Lottery Hope
What little thing has made a big impact in your life?
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.’ Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:‘I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.’ - Matthew 13:31-35
I think it is amazing that we can have high expectations with very little more than a wish in some cases, and yet find it difficult to believe that the impossible can become possible in other situations.
We buy a lottery ticket knowing the odds are stacked against us and still we hope for that one in a million or hundred million shot. Yet when it comes to our faith, we get consumed with doubt.
In today's Gospel, Jesus offers us a sure winner. The Kingdom of God is a ticket that is guaranteed to pay off. It may seem small and insignificant, or even non-existent to us in our daily lives, and yet it is bigger than everything we see and know.
What would happen if we approached God with the same hope we put in a lottery ticket?
The message I get from today's Gospel is that I don't need to invest a lot to get a huge return, when it comes to God. A small amount of effort, like the tiny portion of yeast the woman uses, can yield an abundance of joy.
Through the parables, Jesus reveals what has been hidden, that God is always with us, always willing to help us, always in love with us. We are God's joy.
So, all we need to do is offer a little back and from that seed of hope an abundant harvest will come.
What are we waiting for?
If we are willing to buy a ticket each week, we should do at least that much for God. Buy a ticket. Attend a worship. Be present and open to His love.
Who knows what will come of it.
More to come...