Session 1
GOD IN THE EVERYDAY
by Audrey West
Study text
Matthew 13:31–35 (the parables of the mustard seed and yeast)
Theme verse
"I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has
been hidden from the foundation of the world." (Matthew 13:35)
Overview
The parables of Jesus use activities and events from everyday life to impart
important, sometimes shocking teachings. Seven parables are collected in chapter
13 of the Gospel of Matthew. This chapter is a long discourse about the kingdom
of heaven. We will examine two parables from this chapter, particularly the one
about a bread-baking woman, to discern the miraculous and hidden growth of
something small and ordinary into the all-embracing realm of God.
Opening
Hymn: "Open My Eyes, That I May See"
Text and tune: Clara H. Scott
Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready, my God, Thy will to see;
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!
Name two or three of your everyday activities. Which of these activities do
you especially enjoy or appreciate, and why?
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Ordinary people, ordinary lives
Read Matthew 13:31–35. A man plants seeds, a woman kneads dough:
ordinary, everyday activities for most people in ancient Palestine and even
today in much of the world. Although stories from the Bible may seem strange or
exotic to modern readers, most of them actually involve people engaged in
familiar, ordinary events: tending to their households, working at their jobs,
traveling, celebrating marriages. The writers of the biblical texts captured for
later generations the activity of God in these ordinary, very human events.
The parables in the New Testament are story-riddles about people doing
ordinary things. It is through these stories of everyday activities that Jesus
teaches his followers important truths about themselves, about the world, and
about God.
Genesis 18:1–8 tells us a story about Abraham and Sarah. One hot day, old
Abraham is sitting beside his tent when three strangers drop by. Abraham
welcomes them according to the custom of the day; he brings water to wash their
feet, invites them to rest in the shade of a tree, and offers them a meal. His
wife Sarah, inside the tent, prepares food. Mixing together three measures of
flour (just like the woman in Jesus’ parable!), she makes bread-cakes for the
guests.
In many ways, the scene is ordinary: a hospitable old couple sharing food
with visitors. What Sarah and Abraham do not know — though the reader knows—is
that the three visitors are anything but ordinary. They are actually messengers
from God, sent to deliver the amazing news that Sarah will give birth to a son
in her old age. In the ordinary acts of preparing and sharing a meal, Abraham
and Sarah receive God’s extraordinary promise.
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Go Deeper
The Gospel of Matthew
Read the Gospel of Matthew, in one sitting if possible. (Settle down with a
cup of coffee or your favorite beverage, and read the whole book. It’s good
reading.) As you read, jot down some notes. Pay attention to recurring themes or
images, as well as the picture of Jesus that develops. You might also note
things you expected to find but did not, since each of the Gospels is
different.
For example, there is no mention of shepherds in the fields on the night of
Jesus’ birth, and when the wise men arrive in Bethlehem, they find Mary and
Joseph and the baby Jesus in a house, not a stable (2:11). We will dig into some
of the characteristic elements of Matthew in this and the next three study
sessions.
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The kingdom of heaven = the reign of God
Most of the parables in Matthew, including the ones we read in this session,
compare everyday people, events, or things to the kingdom of heaven,
which is a translation of the original Greek basileia ton ouranon
(pronounced bah-si-LAY-ah tone oo-rahn-OWN). "The kingdom of heaven
may be compared to someone who sowed good seed" (13:24); "The kingdom
of heaven is like a mustard seed" (13:31); "The kingdom of heaven is
like a net that was thrown into the sea" (13:47); "The kingdom of
heaven may be compared to a king" (22:2).
In the New Testament, only the Gospel of Matthew and the Book of Revelation
use the phrase kingdom of heaven. When the Gospels of Mark and Luke
recount the parable of the mustard seed or other parables, they say kingdom
of God rather than kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel of John, Jesus
doesn’t speak in parables, although he uses similar patterns of speech, such
as "I am the good shepherd." John’s Gospel uses the word kingdom
only three times, compared to 52 times in Matthew. For Matthew, the phrase kingdom
of heaven is almost a password; if you want to know you’re reading
Matthew, look for kingdom of heaven.
