The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven

By Edna Lister

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and of the Leaven are among the most brief and pithy of Jesus' teachings. Both are illustrations of the nature of the kingdom of heaven in such simple language that totally uneducated persons could easily understand the point he was making.

Jesus taught that love fulfills the law, and covers your whole life. Then you must have faith, even as small as a grain of mustard seed, which grows great enough to move a mountain. You cannot erase divine faith from your consciousness. Your faith grows silently, often without your notice, just as leaven expands the dough.

The Mustard Seed: "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." – Matthew 13:31-32.

"And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it." – Mark 4:30-32.

"Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it." – Luke 13:18-19.

"The disciples said to Jesus: Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like. He said to them: It is like a grain of mustard-seed, the smallest of all seeds; but when it falls on tilled ground, it puts forth a great branch and becomes shelter for the birds of heaven." – Gospel of Thomas, Saying 20.

The Leaven: "Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." – Matthew 13:33-33.

"And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." – Luke 13:20-21.

"Jesus [said:] The kingdom of the Father is like a woman. She took a little leaven, [hid] it in dough, (and) made large loaves of it. He who has ears, let him hear." – Gospel of Thomas, Saying 96.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

This Edna Lister Bible study transcript is dated January 16, 1933. Scribe: Clarissa A. Watkins. Scripture: Matthew 13:31-32.

"Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." – Matthew 13:31-32.

The whole of Creation, conscious or unconscious, is in service to God. Yet, as you serve the world one day at a time, you must remember whose you are and whom you serve.

The mustard seed has complete faith in its ability to expand and grow. In full surrender to that inner urge to expand, it grows and produces potentially thousands of other mustard trees.

You are responsible for all those on your ship, as Paul was (Acts 27:24). As he was sent to report to Caesar, you, too, must be brought before Caesar, who represents justice in the world.

Eventually, you must expand, grow, express and disintegrate in form to pass into some higher state. Despite the passing years, now is the time to expand.

When delay seems your lot, remember – it is always early, and never too late. You just have not quite arrived yet. God never cuts a person off from life unless his hardships have been so great that subconsciously he has been asking for release from the body.

The mustard seed illustrates the aggressive masculine principle, and leaven represents the pervasiveness of the feminine principle that leavens the whole mass. Learn to "fear not" while remaining silent. Read Emerson's "Circles" essay for more insight on this idea.

Nature centres into balls,
And her proud ephemerals,
Fast to surface and outside,
Scan the profile of the sphere;
Knew they what that signified,
A new genesis were here.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

God sends you those who can help you and those who need your help. You may offer them the leaven of joy and sweetness, but the only thing in life that you can change is your attitude.

Love keeps its lips sealed unless it can express in kindness and joy. Use the dynamite of love on darkness, declaring, "Let the power of love clear away this condition of darkness," but declare it graciously in love.

Summing up the ideas suggested by the mustard seed, faith is the complete ability to grow and unfold, to expand and enfold. You receive your reward not from people, but in an increased ability to express your manifold gifts.

If you are to reach a goal that requires twenty years' work, does it matter which twenty years of your life you devote? The twenty years of your youth, or twenty years of your more mature years, it matters not.

Mind your own business, or better still, always be about your "Father's business." Let gracious joy permeate your every contact and interaction.

The whole picture represents your personal responsibility. Love is now the guiding power of evolution. We are in the Golden Age of the Christ, and must learn to love in perfection.

Seers and prophets are on earth now. During the next six months, you could release God's Power to melt and dissolve all evil, because you know what you are doing.

The Teammates: Will and Desire

Edna Lister created this Bible study outline for May 28, 1941. Scripture: Matthew 13:31-33.

"Another parable he put forth to them: 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. Another parable he spoke to them: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened." – Matthew 13:31-33.

A mustard seed represents the aggressive will of the masculine Father principle. Leaven symbolizes the pervasive desire of the feminine Mother principle.

Will, which is the expression of Wisdom through you, builds the pipeline of determination to your goal, according to your plan. You must nourish and sustain desire, which forms the seed, impregnated with the idea at its heart.

