Thursday after the Festival of the Transfiguration of our Lord
Posted on February 10, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 13:31-35 (NKJV)
13:31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
“I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.”
Devotion
A little bitty seed is hidden in the immense dirt covering of the earth. As the seed germinates and the tree grows in size, so does the number of birds nesting and hiding in that tree. A small bit of yeast is hidden in a large amount of meal to make bread. Though the amount of yeast is minuscule compared to the rest of the meal, the yeast begins its work, gas bubbles are produced, and the bread begins to rise.
Jesus uses parables and paradoxes to teach God’s truth. The results of paradoxes are never what you expect, and God’s good and holy works can come from small, hidden—almost unnoticeable beginnings. So it was that a virgin’s Son was born in Bethlehem. A tiny town in the midst of an immense earth would be the place where God would send His Son to bless His Church on earth. Thus it was that the One killed by the Jews for blasphemy would be the One sent to save them, and the world, from sin. God’s greatness is found in His little things, and in His grand things. But God is always great. And always, God is good.
Prayer: O God, Who in the glorious Transfiguration of Thy Only-begotten Son, hast confirmed the mysteries of the faith by the testimony of the fathers, and Who, in the voice that came from the bright cloud, didst in a wonderful manner foreshow the adoption of sons: Mercifully vouchsafe to make us coheirs with the King of His glory, and bring us to the enjoyment of the same; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
