasp of God’s kingdom? Do you see it coming in the world around you? 

Prayer: Give me ears to hear, Lord, and a heart to understand the wonders of your kingdom.