When you let will and desire pull in opposite directions, they fill you with conflicting emotions, thoughts, doubts and fears. The Holy Breath moving through you then colors the River of Life, creating clouds and leaving imperfections behind. You must firmly and consciously harness will and desire, and put your disciplined imagination in the driver's seat.

Secrets of the Hidden Mother (a)

Edna Lister created this sermon outline for July 22, 1951. Scripture: Matthew 13:31-33.

During the Medieval era, women were held as chattel goods and believed to have no soul. The Bible contains no reference to the hidden mother, yet many manuscripts have gone missing and some are reported to have been burned. Roman Catholicism replaced the hidden Mother with Mary, the Mother of God.

The original Emanations of Light include the Mother. The Father represents Wisdom and the Godhead's masculine aspect. The Mother represents Love and the feminine aspect of God. The Holy Ghost, the Son, is the third Emanation of Light.

The three phases of life come from the Emanations: The Father of Wisdom thinks and plans all forms. The Mother of Love nourishes and sustains all Creation with substance. The Son, as the Holy Ghost is the vitalizing current of energy. You cannot grow spiritually unless you are filled with the Breath of God.

"Another parable he put forth to them: 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. Another parable he spoke to them: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened." – Matthew 13:31-33.

The parable of the mustard seed illustrates Wisdom's aggressive nature. It swells and fills space, as the masculine Mind aspect of God holds the ideas, and thinks the plans into form. Yet, without the nurturing Mother, it cannot grow.

The parable of the leaven illustrates the hidden Mother principle, which is pervasive, permeating and penetrating. Love works in silence to nourish and sustain all form. It needs more room for growth since it causes Wisdom to expand.

Love is always brooding and yearning toward the Source of All Life. Love causes an increase, as exemplified by a mother, who works tirelessly to provide for her children.

The original idea, plan and mold for the form determine all final creations. A rose is a rose, an onion is an onion.

A creature's plan tends to darkness, a creator's plan to Light. You must dare to do, but first, you must be. Take time to be gracious, lovely, tender and beautiful to use the now perfectly.

The quality of your effort will earn the mountaintop of soul victory. Zero effort will anchor you to the bottom. You gain the height by devoted effort, in stages, while keeping your eye single-focused.

When you lay up your treasures in heaven, nothing can take them or destroy them. God then gives you all the "added things."

Secrets of the Hidden Mother (b)

This Edna Lister sermon transcript is dated July 22, 1951. Scribe: Ruth Johnson. Scripture: Matthew 13:31-33.

Women were chattel goods in the ancient world, literally "owned" by their spouses or the men in their families. As late as the 15th Century, theology did not credit women with having souls. They remained hidden in the kitchen since men would not permit them to sit at the table, and they ate after men at meals. Other women ostracized those who were brazen enough to eat with men.

Getting the vote did not emancipate women, but inventions and appliances, such as sewing machines, vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, washers and dryers did. Modern science was born in medieval alchemical laboratories. Science's parents were man's lust for power and wealth.

Greed liberated women just as the industrial revolution's machinery, tractors, reapers and hay bailers liberated peasants: Automation freed the working poor. Thus, science and technology have emancipated the hidden Mother.

God created by Emanation, the act of breathing, inhaling and exhaling as an explosion. Everything in Creation was manifested from that first breath, which framed the foundation of principle as Wisdom, Love and the Logos.

The first Emanation was Wisdom, the Father principle of Mind, which contains the potential for cosmic consciousness. The second Emanation, Love, contains the hidden Mother's potential for creativity. Love is subjective within the Wisdom principle, objective when emanating as Love-Substance.

The third Emanation, the Logos, carries the first two Emanations hidden within it. As the Christ principle of the Son, God's Power objectively energizes the Word as glory. By the power of your Word, you create, gloriously or ingloriously.

"God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them." – Genesis 1:27. These Androgynous Beings became male and female when the Watcher gods separated them. The memory of these Holy Pairs is the basis for the belief that you need a soul mate to return to heaven. You do not need anyone else to return to God, for you can express completion.

