In two short parables Jesus portrays the amazing power of the Kingdom of God.  The size of the mustard seed is contrasted with the astonishing spread of the Kingdom as it grows to embrace countless people, just as the uncounted number of birds come to rest in the fully grown bush.  In other words, there is no end to the breadth of God’s reign on earth.  The yeast that leavens the dough tells a similar story.  A small amount can create enough bread to feed many.  But these images remind us that each of us can be instruments of the Kingdom of God.  We may only be one person, yet our faith can affect an untold number of people; we are the seeds of God’s embrace, the leaven of God’s love in the world.

We learn from Jesus today that God is aware that there are weeds growing within the wheat.  God is content to let them grow together, only to be separated later, at harvest time.  We let God be God while we grow into the harvest we are meant to be.  Our lives are not to be filled with judgmentalism but with mercy.  “Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone.”  These are gentle reminders for us that as disciples, followers of the Son of God, we are content to allow God to act in his own time.

Jesus was fond of using parables with agricultural imagery.  The sowing of seed on various types of land is one of his favorites.  It is the only one that he actually explains.  The seed is the “word of the kingdom” and the soil is likened to those who hear the word.  Sometimes the word takes root in our lives and sometimes it doesn’t.  Sometimes it lasts for only a short while and sometimes it flourishes and produces a harvest of good works.  The latter reality is always our task; the word of God shapes our discipleship and brings life to the world.

For Jesus “the little ones” are those who are not so full of their own wisdom that they are oblivious to the revelations of God.  Like children, they are always open to learning and are amazed at what can help them to grow in understanding the world around them.  These are the people that Jesus invites to hear his world and to come to know Father.  Even when they might find that difficult, he assures them, and us, that his “burden is light.”  In other words, he is always there to help us, to walk with us, and to share our journey.

At first glance, today’s reading seems a little harsh.  Jesus seems to be saying that we should set aside love of parents and siblings or else we are not worthy of his love for us.  The key word is more.  Jesus exhorts us to place our love for him above all others, but not instead of others.  In fact, when we read the Gospel carefully we discover that we come to love the Lord through others, and we love others because of the Lord.  It is an integrated love affair that we have with the Lord; it is a wonderful grace that we cannot live without!

It seems to be part of human nature to fear the unknown.  As a child, it might have been darkness; as an adult it may be any unfamiliar event or task that is in our future.  Jesus addresses the Twelve as a parent might console a child.  He encourages his followers to put their trust in his word and in his friendship for them.  He assures them that the Father’s love is as tender as that for a sparrow, and as deliberate as knowing the number of hairs on their head.  Strange comparisons, but we are that precious in the sight of God.

At every Eucharist we accept and commit to a Christlike relationship with all those who join us at the altar, and with all those we encounter in life.  Our concern is different than the crowds who ask: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”  Our concern is how to give what we have and who we are to those who hunger and thirst for God.  Our faith assures us that Jesus is the living bread for us; it is that same faith that sends us from Eucharist to be living loaves of love, bearers of justice an signs of compassion.

The Scriptures reveal that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit cannot be understood apart from their unity.  To be in a relationship with God is to enter a relationship with all that God is an all that God does.  Our union with God is union of concern for all God has created.  We are initiated into that union at Baptism, and at that moment we no longer exist in isolation but are joined with the communion of saints; we become members of a body that we dare to name the Body of Christ.  Every time we invoke the Trinitarian God we affirm this truth.

What would it have been like to have seen the risen Jesus and to have heard him say, “Peace be with you” before handing on the Holy Spirit?  Yet, for those of us in the twenty-first century, we experience the same Holy Spirit.  When we were baptized, we were given the gift of the Spirit, and then we were sealed by that same spirit in confirmation.  The Holy Spirit lives in our parishes, families, friends, and relationships.  After he rose from the dead, Jesus gave his Holy Spirit to be with us.  In our daily lives, let us allow ourselves to be guided by the Spirit of Christ, whose disciples we are.

The night before he died, Jesus prayed for us and for all those who were chosen by God.  Rather than make us smug, this knowledge should humble us and cause us to emulate him who came to serve rather than be served.  We live in the world but are not of the world.  It is only a temporary home for us.  A bright future awaits where love reigns and glory is resplendent.  For Jesus in the Gospel of John the crucifixion is the lifting up, the exaltation of the Son of God.  With eyes of faith, let us see anew and reorient our lives.