The Gospel of Mark 4:26-34
Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.” He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.
Let us Pray: Let us look at our world with eyes that see God’s work. Learn to appreciate what he has provided for us, from the tiny mustard seed to the immense redwoods. The bountiful harvest that he provides for us, and the need for us to share our resources, but also our faith. This we pray in God’s name. Amen
Jesus’ parables painted scenes from the natural world, but always with a strange twist or detail. They were realistic, yet strange. The seed images are familiar. They tell us that the kingdom is near and breaking into the ordinary world where we dwell. This parable is like life. We look at the world and we can almost ignore things around us. God gives us the beauty and bounty of the earth for many reasons. One it supplies us with life sustaining food. But it also provides us with comfort and opportunity to take in its glory and to realize that the glory we see is a gift from God. We need to stop and think of our world similar to the kingdom of God. The world around us grows, the world around us becomes a beautiful place where we can definitely see the hand of God at work. We may not see it without someone else helping us to see it through their eyes, It is like do we see the glory of God’s kingdom here on earth without someone else’s help. We are the creatures that God created and gave us the ability to grow. And if God created the tiny mustard seed to provide food and shelter for the birds, He also gave us the ability to share our gifts with the people and the world around us to help others see things anew and to appreciate what God has given us. How do you share your gifts, how do you use your eyes and gifts to grow the Kingdom of God here on earth? Look around the opportunities are endless. We need to remember seeds are small and vulnerable but can sprout and grow even in tough times. Seeds are a good image for a mysterious reality whose growth occurs without our prompting and often without our knowledge. Mark uses Jesus’ parable of the growing seed to comfort those in charge of guiding his endangered church. Mark’s gospel was written in a time of high anxiety. Church leaders felt vulnerable and helpless. We can see why seed parables, while present in all three synoptic gospels, are particularly prominent in Mark. We need to pay extreme attention to the parables of the seeds, because in today’s world our churches are somewhat vulnerable and a little helpless due to the climate of the world. The Scriptures are full with promises and prophecies of the future of the Kingdom of God. We are told that a day is coming when all things will be made new, and the rule of God will be recognized by all. God has promised these things, and His Word is sure. (Isaiah 55:10-13). However, for all of the promises of what it is to come, we may be tempted to look at the condition of our world and the state of the church and wonder how God intends to accomplish His plan. We may ask, is the Kingdom of God still growing and expanding in the world today? We are like the tiny mustard seeds. We may think of ourselves as small or unable to make a difference in our world. Yet our small and seemingly puny efforts have the ability to produce abundant fruit. We have been given gifts and talents to share. To us, they may not seem like much. However, God will use us when we share ourselves and our gifts! The question is: will we?
All this tells us that it is always God, it is always God who makes His Kingdom grow. That is why we fervently pray “thy Kingdom come”. It is He who makes it grow. Man is His humble collaborator, who contemplates and rejoices in divine creative action and waits patiently for its fruits.”…Pope Francis – Angelus, 14 June 2015
Let us Pray: Thank you, dear Lord, for making your Kingdom so beautiful for us to enjoy. Thank you for making it a place of welcome and shelter for all, even for nesting birds. Thank you for your glory and peace and love for us to share. Make our faith and love grow like the massive redwoods and the smallest mustard seeds, to your glory and for the good of our neighbors. This we pray in the name of our bountiful God. Amen.
Father’s Day Prayer Holy God, this Father’s Day bless all fathers with wisdom that will help them to discern Your will. Bless their every step, that whenever our fathers run or walk, they will not be hampered, nor will they stumble. Instead, they will soar like an eagle. Finally, bless them with protection against temptations and sins, so that the evil one has no foothold on our fathers. I pray that they keep Your words in their hearts so that they emerge victorious from any trials. May You continue to be the rock that our fathers can lean on at all times, We offer our prayers for all the new fathers into Your loving hands. We know that parenthood is difficult, tiring, and even daunting. But God, we know that with You, anyone can become a great father. I surrender all soon-to-be and new fathers to You. Guide them, watch over them and show them that being a father is the greatest gift that You could have ever given them. We pray that they will cherish fatherhood and learn how to love as You do. Father God, thank You for blessing me with a father who showed me how to be a better person throughout his life. Though he may have passed, and we still miss him dearly, we know that he is in a much better place with You. We look forward to the day when we can reunite with him and with You my heavenly father. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Reflections by Bob 