Matthew 13:31-35
He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.” Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:
“I will open my mouth to speak in parables;
I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”
Here are two parables functioning at their wicked best. What do I mean by “wicked best”? Well, when I was a kid, “wicked” was often used as a positive amplifier, as in, “That goal was wicked good!” or “That song is wicked cool!” And that’s part of what I mean – these are two awesome parables, parables that do just what parables are supposed to do.
Which leads me to the other way I’m using “wicked,” now in a more traditional sense, as these parables sort of turn your world upside down. They are, in brief, rather subversive, upending our expectations and bringing us up short in a way that can feel, well, rather wicked.
Here’s what I mean. We usually read these parables in a rather straightforward and somewhat simplistic way, assuming they really mean, “small things can have big outcomes.” And, of course, that’s true, small things can have big outcomes. But that’s not what’s going on with these parables. Because here’s the thing: nobody in Jesus’ world wanted mustard. Not a little, not a lot. While mustard plants had a minor medicinal value, they were incredibly invasive, easily taking over an entire field. Think crabgrass, dandelions, or kudzu. They take over wherever they land, emptying the field of the other plants. And those birds that come to land. Cute, right? Except that the last time Jesus mentioned birds, they were the ones coming to pluck the farmer’s seed away when it fell on the path instead of tilled fields. Birds, in short, are synonymous with undesirables and ne’er-do-wells, the kinds of folks you hope your kids avoid.
So also with yeast. While we may think Jesus is talking about fresh homemade bread, most of his listeners were thinking of yeast as a contaminant, something you wanted to keep out of your kitchen and away from your bread at all costs. That’s what “unleavened bread” is, after all, yeast-free bread absent of all impurities.
All of which means that these parables are functioning something like the warning label on cigarettes, except about the kingdom of God. “Watch out!” Jesus is saying, “This kingdom I’m preaching is invasive, dangerous, and will take you over if you let it.” And, indeed, for those who get infected with the kingdom bug Jesus preaches, life is never the same. Fishermen travel far from home and end up dying for a condemned criminal they believe was the Messiah. Later Christians will suffer all manner of persecution because they believe in the God who honors the undesirables of the world by calling them blessed. And years beyond that all kinds of otherwise ordinary persons from Francis of Assisi to Dorothy Day to Martin Luther King, Jr. to Oscar Romero will dare unbelievably brave acts of compassion in the name of this kingdom and its unlikely king.
So beware, because this is what kingdom life is like – unexpected, unnerving, world-changing, risky, and filled to overflowing with the courage and joy of our surprisingly gracious and shockingly compassionate God. Which means that kingdom life is, in a word, wicked.
Prayer: Dear God, capture us with a vision of love and compassion that dares great things for the sake of those in need all around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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