Parables Re-interpreted

In going over the Gospel text for this coming Sunday, I'm struck by a need to contemporize what Jesus is saying for modern ears. 


Most of us don't know much about mustard, ancient Jewish practices regarding leaven (here's a hint - it's not modern yeast by any stretch of the imagination) or much of what Jesus was saying.  Here's an attempt - let me know what you think.

Um, this is the kingdom of heaven?

³¹He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a buckthorn that someone took and sowed in his windbreak; ³²it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

³³He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a bad apple that a woman took and mixed in with three bushels of apples until all of them were spoiled.”

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven is like a stock tip hidden in a financial report, which someone found and kept to himself; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that stock.

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a developer in search of good real estate; ⁴⁶on finding one parcel of land of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.