We all have Love and Wisdom, the Father and Mother, hidden within us. Intellect, which functions through the masculine pineal body, can conceal the Mother Love ray during an earth life, so that the individual expresses Wisdom as opinion and prejudice.

You must reconcile these terms when you breathe the Holy Breath, just as God differentiated them for Creation. God breathed from the macrocosm and emanated the Father, Mother and Son creative substance of the Holy Breath. Thus, the microcosm breathes the pure essence of God.

How do you exhale this pure essence to create? The breath you inhale is pure substance, but your outgoing breath and words are how you use that substance. Substance does not remain pure when you color it with negativity. Breathe and ascend to break a habit. Breathe deeply when you catch your self sighing, and lift.

This text contains the two shortest parables in just three verses, 31-33, which relate to initiations you take in the Temple of the Sun at night, the final steps of the 33 Degrees of consuming heat.

"Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." – Matthew 13:31-32.

Mustard is the tiniest of all seeds, yet mustard trees grow to six feet in the Middle East. It epitomizes the most aggressive power in the universe that swells to accomplish the plan that the seed contains.

Wisdom thinks and plans form. A mustard seed grows into a tree because it has only one plan and one pattern for form. The plan for its path is clean cut, with no deviation. It can become only a mustard tree, not an onion or a rose.

The analogy is clear: A plan-seed that falls on rock cannot develop into anything. Without the Mother's loving nourishment, it cannot grow.

"Another parable spake he unto them; the kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." – Matthew 13:33. Leaven illustrates the Love principle's permeating, penetrating power, which never stops pushing to complete itself. The self-will can accomplish nothing alone, so you must add the leaven of Love that permeates, penetrates, lightens and expands.

Unless Love, the hidden Mother, permeates your plan, you have dough without yeast, heavy, hard and useless. Leavening love nourishes and sustains like yeast in bread. You add physical, mental and spiritual measures of love to leaven your plan and life.

Love is the hidden principle behind all inventions. Every inventor must love his plan into manifestation.

The Mother principle moves everything. Aggressive Wisdom holds form, but creative Love nourishes, sustains and brings it to fruition. The hidden Mother is always behind Wisdom's work.

You never see the Mother in heaven, for the Father veils her in secrecy. The Mother's mysteries contain the secrets of creation and permeation, which the mystics had to hide from the world. Evil would have continued forever had they not hidden love's secrets.

You conquer by having enemies whom you absorb in the Mother's Love ray. Only Her Power hidden in the aroused creative fire could make you love your enemies so much that you no longer consider them enemies.

You do not learn from those you love, but you can ascend on your enemies' hostility. Your mothering love reaches into the eternal Breath of God and sends it to him who considers himself your enemy.

A little leaven can permeate an entire barrel of meal. The leaven you breathe from the eternal Breath permeates an enemy just as successfully as when God breathes at the Source.

When you breathe on the darkness, God rewards you by cleansing and filling the needy one with the original Holy Breath. He gathers all who have a similar illness and stamps them with Wisdom's name and number. The vibration circles the world, gathers substance and forms the mold Wisdom has planned.

Your every breath expands your aura with potential divine Oversoul "I AM" consciousness, and you send it out, permeated with the mothering love ray, as an explosion from your aura. You step from creature to creator, and your spoken Word stands fast.

Your aura is dragging if nothing happens when you speak the Word. Why drag your aura along for others to stumble over when you need only to inhale and exhale consciously, remembering that the Mother's potential will cleanse as consuming fire? The Father's potential fills the world to overflowing, as the process of miracles.

The hidden Mother's love permeates the Son's selflessness, and carries his energy to enliven new creations. The Son causes the Father's plan to become visible by churning the Mother's substance into visibility on your spoken Word, exactly as churning whole milk produces butter.

The creative Mother is visible as bread, ready to eat. Yet you must work for the leaven, the substance of cosmic rays, which is useless unless Wisdom, Love and Power are present as your perfect miracle. The Emanations are present as inseparable Mind, Substance and Power when you breathe from all three consciously.

The hidden Mother of Love must appear in this age. You must dare to do and to be Love's expression. Take time to be gracious, lovely, tender and beautiful, which is a perfect use of the now.

