He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." (Matthew 13:31-32)

The reign of God is paradoxical. It is something very small, barely discernible, seemingly insignificant. Yet from this source can grow surprisingly large results.

Like Jesus, we live in a time inclined toward the apocalyptic. It is all too easy to imagine a dramatic and violent denouement.

But instead we are told that God comes as seeds are scattered, as seeds are harvested, and as the tiniest of seed grow.