Daily Catholic Lectio
Tue, 27 Oct 2026
XXX Week in Ordinary Time
Eph 5:21-33; Lk 13:18-21
This Mystery Is Great!
The images Jesus uses for the Kingdom of God are striking. His comparisons were simple enough for ordinary people to understand. In today’s Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed and to leaven.
First, what is the Kingdom of God? There are many ways of understanding it: the Church, Gospel values, life after death, and so on. But the Kingdom of God is Jesus Himself. That is all. This is why Jesus says, “The Kingdom of God is among you” (Lk 17:21), because He Himself is among them. The world is the field in which Jesus, the Kingdom, is at work.
(a) The mustard seed
The Jews considered the mustard seed to be among the smallest of seeds (cf. Mt 13:31-33; Mk 4:30-32). When Jesus speaks of “faith the size of a mustard seed” (cf. Lk 17:6), He is referring to its smallness. Mustard seed comes from the plant Sinapis nigra. The plant can grow from about four to fifteen feet in height and can therefore be described as a tree. Although Jesus speaks about its growth, His emphasis is mainly on the beginning and the end: a small beginning, but a great result. A tiny seed becomes a large tree.
Jesus also adds another detail: “The birds of the air made nests in its branches.” In the parable of the sower, birds are enemies of the seed (cf. Lk 8:5,12). Here, however, they become guests. The mustard tree of the Kingdom is not like a “cell-phone tower” that drives birds away, but a tree that attracts them and gives them food and shelter. The Fathers of the Church interpreted the birds as symbolizing the Gentiles (cf. Dan 4:12,21; Ps 104:13; Ezek 17:23).
(b) The leaven
What we call leaven today is like yeast added when making bread or cake, or a piece of fermented dough added to fresh flour so that the whole dough may rise. Once it is mixed into the dough, it begins to work. It makes the dough soft and elastic. Whatever the quantity of flour, the leaven continues its work. Again, a small beginning produces a great result. Whether anyone watches it or not, the leaven keeps working. Its action cannot simply be stopped halfway through. It cannot be separated again from the dough. Once it has transformed the dough, the dough cannot be returned to its original state.
In the Bible, leaven is sometimes used negatively (cf. Lk 12:1; 1 Cor 5:6-8; Gal 5:9). Here, however, it is used positively.
What do these images tell us about the Kingdom of God?
Though the seed and the leaven appear small, they contain great power within themselves. The Kingdom of God also carries power within itself. The way the seed and leaven work is hidden from our eyes; the activity of the Kingdom is also often hidden. External forces cannot easily stop the seed or the leaven from working, and no one can ultimately stop the growth of the Kingdom. Both seed and leaven become useful and life-giving. In the same way, the Kingdom becomes a field in which human relationships are transformed and bear fruit.
In today’s first reading, Paul moves from the visible reality of marriage to the invisible reality of God. Although the passage gives advice to husband and wife, its deeper direction points towards God.
Paul says: “This mystery is great.” A mystery is not simply something hidden. It is a reality that includes us, surrounds us, and draws us into itself. Every true understanding of the Kingdom of God and of God ultimately becomes also an understanding of who we are.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
A Yesni Prays Initiative
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