In the gospels this week we hear some of my favorite parables about the kingdom of God: the leavening yeast and tiny mustard seed, the buried treasure and the merchant seeking a priceless pearl. I’ve always loved those brief, irreducible story-images, but this time as I listened to the familiar parables, I realized that even though they ask us to contemplate the same mystery, I’ve never really considered the shape they make, gathered together. If the kingdom of heaven is like yeast that leavens the dough… It takes a dense and flat substance and builds chambers of air through it, raising and lightening and filling with space. It is alive but gives its life to change the bread into a new form. If the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that sprouts and branches to welcome all the birds of the air… It begins small, alive but seemingly inert. It contains inside itself the means to grow and make a dwelling place out of the emptiness, a place of shelter and rest for creatures both earthly and aerial. It takes root in a particular place, draws water and light and air from its environment. It makes itself into a gift of home. If the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field… It’s something we have to seek. It’s hidden – in but not of the place we discover it – and there is no stealing it away. Though it demands everything we have, the proper response can only be to buy the field and the treasure inside it without hesitation, even if it looks to the world like we just purchased an empty field without setting aside anything to build or sow with. If the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for pearls… It is not...