One of the difficulties with translating basileia ton ouranon as kingdom
of heaven (as we have done here) is that it can lead us to think of the
"kingdom" as a location, a place where God lives, "up there in
heaven." However, the phrase carried a much richer meaning in the Jewish
circles of the Old Testament and Matthew’s Gospel. There, the word basilea
does not primarily mean a territory or place, but rather the intangible
"reign" or "rule." The word heaven in "basileia
of heaven" is a way of referring to God without using the sacred name, as
is still customary among religious Jews. Thus, basileia ton ouranon may
be more precisely translated as "reign of God" or "God’s
rule."
1. Look up the following passages in Matthew and briefly list the things to
which the kingdom of heaven is compared. What do these comparisons tell you
about the nature of God’s reign?
| Passage in Matthew
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The kingdom of heaven is like:
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13:24
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Someone who sowed good seed in the field
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13:31
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13:33
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13:44
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13:45
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13:47
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18:23
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22:2
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25:1 |
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Microseeds and megatrees
Read Matthew 13:31–32 (the parable of the mustard seed). In real life,
a mustard plant, known for its tiny seeds (see Matthew 17:20), grows two to six
feet in height, or sometimes a little taller. It is not a tree, despite what the
parable says. But the image of a great tree that shelters the birds of the air
is familiar from the Old Testament, that is, from the texts that were Jesus’
Scriptures. Daniel 4:9–18, for example, describes a tree of great height which
provides food for all: It shades the animals of the field while the birds of the
air nest in its branches. Ezekiel 31:3–9 compares Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to
the greatness of a towering cedar tree, whose top is among the clouds and whose
roots sink into the primeval deep. The tree is vast enough to protect all
creatures: "All the birds of the air made their nests in its boughs; under
its branches all the animals of the field gave birth to their young; and in its
shade all great nations lived." These Old Testament passages, together with
others (for example, Psalm 104:12 and Ezekiel 17:23) make use of the metaphor of
the great sheltering tree to represent a powerful kingdom or authority. The
great tree is raised up by God, and it is God’s to bring down.
Readers of the Hebrew Scriptures (our Old Testament) would have recognized
the contrast between the humble mustard plant in Matthew’s parable and the
majestic cedar trees. The ordinary bush, small as it is, will become a tree in
the fullness of God’s reign.
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Basileia of heaven
Matthew asserts the importance of the basileia from the beginning of
his Gospel, as early as the genealogy (1:1–16), which includes Israel’s
great king David and several other kings after him. Jesus’ birth as "king
of the Jews" is a threat to the earthly reign of King Herod, who tries to
destroy the child (2:3, 16). When John the Baptist proclaims his message of
repentance, he declares that "the kingdom of heaven has come near"
(3:2), a proclamation repeated by Jesus at the beginning of his ministry (1:17)
and by his disciples when they are sent out to preach (10:7). Clearly, God’s basileia
is central to the message of Jesus. It is God’s activity in the world — indeed,
in the ordinary, everyday occurrences of the world — manifested in the life of
Jesus and his followers.
Among the first-century Galileans and Judeans who first heard Jesus’
message, it would be virtually impossible to hear the word basileia
without thinking of the greatness of David’s reign long ago and then of the
hated Roman imperial rule. They were well acquainted with kings and kingdom
language and would recognize in the word kingdom a reference to both
secular and sacred realms. Jesus’ proclamation of the basileia of
heaven offered a different kind of rule, characterized by the words and deeds of
Jesus.
This basileia of heaven has already existed, it is fully present, and
it is yet to come. In the Sermon on the Mount (5:3–12), Jesus declares that
the basileia of heaven already belongs to the poor in spirit and to those
who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake (5:3–12). At the same time, he
can also pray for God’s basileia to come (6:10). Clearly the basileia
of heaven cannot be fixed in time; rather, it encompasses all of time.
