Original Post Date: July 31, 2023

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Gospel

Matthew 13:31-35

Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.

"The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed

that a person took and sowed in a field.

It is the smallest of all the seeds,

yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.

It becomes a large bush,

and the birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches."

He spoke to them another parable.

"The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast

that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour

until the whole batch was leavened."

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.

He spoke to them only in parables,

to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:

I will open my mouth in parables,

I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.

Reflection

The power of a parable is that it's a thought that you are given, that you stay with. You pay attention to an image. And what you do when you see that and turn it over and over again, it slowly grows and grows.

And if it's the truth, it becomes part of who you are. And then there's something so important, so big in your life. It's a image, I think, of freedom that the gospel holds within it, but it needs to be pondered. And when it's pondered, it is so effective. So stay with ideas that are small and turn them over and over and listen to what they have to teach.

Closing Prayer

Father, you speak to us daily, incident after incident, words after words. We see something. We hear something. Keep us alert and attentive to what these things are. Gifts from you to help us grow into the freedom of God's children. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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