the text from our morning prayer & meditation today:
He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."
He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened."
MATTHEW 13:31-33
These images, the mustard seed and the yeast, are little things, perhaps the sort of things that are easily overlooked and seemingly inconsequential. I think prayer can be like that in the midst of our busy and burdened lives. Time apart, time in silent listening and time in attentive conversation with God can seem like time wasted when there are important tasks to be done and much that weighs on our minds.
Prayer is like the tiniest of seeds that germinates beyond the scope of our gaze; it is like the miniscule grains of living, leavening yeast that slowly permeate the dough with the stirring of a spoon and kneading of hands. Prayer is not about immediate response or instant gratification. Prayer knows nothing of our desire for efficiency or efficaciousness. It is whatever we do attentively and intentionally to open ourselves more completely to the seeds of the kingdom of heaven (which, I suspect, is far closer than we might imagine!).
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