Luke 13:18-20: Little

Sadly, I am behind. Hopefully, by posting at odd times I can catch up. At least this is a short passage.

Jesus told two little parables. Little parables about little things. Here he is, preacher, healer, scourge of the Pharisees, with more power in his little finger than any other man who has ever spoken words of wisdom and life. And what is he talking about? A tiny seed and a pinch of yeast. Hardly the stuff of kingdoms.

And yet, and yet. The seed becomes the mightiest bush. The yeast works through the whole batch of dough, transforming it, enlivening it.

Jesus doesn't explain these mini parables. He just tells them, like telling a joke. To explain it would be to destroy their power, to limit their ability to get under our skin and into our imagination. What is the seed to you? What works like yeast in my life?

Jesus, in the midst of his troubles, when his mission seems to be hiring the skids, still finds the words to tantalise our imagination.