Breaking the Word

 He proposed another parable to them. "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'" He spoke to them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened." All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation (of the world)." (Mt 13:31-35)

Parables are not direct answers to the questions of life. No direct answers can be given to life situations. Parables are stories in different ways, speaking about God’s sovereign rule over the world and how the kingdom works in the world. Parables are the stories through which Jesus spoke about the basic truths about the kingdom.

 One of the truths about the kingdom is that it works in simple and small ways. Kingdom does not work in spectacular ways. It is like a mustard seed which is the smallest of all seeds. Kingdom also is the smallest of all God’s revelations. Like the mustard plant, the kingdom becomes the dwelling place for many.

 Another truth about the kingdom is that it works its way through without being noticed. Like the yeast which leavens the flour over a period of time and leavens the whole quantity of flour, so also the kingdom will develop and extend to the whole society without being noticed and it will complete its activites.  

He was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."…

I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.  "And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Lk 11:1-13)

The disciples see Jesus praying. They have seen him praying and he has been praying many times. They have seen him getting up in the morning to go for his prayer and they have also seen him praying late into night. He has been praying before doing anything special or important. So they come to know that prayer is one of the major activities of Jesus and they asked him to teach them.

The prayer ‘Our Father’ is a model prayer. It has the basic elements of any prayer. Prayer is to praise God, to thank God, to welcome his kingdom and also to express our needs and desires. The persistence with which one prays shows the trust and the faith one has in praying. Prayer itself is a mystery which reveals the relationship that exists between the one who prays and God. Prayer cannot be measured by our human calculations. But it should reveal our faith and trust.

We believe that we receive whatever we pray for. Sure we will not receive negative thing and if we pray for negative things then it is not prayer. Prayer will always produce good effects. Because God is good and only good things will come out of God. Whatever comes out of God will in fact be good for us, even if, it may look negative in human calculations.  Evil cannot come out of God.