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2. Consider the following possible interpretations (suggested by a variety of
scholars) 1 of the parable of the mustard seed:
a. The parable represents a claim about the church: Although it started with
only a small band of motley disciples, it will eventually grow to shelter and
nourish the whole world.
b. The parable refers to the end time, when all creation ("the birds of
the air") will come to Christ.
c. The parable highlights an ordinary garden herb as a symbol of ordinary,
unimportant people of faith who have world-changing potential.
d. The parable emphasizes the mustard as a weed, an undesirable plant that
can take over the garden. In this view, God’s reign overturns conventional
society, bringing the "undesirables" (represented by the weed) into
the center.
Which interpretation seems most compelling to you? Or suggest an alternative
interpretation.
Whatever the particular interpretation — and parables by nature invite more
than one interpretation! — one thing is clear. Not only does a tiny seed grow
into a mighty tree, but a veritable weed — planted on purpose — produces a plant
that can shelter all living creatures. This is what the basileia of
heaven is like!
A woman hides yeast
3. Read Matthew 13:33. What is for you the most striking or significant
element of this short parable? The yeast? The woman? Her act of mixing the yeast
into the dough? The large quantity of flour?
On first reading, this parable appears to be simply a retelling of the
parable of the mustard seed: Tiny grains of yeast grow to leaven a large amount
of dough. Certainly this is one aspect of the parable. However, if we slow down
and look again, we may notice other details that can deepen our understanding of
the image of yeast and its use in this parable.
"The kingdom of heaven is like yeast ..."
We know about yeast. It’s the stuff that makes bread rise, and that seems
to be its primary function in this parable. What we may not know about yeast is
that wherever else it appears in the Old and New Testaments, it symbolizes
something corrupt or unholy (see, for example, Exodus 12:15–20, 34; Leviticus
2:11). The same is true in Matthew’s Gospel: "Jesus said, ‘Watch out,
and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees’ " (Matthew 16:6,
see also 16:11). It is surprising, then, that Jesus makes yeast a symbol of
something as mighty and holy as the reign of God: There’s a new twist on an
old image! God works to bring about the basileia in astounding ways, ways
that do not conform to our expectations.
4. Have you ever recognized God’s work to bring about the basileia
in something that might be considered "contaminating"? What was it?
" ... that a woman took ..."
In most English translations of the Bible, this parable is called the parable
of the yeast or the parable of the leaven. Both titles (headings added to modern
translations of the Bible, not part of the original texts) tend to obscure the
fact that it is a woman who symbolizes God’s action in the world. As a
way of emphasizing the woman’s presence in the parable, some scholars recently
have begun to refer to the story as the parable of the bakerwoman or the parable
of the woman baking bread.
5. What difference does it make for you to see or experience God in the image
of a woman? What characteristics of God are made clearer for you when you
picture God as the bakerwoman?
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"... and mixed in with ..."
The English translation obscures it, but the original Greek verb used here
means "to encrypt" or "to hide." The bakerwoman has not
simply mixed yeast together with flour but has hidden the yeast in the flour. No
one can tell what kind of bread this will be: leavened or unleavened. However,
invisible and unnoticed, the yeast does its work, until the results are obvious
to all (imagine all that risen dough!).
The hiddenness of God’s basileia is a thread woven through several
parts of this Gospel. "Nothing is secret [Greek: hidden] that will not
become known" (10:26). "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have
revealed them to infants" (11:25). "The kingdom of heaven is like
treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid" (13:44). Perhaps
the most significant thread in the tapestry that is Matthew’s Gospel is the
quotation from Isaiah that appears at the end of our study passage: "I will
open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from
the foundation of the world" (13:35). From the hidden yeast, mounds of
dough will rise. From the hidden meaning of parable-riddles, the basileia
will be revealed.
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Women in parables
You might read some other images from the parables in the Gospel of Matthew
that reflect women or women’s work in the first century. How do these images
influence your perception or experience of God?
The ten bridesmaids (25:1–13)
A person sewing a patch (9:16)
A person spinning thread (6:28–30)
A mother hen (23:37–39)
A wedding banquet (22:1–14). Although women are not explicitly mentioned in
this parable, a wedding requires a bride!
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"... three measures of flour until all of it was leavened."