Let Wisdom express as determination of Mind to hold its original form. Let the Mother of Love nourish and sustain these creations with Substance, and hold them in their original molds. Let the Son of all Energy and Power vitalize and quicken them, bringing Mother Love into operation. The hidden Mother is the Creator in selfless action.

Nourishing Love (a)

Edna Lister created this sermon outline for May 13, 1956. Scriptures: Matthew 5:43-48 and Matthew 13:31-33.

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." – Matthew 5:43-48.

Mother's Day is the one day if the year when the love given is perfect. It is a way of commemorating that we have spent one year together in brooding, yearning mothering love. It has been the most fulfilling year of my life. Thank you.

Mother love is a way of life, a keynote, a pacemaker and pacesetter, nourishing and sustaining. When it is unselfish, mother love is the love of God expressed in all its purity, balanced.

We see three types of love in expression: A purely sentimental love, self-love, and devotional love of God.

Sentimental love is overly indulgent and overly demanding, weak, thin, watery and diluted. It says, "I've given the best years of my life for you." Sentimental love always thinks of itself first, and asks, "What will this do to me? How will this affect me?"

An emotional self-love always reaches, grabs and snatches what "I want." When no one meets its demands, it sits and waits, but never serenely, always with resentment and blame for someone. It controls your life, and in it, you find no freedom.

Devotional love's first thought is always of God. Dwelling in the love of God, I give up my own way. I give to others freely, and give others their freedom.

Devotional mother love asks "How will this affect my family? How will this affect my service?" – and declares, "This is good. You are right. I am joy. All is God."

Devotional love of God is a loving love, both persuasive and aggressive. Its keynote is expansive, and you never find it while sitting and waiting. It waits while serving, while working out its own salvation.

Some women fear the advantages of devotional love, because wisdom does not balance their love. Such a mother, for example, when dividing dessert among a family of five will cut only four pieces, leaving herself out. Her imbalance is not the family's fault.

She is cheating herself and damaging her family, especially the children, for she sends the message, "You can expect me to give up my fair share for no good reason." A mother must count herself as one of the family, otherwise, she is weak.

Emotional-sentimental love misuses substance, saying, "I want. I take." Mental-intellectual love makes demands, saying, "I will oppose" or "I won't challenge." The spiritual Mother Love principle in balance, says, "I give up. I look up. I come up. I sacrifice the little self to give as love."

The parable of the leaven illustrates the persuasive power of mother love: "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." – Matthew 13:33.

Mother love loves and leavens the whole family. Someday soon mother love will leaven the whole world into peace.

Mother love spreads its arms of love to take in more, catching everything. Love never cuts out or sends away, but lifts, heals and loves. It never loves in spite of, but because. Nothing can stop its flow above or below, for love must win.

Mother love is understanding, selfless, yearning, brooding, generous, sustaining, a pillar of strength. It croons, "I know," as it reaches to comfort the one in need.

Mother love covers others' transgressions, loves its enemies, does good when despitefully used, and strives to be perfect as its Father in heaven is perfect. Mother love, balanced by wisdom, knows what is best.

Solomon had the wisdom to recognize the true mother of the child claimed by another. The selfish, grasping woman agreed to have the babe cut in two, but real the mother was willing to give it up to assure its life.

We can still see such love and wisdom in action. Last month, a magazine story told of a dying mother who interviewed dozens of families before choosing those to whom she gave her children.

The parable of the mustard seed illustrates the aggressive power of Mother love: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." – Matthew 13:31-32.

Mother love, backed by the Father's wisdom is balanced. Its aggressive action is always pushing up, asking up, seeking up and knocking on heaven's door.

Mother love is always timeless, measureless and limitless in its devotion. When possessed by it, you become unconquerable. Divine Mother love is never sentimental or weak, but the strongest power in the universe, gossamer and light, easy to carry, no burden at all.

A self-centered love is the heaviest burden in the world. It rides the soul with a whip and spurs, until it finally collapses of its own weight, which some call a "nervous breakdown."

