Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
In the gospels, we have a record of the method Jesus used in teaching the people. He used very ordinary examples: light, salt, grains of wheat, lost sheep.
Today’s Gospel is a good example of this. Questions abound. What is the Kingdom of God like? When will the world end? What kind of a God is there? How shall I be saved? What must I do?
I like to garden. Each spring I plant dozens of seeds in the greenhouse – tomatoes, peppers, ochre, parsley, etc. One seed in each plug. Water, warmth, and light. A miracle happens.
The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. Think of the Good News (=the “Gospel”) that Jesus proclaimed centuries ago. Did people back then think that God (or, “the gods”) should be compared to a loving and merciful Being? Hardly. Did people back then imagine that God would love us so much as to become like one of us? Did people back then dream that there would be a Good Shepherd searching for us when we wander far off the right path?
But that is what happened. What began as a mustard seed became the universal fellowship of Christians throughout the world – billions of people believing in the love that God has for us, believing that Jesus is the Savior of the world, believing that God loves each and every one of us, and all of us as a communion of saints.
That’s one example of Jesus’ teaching method. Take the other: yeast.
It only takes a bit of leaven in a recipe of flour and some milk. It only takes a brief word of encouragement to someone who is discouraged. It only takes a gesture of kindness to someone suffering. It only takes a courageous standing up for a moral truth. It only takes the beginning of resistance to some systemic evil. It only takes an initial decision to join a prayer group or an hour of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.
Simple, humble acts. Nothing dramatic.
Reflection by Archbishop Jerome Hanus, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections