matthew 13:31-33; 44-52.

after reading this text, i realized that to express the variety of my thought, i have to break it down.

as for verses 31-31, i read this to be a metaphor for the magnitude of not only God, but God's work in the Church. as a Body we are called to love God and love people and through that we plant mustard seeds. in even the smallest actions we may create a haven so that "the birds of the air," or others around us who need help, can "come and perch in its branches," feeling the warmth of love.

moving on to verse 33, in much the same way, the body is encouraged through the fact that work done to show love for God and compassion to our neighbors are like yeast. they work throughout the dough of the fullness of time. whatever we may do, small or grand in our eyes, assists in the dough that could possibly bring the Bread of Life to those around us.

also, to be honest, after reading i had two main questions about phrases in the texts:

--how are we to interpret the thought that, as is suggested in verse 44, maybe the kingdom of heaven is meant to be hidden?
--in verse 52, what is meant by "new and old treasures"?

one thing i see though, that seems to blow these questions out of the water, is something i got out of verse 46 - that regardless, the kingdom of God is worth treasuring. that the kingdom of heaven is worth selling everything to take part in it.