A selfish love is always too busy, too tired, too hurried, too self-satisfied. Its chief hallmark, self-pity, is nothing more than a sentimental love for self.

Love is an all-the-time affair. Love is a mistress whom you must serve twenty-four hours a day. It is the key to all prayer.

Love is an investment in an eternal youth annuity, which considers, contemplates and expresses only love. Wherever it goes, love concerns itself only with love, creating only love, converting all it meets into love.

The time to love is now. The love of God as Mother love, pure and undefiled, is God's universal timing.

Nourishing Love (b)

This Edna Lister sermon transcript is dated May 13, 1956. Scribe: Ruth Bender Collord. Scriptures: Matthew 5:43-48 and Matthew 13:31-33.

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." – Matthew 5:43-48.

A yearning, brooding mother love is a way of life. After we have conquered the physical frontiers, we find time for mental interests. Men become involved in the stock market, for instance.

Many women become involved in organizations. A woman can do anything, for if a challenge to action confronts her, she acts.

You must grasp a keener sense of what you express. Mother love is a nurturing love, pure and undefiled. Love comes in several grades, sentimental love, self-love, and devotional love, phases that the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven describe:

"Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." – Matthew 13:31-33.

Sentimental love is overly indulgent and excessively demanding for the self, which makes it weak, watery, thin and diluted. Such mothers are greedy and demanding.

A child is an individual in his or her own right. Children are your teachers, your trainers, for you are forced upward into divine Mind for the answers in teaching and training them. In marital relations, sentimental love says, "I've given you the best years of my life."

A self-centered love sits and waits for its prayers to be answered, then looks around for someone else on whom to park the blame. Such people are always using someone else as the scapegoat.

True mother love accepts all the blame and never seeks to escape full responsibility. The self-lover is always thinking, "How will this affect me?" They are self-indulgent.

"It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!" – Luke 17:1. You cannot change anyone else at any time. A self-love and escaping the expression of a selfless love grows so heavy a burden on the back that it falls and the person has a nervous breakdown.

They make excuses such as "I'm not able. I haven't had" this or that. They have sore throats, headaches, aching backs, sniffle because they're snivelers. They go to bed, but still do not rest.

Women are afraid of mother love because others would take advantage of them, and they will. The mother is the worker of the family.

Maybe you do work, but when the full power of love, the River of Life is flowing through you, you will brood and yearn over others. Send a constant torrent of love over the "bear" of the family, and let it wipe out any sadistic desire to hurt.

The day has past when a minister can stand behind a pulpit and expect to be taken care of financially. He must release mother love to lift, wipe out, heal and bind up all wound, to give and be.

When another reviles you, he gives you a gift to give the Father: When it hits, ascend in consciousness to your tower room. When it strikes, get out of sight, up there, and let love flow forth to wipe out the block, transgression or blow.

Love is a miracle. It is the timeless, measureless, limitless quality of your life. Love cannot understand anything but love. It converts everything into itself and lifts. Love is a choice, every hour.

Ask yourself, "How am I mothering this hour?" Every hour, as it approaches, is a beautiful, golden time. Brood over it, live it and appreciate it to fill it with God's love.

Surrender to the Power of the pure ray of mother love. Sentimental selfish love has no added wisdom. Mother love is balanced by the Father's wisdom ray. Through mother love, women are leavening the whole world with peace. Today, mother love is building this peace.

Do not put a great load on one who cannot take more. Timing is necessary for everything. Living, music, art, the world all is based on timing, and the mother love of God is the tool you have with which to work out the timing.

Mother love brings harmony. This mothering love of the universe holds all in place.

Yearning, brooding and giving for love, is mother love. Mother love is the universal timing. Pray on the mother ray of love. It is harmony. It is perfect timing. Love keeps you alert and alive. Tune into universal timing and then think of how to give.

How Strong Is Your Net? (a)

Edna Lister created this sermon outline for December 2, 1962. Scriptures: Matthew 13:31-33 and John 21:1-6.

"Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." Another parable spake he unto them: "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." – Matthew 13:31-33.

