Experiencing Jesus - A Reflection on Luke 13:18-21


He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”

And again he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

 

In Shakespeare’s famous eighteenth Sonnet, the protagonist asks his lover, “Shall I compare thee to a summer day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate”. We can sense his struggle, trying to describe what he feels, when the thing he feels is actually beyond description. When something is “more” than the most you can compare it to, what words can you use to describe it? In today’s passage, as Jesus tries to describe the kingdom of God, we sense a similar struggle. He asks twice: “To what should I compare the kingdom of God?” 

            

There are several reasons for this struggle. One is that there is simply nothing that can compare to the kingdom of God. Elsewhere, Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven to treasure found in a field and a pearl that a merchant found (see Matthew 13:44-45). It is described as more precious than everything we own. But how much MORE precious? How many MORE times in value? He cannot say, because there IS nothing in THIS world that can be compared to it. 

            

The other reason Jesus might struggle to explain the kingdom of God to us is because we choose not to understand. Our minds so full of the knowledge of this world that we cannot make room for the knowledge of God? We cannot fill a cup that is already full, and we cannot teach someone who does not want to learn — no amount of examples and comparisons will turn on the light switch in minds that want to remain in the dark! 

            

The third possible reason for Jesus’ struggle is one that we are all familiar with. How does one explain an experience? When we visit the Grand Canyon or the Taj Mahal, we are blown away by the beauty before us. The person who stands besides us will understand as we marvel at these wonders, but if we were to try ‘explaining’ the experience to someone back home, they might smile and say, “Wow!”, but you know they don’t know what you’re talking about! They can’t.

            

Some of us have discovered the kingdom of God. Some of us have experienced Jesus in a real way, but try as we might, we cannot explain it to others because it has to be experienced for oneself. How do we know if we truly have experienced Jesus? Quite simply, our lives with reflect his, and everything we do will be done with love, mercy, and graciousness because we have experienced this for ourselves. If we haven’t experienced him, let us open our hearts and minds to him today. It is all that is really needed.

            

And we will discover the kingdom of heaven.

 

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/Zkpw1lDgnHU

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