INTRODUCTION
Today’s readings focus our attention on the birth and growth of the reign of God (Kingdom of God), in our human lives and on the life of the Body of Christ, the Church. God is both the sower and caretaker of the seed. He sows on every surface. But the growth and productivity of the seed depends heavily on how each surface (our lives) is able to cooperate with the intention of the sower. The seed of God grows in a slow and mysterious way. It is however nurtured through the power of the Holy Spirit.
FIRST READING: Ezekiel: 17:22-24
This prophetic account of the Ezekiel takes the form of an allegory. The cedar tree mentioned by the prophet is a mirror of the imagery of the mustard tree mentioned by Jesus in the Gospel. Biblical scholars perceive the cedar tree of Ezekiel as the restoration of the Davidic dynasty. Hence is is a prophesy to the Israel in exile who Hope’s for a return back to her lost glory. The context of the prophesy is emblematic of the restoration of the davidic dynasty already foretold by the Isaiah: “A shoot will spring from the stock of Jesse, a new shoot will grow from his roots” (Is 11:1).
We extract from Ezekiel that the nature of the kingdom which God is going to build around His Son is a kingdom for everyone. Ezekiel use of “every kind of…” references other Old Testament text (see Ps 104:12; Ez 31:6; Dn 4:9-21). In substance, it expresses the openness of God and his saving generosity.
Thus, Ezekiel foresaw the universality of God’s salvation which will be realized through the coming of Jesus Christ.
SECOND READING: 2 Corinthians 5:6-10
St Paul reminds the Corinthian Christians that life in the body is opposed to life in the spirit. For those who have said yes to the Lord cannot say yes to the body (living according to the desire of the world) at the same. Hence to follow the Lord requires a radical decision. Paul strikes it clear that every choice we make in this life will not go unaccounted. The apostle speaks of the judgment seat of God (v. 10) not only as a necessary path for everyone at last but also as a medium through which justice will be granted to those who in this world had all the possibility of choosing the world but chose God instead. Paul makes it clear that our conviction about the future should affect our lives today. Paul’s cheerfulness stems in part from knowing that as long as we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. Death for him is not an enemy but a friend. This is because death, or being away from the body, means being at home with the Lord (v. 8). For Paul, to “live by Faith” is to walk in the realm of Faith. [“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).] Paul teaches that the Divine Judgment is a certainty, not an option. Nor is this Judgment to be taken lightly. Paul’s intention is to remind the Corinthians that all those who serve Christ will have to give an account of what they have accomplished for the Lord, not of how they have increased their own reputation (5:12).
How will we be judged? According to Paul, we are to receive what is due for us in accordance to the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Paul is not precise about when the judgment will occur, either at death or at the Parousia. But that is not the concern of the apostle. His message is that it will surely occur.
Are we ready?
GOSPEL: Mark 4: 26-34
Mark records this parables as messages of encouraging to the early Christians who were heavily challenged by hardships as a result of their faith in the Lord (especially the bloody persecution). The parables are called “kingdom parables” not only in reference to the eschatology but also to the fact that this kingdom is a reality of the hic et nunc. In other words, the life of the believers should be able to depict kingdom as the already but not yet.
The Kingdom parables or seed parables: The kingdom of God for Pharisees was the absolute observance of the Mosaic Law. The Zealots saw it as a political state established by force of arms with God as Supreme Ruler. The Essenes, despairing of the society of their day, imagined the Kingdom of God as heralding the end of the world, and so they withdrew to Qumran and elsewhere, in the Dead Sea wilderness, to await its coming. Jesus proclaimed this Kingdom as God’s rule in human lives begun here on earth and completed in Heaven. The Kingdom Jesus speaks of is not only the afterlife but life here and now; it is the way God wants the world to be. Jesus’ Kingdom parables in today’s Gospel point to the Kingdom as a Divine act rather than a human accomplishment. They call on man to be patient with the delay of the Kingdom in coming. They are called “Kingdom parables” because they announce, “the Kingdom of God is like . . .” After the parable of the sower in the fourth chapter of Mark comes the parable of the harvest (4:26-29). Here, Jesus describes the farmer planting the seed and harvesting the crop, but not even knowing how the seed secretly sprouts and grows. The third parable in this chapter is the parable of the mustard seed (4:30-32). The consistent factors in all three parables of response in Mark 4 are: the word of God is like a seed; God alone can give the growth; and great growth is possible in God’s Kingdom. We are called to do what we can do — plant and nurture. God will do what only God can do — produce the growth. In the 2nd and the 3rd parables, the comparisons Jesus makes are startling in their simplicity. The kingdom of God, the great future presence of the Divine, is likened to a small seed, a dried-up kernel of potential. But the actual development, from seed to stalk to ripened grain, occurs outside any influence of the sower. The grain’s growth occurs “by itself” without any observable cause. Clearly, God’s providential power ordains the growth of seeds into harvestable crops, both in Leviticus and here in Jesus’ parable. This Divinely-ordered growth gradually brings the small seeds to fully ripened grain heads, ready for harvest. The Kingdom that grows to full fruition under God’s power will be ready for its completion and fulfillment at the moment determined by God for judgment.