The mustard seed represents the "pushing up" power of the Father of Wisdom, the aggressively masculine power of God. The leaven represents the spreading power of the Mother of Love "pushing out" to encompass, to include, to draw in, to draw together. Leaven symbolizes the pervasive, penetrating, permeating feminine power of love.

The leaven and the mustard seed both represent the expansive power of increase. Mustard seed represents growth of the individual soul. Leaven represents the power of transforming the outer, of people and conditions into its own likeness. The mustard seed and leaven are gifts with which God endowed you. You brought them with you to earth.

"Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise showed he himself. There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. Simon Peter saith unto them, "I go a fishing." They say unto him, "We also go with thee." They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, "Children, have ye any meat?" They answered him, "No." And he said unto them, "Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find." They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes." – John 21:1-6.

These two phases of Power must go into production before you can have results with your nets. Again, the sea represents water, and the outer world where you earn your living.

The combination of the sea and the net catching fish, or substance, represents the principle of action in the outer. The principle of action is always "working for" you when you declare it so. The net represents what you must earn by your use of Wisdom and Love.

Seven of the disciples were together. They were still puzzled and wondering about what had happened to Jesus. They had doubts, a certain disillusionment. Surely they were pondering why Jesus had let himself be taken and crucified.

They were staying together, holding onto each other, not going to God. They were hungry, and Peter, who represents the power of faith, said, "I go fishing!"

With their unfocused start, no wonder their result was nothing. They did not know what to do first, or where to go. They'd had no sleep. Although Jesus had done his best to prepare them, they were not ready. The events had been so sudden. They entertained a guilt complex because they had slept in Gethsemane while he prayed. They had no time to get organized and were too dazed with grief and shock. They couldn't catch anything under such inner confusion.

Which is the right side of the boat? Why, it is where the fish are now. A fisherman knows that depending on the tide, the fish feed in outer deep water, other times near the shore.

The disciples were weary and hungry, not using their mental faculties of logic, reason, discernment, discrimination, or discretion, on what they were doing. They needed direction and control to help them reorganize themselves. Even a stranger was good to and for them, someone to tell them what to do. Jesus told them to try the "other side." They not only put their net on the side where the fish gathered, having someone give them a command reconditioned them mentally and emotionally. There were the fish!

Before you fish, you must do several things. You have to mend your net or the fish escape through the holes. You mend net with joyous expectancy so your miracles won't fall through. It isn't enough to mend the holes, to clean up old thoughts, emotions and imagination. You must make sure you are using the great principle of love to draw, to encompass, to enfold substance, to pervade the world with your absorbing leaven of love.

If your net does not fill on one side — a delayed miracle — don't stop. Don't quit or think God doesn't want you to have it. Thinking "It's not for me" is silly! Keep your eyes on God and the goal. Try the "other side" of the boat, the "right side." Use another approach, but never give up joyously expecting results.

Every time you drop your net, you invite soul growth, soul expansion upward and soul expression outward. The self side is always the wrong side. "My way is best" scatters your miracles in every direction. "This is my way" squeezes the miracle to death.

You cannot waste time — you only waste yourself. Time is. You hold this precious hour in your hands. How will you fill it? How will you breathe the Breath of Life into it? How will you make it pay you dividends for tomorrow?

If you believe in an available God, if you grant a known God, if you accept His closeness as of now, if you decide to "live and move and have your being in Him," then become interested enough to be expectant. You must be joyous enough to feel alive, strong, beautiful and triumphant.

How Strong Is Your Net? (b)

This Edna Lister sermon transcript is dated December 2, 1962. Scribes: Ruth Johnson and Irene White. Scriptures: Matthew 13:31-33 and John 21:1-6.

"Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Another parable spake he unto them: The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." – Matthew 13:31-33.

Why are the parables about mustard seed and leavening, placed so closely together? The Bible is the history of a great civilization, but is also a textbook, which had to correlate and bring together the events of 7,000 years. We are already in a new 7,000 years. John said that if all the sayings of Jesus were written, the world could not hold the books. Every 2,000 years a new Messiah, o'ershadowed by the Source, must give these revitalized truths.