We may not realize that according to the ancient weights and measures, three
measures of flour is a lot of flour — fifty or sixty pounds, enough to feed a
hundred people! This seems like an outrageous amount of bread to be made by one
woman. The three measures of flour remind us of Sarah’s preparations for the
heavenly visitors (Genesis 18:1–8, mentioned above), an extravagant feast that
also included a whole calf. Closer to home in Matthew’s Gospel, recall that
Jesus feeds more than five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two
fish (14:13–21). Just a short while later, seven loaves and a few small fish
are plenty for more than four thousand (15:32–38), and, in both feedings, so
much is left over that the scraps are collected by the basketful! Food enough
for many and more, just like the three measures of flour. This is the astounding
extravagance of God’s basileia.
| 6. Consider what you have learned about the elements of the parable of the
bakerwoman. What meanings are suggested to you by this parable?
7. How do the images in our two parables—seed sower and bread baker—work
together to tell you something about God and God’s realm? Write a short prayer
(two or three sentences) to "God the bakerwoman," taking account of
the characteristics and interpretations you developed in questions 5 and 6,
above.
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A snapshot of life in the ancient world
In an agrarian society, survival depends on the production of food. Fields
must be planted and harvested, grain must be milled into flour, and flour must
be made into bread. The peasant farmers who heard these parables of Jesus would
have been intimately acquainted with the work of sowing seed and baking bread,
since these were essential to the family’s survival. Scholars suggest that
home bread-baking was a communal event; neighbor women gathered together to
share the work. Ancient peasant families lived in small dwellings clustered
around a central courtyard, often in extended family groups. The courtyard was
where women could collaborate in the daily work of food preparation, including
the mixing and baking of bread. Their shared labor would have made it possible
to produce a great deal of bread at one time, enough for several families. The
three measures of flour mentioned in the parable of the bakerwoman may reflect
this ordinary practice of women baking together, sharing the work to produce
enough food for all their families.2
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Closing
8. Think back to the opening exercise of the study (about your everyday
activities). In what ways might the character of God be recognized in the
activity you have mentioned? If you wish, compose a one- or two-sentence parable
using your activity: "The basileia of heaven is like ..."
Conclude your study with this reading from Isaiah 55:8–12, which captures
the joy to be found in the basileia of heaven, followed by the prayer
that you wrote in question 7, above.
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For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
 nor are your ways my ways,
says the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out
from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which
I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which
I sent it.
For you shall go out in joy,
and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall burst into song,
and all the trees of the field shall
clap their hands.
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Embodying the parable
How might you or your congregation put the messages of this parable of the
bakerwoman into action? The following suggestions might be a good starting
point. Feel free to develop your own ideas!
1. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or food pantry, where the sharing of bread can
symbolize God’s care for the world and our care for one another.
2. Participate in a community gleaning program (where volunteers glean
produce from farmers’ fields or leftover food from grocers and restaurants and
donate it to local food pantries and shelters), if one exists in your area.
3. Make a list of the talents and skills represented in your study group (for
example, baking, bookkeeping, home repair, driving, crafts) and offer these to
your congregation for a Time and Talents Day.
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Looking ahead
Next month we head to the fields in the parable of the generous boss, or, as
it is usually called, the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1–16).
Find out how the laborers respond when their boss pays a good day’s wage to
everybody who works for him. In God’s economy, the normal way of doing
business does not apply!
Audrey West is assistant professor of New Testament at the Lutheran School of
Theology at Chicago.
Notes
1. See, for example, Barbara E. Reid, Parables for Preachers: The Gospel
of Matthew — Year A (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 2001),
296–97; Richard N. Longenecker, The Challenge of Jesus’ Parables,
McMaster New Testament Series (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 2001), p. 114; David Buttrick, Speaking Parables (Louisville,
Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, April 2000),
pp. 74–78.
2. See Holly Heron and Antoinette Clark Wire, "Women’s Work in the
Realm of God (Matthew 13:33; Luke 13:20), in The Lost Coin: Parables of
Women, Work and Wisdom, ed. Mary Ann Beavis (London and New York: Sheffield
Academic Press, 2002), 136–57.