Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Happy Sunday Brothers & Sisters!
In this week’s readings, the Lord approaches us as a teacher. He wants to teach us about the Kingdom of God. What is it all about? Why has he come & what is he looking to bring about?
He compares the Kingdom of God to someone who scatters seeds in the ground, only to come back after sleeping and find that it has grown though he doesn’t know how. He also compares it to a mustard seed, which is the smallest, and yet becomes a large tree where the birds can dwell.
In both examples, the Lord seems to be telling us that the Kingdom of God grows in a mysterious way that we cannot control. The Lord needs us to scatter the seed, which is the “Good News” of his salvation. But we can rest assured that while we are “sleeping,” he will bring about the growth, both in our own lives as well as in the lives of others. This is what the Church refers to as grace.
There is no comparison between the amount of effort we can put into our own faith lives or to spread the Gospel and the growth that results. The Lord is teaching us that he is truly the Lord, the one who brings about such growth. This truth should take away some of our anxiety. If we allow the Lord to be truly the Lord, we still put forth efforts, but we can trust that he will lead us.
The 1st reading from Ezekiel speaks of a similar reality. The Lord will “bring low the high tree, & lift high the lowly tree.” Sometimes we need to experience “failing” to realize that the Lord is the one who is truly responsible for our growth or success.
And the last one: I find comfort in the last words of the Gospel today: He spoke to the crowds in parables, “but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.” What a blessing to have the Lord Jesus explain everything in private. Wouldn’t you like to be among the disciples in this scene, sharing with the Lord Jesus in such an intimate setting & asking the Lord about those things that we don’t quite understand?
Jesus desires this level of intimacy with each one of us. Let us pray for this grace of intimacy with the Lord, our teacher.
God bless you all!
Patrick Travers