The Kingdom of God is Like a Quilt

Today I was reading Luke 13, in The Message translation.  I was struck by the opening of some of the parables/metaphors; in verse 18:  "How can I picture God's Kingdom for you?"  And then there's the story of the acorn that grows into a tree and after that, the woman baking bread.

This morning, I also thought of another metaphor that Jesus uses in many of his parables:  the Kingdom of God is like a feast.  Jesus also uses work metaphors, like workers in the field.  I wonder if modern readers hear that and think about backbreaking labor, not the abundance of a vineyard.

The other day as I was finishing Morning Watch, I made up my own metaphor:  the Kingdom of God is like a quilt group, where friends decide to get together to work on their quilting projects together.  They bring their favorite foods to share and they enjoy each other's company.  They have such a good time they decide to meet regularly.

I've continued to think about this metaphor.  Would I need to extend it to have the quilt group buy a big house together?

This morning as I read the parables about small things that grow big, I thought about the quilt as metaphor.  How can I explain God's Kingdom for you?  A woman has a bag of scraps that are too small to make into a shirt or a scarf, scraps left over from other projects, scraps from beloved items that have become frayed and worn.

She puts one piece of fabric next to another piece of fabric and delights in the way that they look together.  She chooses a third scrap and attaches it with neat stitches of sparkly thread.  She continues in this way until the collective can cover a bed.