The nature of the Kingdom

The text today from the Gospel of Luke in the Roman Catholic Lectionary compares the effect of the Kingdom of God on the world to the effect of the mustard seed and yeast. The smallest seed or a small bit of yeast becomes the highly visible life and nourishment for many. The Letter of Paul to the Romans exhorts us to hope that the present suffering will lead to the fulfillment of the rebirth of creation in the model of people being children of God who like the apparently inconsequential yeast and mustard seed will bring the life to the world for which the psalmist praises God. The growth of the Kingdom is the freeing of people from bondage to addictive self satisfying living to be servant leaders full of joy and laughter as we come home carrying our sheaves.