With the image of the seed, Jesus speaks to us of the kingdom of heaven. The language of the parables is always surprising. The “kingdom”, in fact, evokes suggestions of power, organization, grandeur … Speaking of the kingdom of God, Jesus resorts to a completely different image: that of the smallest of seeds, which has no evidence or appearance, so much so as to rot hidden in the ground. Two attitudes thus color the life of the believer. The ability to persevere in hope, even when nothing seems to happen, because everything happens hidden in the ground in which the seed is buried. We even experience God’s silence, his distance. The Father seems not to act; instead he is mysteriously at work, in the secret of history, and we, like the farmer in the parable, do not know how. The second attitude makes us attentive to everyday life. It is the smallest, to become the greatest. In this way the parable, more than the future, invites us to watch over the present. In what may appear small or insignificant, weak or negligible, the mystery of a presence is hidden, that of God and of his Kingdom. We can then accept St. Paul’s invitation to trust. The Lord will reward each one for his works. He fulfills the authentic commitments of our life, he makes them mature by transforming a small seed into a large tree.

Commentary by Comunità di Dumenza

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves, Prinknash Abbey