[Jesus] put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32, NRSVue)
Bible scholars wrestle with the problem of how a fully-grown mustard plant can be described as a tree, but the point of Christ's bit of hyperbole is perfectly clear. What seems tiny in the eyes of the world can take on gigantic dimensions when nutured by faith. As we saw how the swallows and sparrows in Psalm 84 built their homes in the Temple, Christ envisions the Kingdom of God as a place of peace and safety, where birds willingly come to make their nests in its protective branches. Texas Artist and Illustrator James Janknegt depicts just such a mighty oak-like aviary on the cover of his 2017 collection of Lenten Meditations on the parables. (John A. Kohan)