Two short parables of how God's reign spreads throughout the world. They are messages to bolster the confidence of the early Christian communities, often cut off from each other and surrounded by so many hostile forces. Could they survive? Jesus gives two examples. The first is about a farmer sowing seed in his field. Of course, that first action of his is crucial. But once done, God in nature takes over. Night and day, whether the farmer is awake or asleep, the process of growth goes on. First, the tiny green shoot begins to appear, then it grows and develops into a full ear of grain. Then, when all is ready, the farmer now reaps the harvest. It is a picture of how the Church grows even in the most difficult circumstances. And it needs sowers and reapers. The second parable is similar. The growth of God's reign in the world starts as something so small. At first, it was just Jesus, then a small handful of followers, then whole communities. But in those early days they were small and insignificant in a largely pagan and hostile world. Yet that tiny seed grows into a large shrub, big enough to give shelter to birds. And we see today how that tiny seed planted by Jesus has grown into numbers that those early Christians could not conceive. We need the same faith today as we see so many hostile elements threatening us.