Parable of the mustard seed: The Parable of the Mustard Seed was taught in rhetorical hyperbole because the largest of mustard plants, even under ideal conditions, can grow only to a height of about 15 feet. (Petunia, the Begonia and Orchid seeds are smaller seeds. But the white mustard species grew to ten or twelve feet with a stem the size of a man’s arm! This was well known in Israel). A tree, whose large branches offer a sanctuary for birds, was a familiar Old Testament symbol for a mighty Kingdom which would give shelter to the nations. The tiny mustard seed, growing to be a tree, symbolizes Jesus’ offer of refuge and life in God’s Kingdom. Here, Jesus uses a shrub coming from a tiny seed (Jn 12:24), to represent Kingdom growth, consistent with other tree/Kingdom references (Ez 17:23 and Dn 4:11-21). While the first Kingdom parable (vv. 26-29) is found only in Mark, the second comparison Jesus makes concerning the Kingdom, the parable of the mustard seed, is found also in Mt 13:31-32, Lk 13:18-19, and the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas (20). The picture painted in the Parable of the Mustard Seed by Jesus is of the humble beginnings of the Church experiencing an explosive rate of growth. While growth itself was the primary focus of the first seed parable, the mustard seed comparison emphasizes the contrast between tiny beginnings and tremendous endings. The mustard seed was proverbially used to describe something of minuscule proportions (see Matthew 17:20), in first century culture. Likewise, the resulting mustard plant was well known as a large, fast-growing herbaceous shrub, and one that could be quite invasive if left unchecked in the garden (see Pliny, Natural History, 19, 170-171).
LIFE MESSAGES:
1) THE PARABLE AND ITS MEANING FOR US:
The message is simple and direct. The reign of God will grow to its fullness, despite all obstacles. In those who accept Jesus as their God and Savior, the Will of God will also be accepted in all areas of their lives with the help of the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. The Church Christ build on the foundation of the Apostles had a very tiny beginning. It was a Church of the less intelligent of the society and a small group of ordinary people. But one of the proofs of its Divine origin is its growth from such a very humble beginning. No wonder the Church has become the greatest of all shrubs, the world-wide Church that welcomes people of all races and nations into her fold, celebrating the marvel of growth!
By implication the parable is also directly linked to the individual lives of the believers. Those who have made God their own will always be considered the minority in the midst of the world but they are the greatest because they bear within them (God) what the world in all its riches and glory cannot afford.
2) A PARABLE OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR ALL OF US:
The parable of the mustard seed is a word of encouragement for us. Things might not be what you and I want them to be, but there is still hope. God works in mysterious ways. God is still with us even when our efforts are frustrated, because He is the Source of growth. Growth often starts out small like a mustard seed and then blossoms into something huge.
The second thing these words of Jesus do is to remind us that while we are called to do something, we are not called to do everything. We scatter the seed, but the growth is up to God. The same process works in the Christian life. We practice daily prayer and Bible reading. We find ways to be of service to others. We pledge money and time to the Church and charitable purposes. We join the people of God at the altar regularly. These are some of the seeds that God uses to mold and shape our lives in love, peace and hope. But the shaping happens at God’s own pace and as we are willing and able to cooperate with Him. (Fr Anthony Kadavil).
3) WE ARE ALL SEEDS:
Everyone of us is a seed. But not everyone of us is a good seed. Some of us are true gifts to humanity because they “sow themselves” everywhere as seeds of hope, love, unity, charity etc. This is possible because they acknowledge the centrality of God in their lives despite their fragility. Even when they do not see themselves as the best of seeds, they are not discouraged because they know that God is capable of nurturing them.
On the contrary, there are those who are seeds of discord, hatred, jealousy etc. They only sow destruction because they are always uncomfortable in an atmosphere of peace. They are still seeds very precious to God if only they acknowledge that. However, it is unfortunate that they do not often have that consciousness, and choose to remain who they are. By implication, they cannot be good seed since God is not part of their project.
What type of seed are we? And what do we sow in the life of those we meet?
PRAYER
O God, strength of those who hope in you,
graciously hear our pleas, and, since without you mortal frailty can do nothing, grant us always the help of your grace, that in following your commands we may please you by our resolve and our deeds. You Who live and reign with the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God, eternal communion, forever and ever. Amen.
PAX VOBIS!
