July 31, 2017

Gospel: Mt 13:31-35
Jesus offered them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.
It is smaller than all other seeds, but once it is fully grown, it is bigger than any garden plant; like a tree, the birds come and rest in its branches.“ He told them another parable, “The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast that a woman took, and hid in three measures of flour, until the whole mass of dough began to rise.“
Jesus taught all these things to the crowds by means of parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. This fulfilled what was spoken by the Prophet: I will speak in parables. I will proclaim things kept secret since the beginning of the world.

REFLECTION:
These two parables of Jesus (mustard seed and yeast) seem to emphasize the “littleness“ and insignificance of the kingdom of God–at least in its beginnings. What appears to be insignificant to us is actually at the very core and is the essential element of what God intends to do. These parables speak too of humility and simplicity as the preferred way in which God reveals himself to us and to the world. In the eyes of the people of his time Jesus, the Savior of the world, had “humble beginnings.“ He was born in a little town of Bethlehem and grew up in an insignificant town, Nazareth. They belittled him, assuming that he was merely a carpenter’s son.
“Big things come from small beginnings.“ The Church, whose mission is to continue the ministry of Jesus to proclaim the Kingdom of God began with a small and motley group of disciples who were not even the best and the brightest. But now we can see how this Church, the Mystical Body of Christ has spread out to the ends of the earth. It is an invitation for us to acknowledge and to believe in the power of God’s grace in transforming what appears small and insignificant to human eyes into something magnificent and awe-inspiring. It should also give us confidence and trust in God who calls “little“ people like you and me to take part in the great mission of proclaiming the Gospel and the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.