Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of Luke (13: 18-21), in which before Jesus leaves Galilee and begins his journey to Jerusalem Luke gives us two parables about growth.

They could well have been told by Jesus when the disciples were facing discouragement: how could their little band of nobodies be the visible sign of the Kingdom of God? ‘Just give it time’, says Jesus, with the illustration of a man planting a seed, then of a woman raising bread with yeast.

Note that Luke uses exaggeration here: a mustard grows into a fairly decent bush, but it’s not what we would call a tree a tree! However, the introduction of the image of a tree enables Luke to weave in a little hidden meaning: the birds nestling in the branches of the tree are the gentile nations.

In closing, Fr Paul asks us to reflect on What do I need to give time to today? Or maybe How can I encourage other’s today?