From: Luke 13:18-21

Parables of the Grain of Mustard Seed and of the Leaven

[18] He (Jesus) said therefore, “What is the Kingdom of God like? And to what
shall I compare it? [19] It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and
sowed in his garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air
made nests in its branches.”

[20] And again He said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? [21] It is
like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all
leavened.”

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Commentary:

18-21. The grain of mustard and the leaven symbolize the Church, which starts
off as a little group of disciples and steadily spreads with the aid of the Holy Spi-
rit until it reaches the ends of the earth. As early as the second century Tertul-
lian claimed: “We are but of yesterday and yet we are everywhere” (”Apologeti-
cum”, 7).

Our Lord “with the parable of the mustard seed encourages them to have faith
and shows them that the Gospel preaching will spread in spite of everything. The
Lord’s disciples were the weakest of men, but nevertheless, because of the great
power that was in them, the Gospel has been spread to every part of the world”
(St. John Chrysostom, “Hom. on St. Matthew”, 46). Therefore, a Christian should
not be discouraged if his apostolic action seems very limited and insignificant.
With God’s grace and his own faithfulness it will keep growing like the mustard
seed, in spite of difficulties: “In the moments of struggle and opposition, when
perhaps ‘the good’ fill your way with obstacles, lift up your apostolic heart: listen
to Jesus as He speaks of the grain of mustard seed and of the leaven. And say
to Him: ‘”edissere nobis parabolam”: explain the parable to me.’ And you will feel
the joy of contemplating the victory to come: the birds of the air lodging in the
branches of your apostolate, now only in its beginnings, and the whole of the
meal leavened” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 695).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

First reading	Romans 8:18-25 ©

I think that what we suffer in this life can never be compared to the glory, as yet unrevealed, which is waiting for us. The whole creation is eagerly waiting for God to reveal his sons. It was not for any fault on the part of creation that it was made unable to attain its purpose, it was made so by God; but creation still retains the hope of being freed, like us, from its slavery to decadence, to enjoy the same freedom and glory as the children of God. From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free. For we must be content to hope that we shall be saved – our salvation is not in sight, we should not have to be hoping for it if it were – but, as I say, we must hope to be saved since we are not saved yet – it is something we must wait for with patience.

Psalm	Psalm 125:1-6 ©