Contemplating nature is a wonderful experience. Looking at the sky on a clear night is awesome. This is especially so if you are someplace where there are no electrical lights – like in a desert or a forest. That experience of God’s creation just seems to put us into perspective. Looking into that majestic and expansive view, one cannot help but feel insignificant amid the vastness of creation. One feels overcome with beauty. The experience speaks to us of God’s greatness and our littleness in the whole scheme of things. For some people, this experience can also lead to a feeling that life is too big for us. There is too much evil in the huge world that we are helpless and hopeless. We lack the capacity to have any effect on such a vast world. Whatever your feelings, musing, or philosophy, each of us as one human being is very small in the vastness of creation and seemingly insignificant in the passage of history.
But today, Jesus uses two of the most insignificant things in nature to show how important we are in God’s plan for salvation – the tiny mustard seed and a tiny pinch of yeast. Jesus came to reveal to us a new hope that is also visible in nature.
It is surprising today how many people have no idea how bread is made or how a seed germinates. If we want bread, we just go to Walmart and pull a loaf off the shelf. If we want a tree or shrub, we just go to Lowes and choose a tree from the outdoor patio.
Jesus points out that a tiny seed grows into a large bush that was unimaginable at the start. A little pinch of yeast causes the whole batch of dough to rise and fluffen-up into a delicious roll or loaf of bread. Without the seed, there would be no bush. Without yeast, there would only be a dry, flat cracker. The big bush and the fluffy roll would never come to be without their tiny starting points.
Jesus is announcing to us our mission as individual Christians and as a local faith community. We are called to participate in that transformative process that unites creation to God’s plan of salvation. Our union with the Holy Spirit gives us the hope and joy to live supporting God’s plan in the vastness of creation and time.
Take some time to look at the stars on a clear night in the forest or desert to appreciate being an important part of what you are seeing. Better yet take your spouse, children or grandchildren with you and share your faith with them.
I will announce
what has lain hidden
from the foundation of the world.
Image: Canva CJ Dunn 24July2026 AI Generated.