July 19

Many of the people to whom Jesus originally addressed this parable imagined the kingdom of God as a glorious new age, when Israel would be restored to her former glory. They longed for such a time of peace and prosperity. Perhaps they even prayed for peace - again and again for peace.
 
But Jesus shattered their expectations by saying the kingdom is like a man sowing a field, a person planting a seed, a woman folding yeast into flour. How common, how ordinary, how disappointing! Was it possible that the kingdom, the world, they so yearned for was to be found in everyday life?  That it was not something grandiose and showy, but something simple and hidden?
 
It is noteworthy that all of the actions mentioned in Jesus’ descriptions of the kingdom involve a simple human action followed by a period of waiting. The human had to sow or to fold yeast into flour - but then it was a matter of waiting, trusting in the growth process, believing in the rising. 
 
The parable implies that the kingdom is made manifest in everyday acts - perhaps in our time acts of justice, of kindness.  These parables remind us that we are asked to sow, to plant, to fold, to act justly, to be kind - and to trust that, as we faithfully wait, the kingdom is growing, rising up, by virtue of such everyday acts.