Kingdom Of Corn

Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.” 

Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.” (Luke 3:18-21)

Let’s compare the Kingdom of God to a cornfield.  When corn is fully grown, crows descend on the stalks rather than dwelling among the branches that don’t exist.  Crows might represent those men and women who prey on the innocent.  Jesus might be the scarecrow warding off the predators who see his presence curiously and ominously hanging on a cross of sticks like Jesus at his crucifixion.  Even in death Jesus is vigilant and there for us.

A handful of corn seeds are planted at each mound, and each grows stalks to form many ears of corn each with 800 kernels on average. One plant has two to four ears.  On one acre of land, anywhere from 22,000 to 35,000 individual plants may be grown.  That’s a maximum of 112 million kernels in just one acre.  Cornfields are of many acres.

We are like the many acres and kernels of corn with each ear representing a community of believers.  It is a version of the Kingdom of God complete with many corn borers (demons) damaging the ears, i.e., each community.  

Lies and deceit are the borers eating our cores.  Jesus watches and scares the crows away, but like with ears of corn sheathed and hidden in husks, damage can be hidden and extensive caused by our lies, deceits, and self-deceptions  We can only hope the Holy Spirit moving to us through our corn-silken hearts and minds will keep us strong and truthful.  

Note: Corn silk is part stigma and part style, providing a female flower surface to which pollen grains can adhere and defining the path through which the pollen must travel. The stigma is the very tip of the corn silk, which has a larger number of hairs to help pollen to adhere to it.

Deacon David Pierce