Parables in Pentecost: Yeast

 Scripture

During the Season of Pentecost, we are looking at the Parables Jesus told. 

He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’ (Matthew 13:33, also Luke 13:20-21)

Conversation starters  

Jesus says, The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast which leavens not just bits of the dough, but all the dough. The yeast Jesus would have been pointing to was more like sourdough than the neat little packets of dry yeast we can use today.

Sourdough is a living organism, as anyone who has kept a starter can tell you. You must feed it and use it regularly or it will die and become moldy. In the 1970’s and 80’s it was popular to share “Herman bread” along with a container of the starter so the recipient can make more and share with others, etc. The tricky part was that unless you had a lot of friends—you became buried in the starter. It is great fun to make the delicious bread and share it, though.  

Even the dry yeast we use now, unlike baking powder or baking soda, leavens the mixture slowly. Yeast needs sugar to work optimally and flour to build nice texture for the air bubbles it creates. This takes time. The dough needs to rise before you can form it. Then it takes time to rise again before you can bake it.

Yeast is also used in wine and beer making. That process is even slower. It can take years for the yeast to turn the sugars in the fruit and/or malt and wheat into a delicious beverage.

Like yeast, our faith takes time to develop and grow. Sometimes we need one another as sugar to jump start a new phase. At other times, we are happily growing and building our own part of the kingdom to nourish others.

Have you ever made yeast bread? What was it like?

How is the slow process of making yeast bread (or wine or beer) like your spiritual life? Who is the sugar and flour in your life?

Action Item

Make a Herman starter to grow and share.

Parables in Pentecost: Sower and Seed

 Scripture

This is another parable about seeds and God’s bounty. The Sower doesn’t seem to care that some of the seed falls on less than optimal ground.

3And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9Let anyone with ears listen!’

18 ‘Hear then the parable of the sower. 19When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. 22As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.’ (Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23, also Mark 4:3-8, 13-20, Luke 8:5-8, 13-15)

In the verses that are missing in the middle, Jesus explains that parables are for the disciples to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven [because] this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn—and I would heal them.

I love the Elizabeth Barrett Browning quote illustrated in this graphic. The Parable of the Sower and Seeds speaks of the generosity of God spreading the seed of the Kingdom everywhere. The warning, perhaps, is to be aware of how our own heart has grown dull, and ears deaf so that we don’t see that the Kingdom is everywhere. We can be too busy ‘picking blackberries’ that we miss the real grace.

 Conversation starters

When we plant a garden we are usually very careful about how we do it. We prepare the soil and make neat rows. The Sower in the parable seems very casual and even foolish in the planting.

In religious work we also tend to be very careful how we do it. We make sure all our plans are in place before we plant a church or start a ministry.

How might we act differently if we were more like the Sower?

The Sower casts the seed widely. What might that encourage us to do with our gifts and ministry?

Action Item

Make a “Cootie Catcher”/Fortune Teller craft to illustrate the parable. You can download the pdf with directions. 

Parables in Pentecost: Mustard Seed

 Scripture

This parable about the Mustard Seed comes in the middle of a series of parables about. Jesus again and again reminds his disciples that the work of the Kingdom starts small, like seeds.

He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’ Matthew 13:31-32 (Also: Mark 4:30-32, Luke 13:18-19)

Conversation starters

The mustard seed is a small seed that you wouldn’t expect to grow into a bush. We expect big seeds for trees and bushes. The mustard tree can grow up to 20’ tall with a gnarled and twisted trunk. It also grows rapidly, reaching full height in only a few years. The leaves are oval-shaped and its small, white flowers are arranged in clusters. The tree's fruit is small, spherical berries that contain numerous seeds.

Aside from the seeds, which we use to make mustard, the tree is home for birds, insects, and small mammals. There is research studying compounds found in its various parts for their potential in treating a range of health issues, including inflammatory and infectious diseases. In some cultures, mustard seed oil is used to promote hair growth, strengthen hair, and improve skin health. The branches have been chewed and used as toothbrushes by many cultures throughout history. Ancient Egyptians and Indians associated the tree with growth, transformation, and renewal, reflecting its ability to thrive in challenging environments. Mustard Tree: Facts, Benefits, and History (hortusurbanus.com)

Jesus knew all this about the mustard tree. He refers to the astonishing growth and the birds nesting in the branches.

What does it mean that this tiny seed, which grows into a massive tree, is like the Kingdom of God?

Is there a seed in your heart that you think is too small to matter in building Beloved Community?

Action Item

Trace your hand with fingers stretched out like branches. This is your Mustard Tree. If you want, glue a mustard seed at the base.
Add leaves and write one of your gifts on each leaf. (singer, baker, giver, leader, encourager…)

Consider all the gifts on your leaves. Draw a cluster or 2 of mustard seed pods. What might your fruit be in those pods?

There’s a children’s song about Faith as Small as a MustardSeed that might give you encouragement if you doubt your importance in the Kingdom. 

Faith As Small As A Mustard Seed
Will Move Mountains, Move Mountains
Faith As Small As A Mustard Seed
Will Move Mountains By The Power Of God.

Believe What Jesus Said Was True.
Believe He Meant It Just For You.
Wait And See What God Will Do
As You Pray, As You Pray.

Fourth of July

 Happy Fourth of July. Here’s to the birthday of our country and the courage of the men who risked their all. They took a bold step in proclaiming independence from England. It was not undertaken lightly and it is our duty to continue to uphold the truths that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The writers of the Declaration may have limited their scope of ‘men’ to free and white and male because they were products of the 18^th Century. Our call is to enlarge that promise to include all humans no matter color, creed, or gender.

As it says in the last paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, the action of the Declaration was done “with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

We have a ways to go before the dream of the Founding Fathers is truth, but we can work each day for equity and justice. We can work to elect honest, forward-looking leaders who will work for the good of all. And we can do our part in creating “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”