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The theme of April’s spiritual evening was another saying of our Lord: “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you” (Luke 17:21). The spiritual evening aimed to show how the model by which we were created (“according to God’s image and likeness” (Genesis 1:26-27), in fact, according to the image and likeness of the Messiah-Christ) is in full harmony with the teachings of the Gospel, which shows us the image of Christ, how He is.

The Gospel is our deep self. We only discover ourselves truly by fulfilling the Gospel. We work our salvation externally, by striving to obtain virtues, for example, but also internally, because by fulfilling the Gospel, our true nature comes to surface, the fact that we are sons and daughters of God according to grace (cf. John 1:12).

Mustard seed. “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches’” (Matthew 13:31-32). This is a reality which the Lord tells us, that there is a mustard seed in us, first of all via creation, and then much more via His action in us when we were baptized. We observe this mustard seed even from Genesis: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). The Holy Fathers say that through this “breath”, God planted in man not only a rational soul, akin to God, but also His grace. “Grace is not separated from God’s essence” (St. Gregory Palamas). It is a relationship, an unmediated link between man and God. And grace is specific to each person, meaning that each person has his own way of preserving this relationship with God. Thus, this grace grows and leavens in a person through his relationship with God. The mustard seed is given to man from creation and it is small, almost invisible, yet it is extraordinarily vital (because it grows into a big tree). Well, it has a process of growth, of progression, of development, and our responsibility is to give it good growing conditions, in other words, to fulfill the Gospel. We are created according to Christ’s image and we grow the “seed” through Christ-like behavior, through fulfilling the Gospel. Thus, “the mustard seed is the Lord, Who is sowed spiritually through faith in the hearts of those who receive Him and cultivate Him carefully through the virtues” (St. Maximus the Confessor).

Treasure in the field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44). In this parable, we have all the ingredients to discover the kingdom of God. We wee first that it is hidden and that man, upon discovering it, in turn also hides it. In other words, everything is secret and discreet, which is well-pleasing to the Lord. Then, he “sells everything”, meaning that he prioritizes the Gospel above all else, because this is the only way the Gospel bears fruit. It is only when we put our spiritual life first that we can blossom and bear fruit. Then the kingdom of God becomes tangible in us. Saint Sophrony says: “When His commandments become the law, the only law of our existence, then the entire composition of our life is transformed.”

Gardener. “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come” (Mark 4:26-29). This parable shows us that by beginning to live according to the Gospel, without knowing we are forged according to the image of Christ. He takes form in us.

Leaven. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened” (Matthew 13:33). This lesson shows most clearly how grace “works”: by sanctifying and transfiguring material things. Yet, for the dough to be leavened, there must be certain necessary conditions, meaning the fulfillment of the Gospel.

Parable of the talents. Father Arsenie Papacioc says that the “talents” are all the occasions we have to work out our salvation and we will be held accountable if we don’t take advantage of them.