Luke gives two brief parables of Jesus which describe the Kingdom or the Reign of God in this world. They may be brief but they are full of meaning. First, the Kingdom is like a mustard seed thrown by a man into his garden. It was a tiny thing and yet it grew into a sizeable tree, big enough for birds to nest in its branches. That seed was the message and vision of life that Jesus offered to the world. It had tiny beginnings and at times it must have seemed it would not survive all the threats around it. But it did and grew into something huge. The message is clear - God's Word cannot fail, because it is based on Truth and Love and on the deepest longings of the human heart.

The second image is of a small amount of yeast which a woman mixed into a batch of dough. After some time, the fermentation of the yeast would cause the dough to increase greatly in size. It is another image of the Kingdom's small beginnings growing into something very big. What is to be noticed about this parable is that the yeast only does its work when it is thoroughly mixed in with the dough. The Kingdom will only become a reality when we are thoroughly inserted in our societies. We must resist every temptation to live our Christian life on the edge. How and where and with whom do I give witness to the Message of Jesus in my life? Do I bury my talent in the ground or do I invest it in the people around me?