THE GOSPEL OF LUKE: - Vital Christianity

67This probably means that the tree was large enough to sustain life. It isn't just a smalltree but one which provides support. Some think that the birds of the air represent the Gentilenations seeking refuge with Israel, citing Daniel 4:12, 21; Psalm 104:12; Ezekiel 17:23; 31:6;1 Enoch 90:30. That may be so (as a secondary allegory). But the more natural interpretation ofthe phrase "the birds of the air perched in its branches" is the way Jesus echoes Daniel andEzekiel.In the parable of the Sower and the Soils, the birds pecking at seed along the path standfor the devil who “comes and takes away the word from their hearts" (8:5,12). But here the birdsare not enemies but welcomed guests. Jesus' use of words is flexible. Just because an item wasused for evil in one parable doesn't mean it has to have the same significance in another.This is how God is at work in the world. Isn’t it rather strange how a tiny seed is plantedand then grows into a tree big enough for birds to nest? We get the little seeds, spread them out,maybe water them and do some weeding. But something happens that even those with a Ph.D. inearth sciences still find amazing. The little dried seed becomes life.The process of life is a reflection of the divine order. In the creation account in Genesis 1and 2, that is what God does as He “broods” over the waters of creation and brings order out ofchaos. Where there was nothing there is now the universe with its galaxies, stars, oceans, land,trees, plants, animals and human beings.Yet, because of sin, there is decay (what scientists call “the law of entropy”) whichmeans the universe is running down. Likewise, within human life there are also forces whichattack our immune system, tear down our relationships, destroy our joy in life, and eventuallybring death.Although there is suffering, evil and death, such enemies do not have “the last word."Evil and death are not the defining reality of human existence. Through Jesus Christ, theembodiment of the kingdom of God, we have discovered that which looks like death actuallyleads to new life.LIKE YEAST (13:20-21)“Again he asked, ‘What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeastthat a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked allthrough the dough’" (13:18-21).