The King James Version is the only translation retaining even a hint of the mysteries relatively. Newer translations of the Bible touch the masses. When redactors (editors and translators) delete or water down the mysteries, the Bible appeals to those who otherwise find the Bible's size and mysticism appalling. Nevertheless, through these diluted truths, God still o'ershadows them and endows them with a divine soul.

Some Bible verses may use the same words to describe apparently conflicting points. Both statements are true, but their meanings are different.

The parable of the mustard seed compares the size of a tiny seed with a whole mustard tree. It represents aggressive pushing up, the kind of power that Wisdom represents. You must spread out and push up to illumination, which is the way to soul expansion. If every Christian pulled up the masculine magnetic current (the etheric current is feminine) through this power Wisdom, then such expansion of soul would result that great Light would encompass earth and destroy evil.

Mustard seed represents the power of Wisdom in you. Leaven symbolizes the pervasive, penetrating, permeating power of Love. Leaven is under the feminine principle of Love. Seed expresses expansion of soul. Leaven expresses the permeating power of love to move out into the world. Mustard seed represents expansion of soul upward. Leaven represents expression of soul outward.

The heart of every cell is rich with Light and the life of God. Your eyes are capacitated for inner vision. Light strikes the optic chiasm of the thalamus and shines through form, if you want to see spiritually.

Everything you touch must be permeated by the leaven of the universal Mother Love. The vitality of your leaven depends on the quality and quantity of your love, twenty-four hours a day, twelve months a year.

"Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise showed he himself. There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes." – John 21:1-6.

Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. The sea represents universal life. Casting out the fishing net represents what you gather in from life. Casting the net represents action of individual after living up to law of nonresistance that is the aggressive power of Wisdom. You are not aggressive, only the Power itself is.

The leavened substance in bread is malleable. Leaven permeates and is malleable, as is love. When you say no, you punch a hole in your mold for substance. It is a painful labor to stand, and it takes intestinal fortitude. Stand and wait in Love and Wisdom, and the person who refused will later call and say yes. Tyrants and dictators use the same law in a negative way for brainwashing.

"Not I but my Father does the work." God has given us two gifts: First, the power of leaning on His Wisdom, as in the mustard seed. Second, God has given us the power to make a person malleable through divine Love, as with the leaven.

When your love is great enough, the feminine power of leaven permeates and breaks up emotional and mental rigidity. The leavening Light only goes forth if you invoke it from above, which sends it through you. What can evil do with that Light it cannot extinguish? What it cannot conquer, it must join, so evil joins Light.

The net represents things for which you must work, and your actions in life. These seven strong men, the disciples, were disillusioned. They were hit in their faith. They knew Jesus could avoid Crucifixion, but he didn't. They were without a leader, unprepared for the shock and dazed with grief. Jesus had told them, but they didn't believe him. They had heavy guilt because they slept when Jesus was going through agony of preparation at Gethsemane.

Finally, Peter said, "I am going fishing," which was action. He did what he knew how to do and they were hungry, so they, needing a leader, said they would go too. But they were dazed when they dropped the net on the left side of the boat. Right side, right hand, execution of power so this was execution, action so the fish would be on that right side.

You become responsible for the life sparks of whatever you eat, vegetables, fish or meat, to lift the soul substance. Seven men, unorganized because of shock after the Crucifixion, went fishing. Jesus stood on shore and they began to organize through his vibration. They became grounded in their bodies. This included every law of action.

The right side of the boat is to go to where you can make the right contacts for a specific need or situation. Leaven can dry up if it doesn't work on the right side of the boat. Leaven can dry up if you give it nothing to absorb and expand. If you pray in the wrong way or act wrongly, you don't waste God's time. You just waste yourself.

Any prayer is good. You have God as all good things, even a hat. You cannot have God and anything, even money. You can have only God as, and when you act on that basis, everything smooths out.

What are you extracting from life this hour? Take your chunk of leaven and it will not be missed. What are you doing with each new shining hour? Nothing can return to you except what you send out. To say that you have wasted time is a sin.

If you believe God can create miracles, then stand up, act as if you were beauty, health, wealth. The whole world is ready to permeate and bake your bread. Live life triumphantly and gloriously!