(This weekend, deacons are preaching at the two parishes where I assist. Therefore, I am sending a weekday homily which I gave this past Friday.)
Friday of the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time
January 29, 2021 11am
Bon Secours Retreat and Conference Center
Readings: Hebrews 10:32-39
Mark 4:26-34
This morning I am really taken by the messages in the first parable of the gospel.
The image is the seed and its power.
The seed that is planted has an intrinsic power of its own to grow.
It grows imperceptibly, slowly, and sprouts little by little.
The farmer can water, weed, and fertilize the soil, but he cannot make the seed grow and sprout.
They cannot make the ripe grain appear a day before its appointed time.
They don’t really know how this happens and cannot really control it.
The farmer 1) needs trust that it can and will happen, and also 2) needs patience for waiting for it to happen.
So, with this image and parable, Jesus teaches that the kingdom of God is a divine work, not a human achievement.
We cooperate, but we cannot control the growth and maturing of the kingdom.
Ultimately, it is God who brings about its growth within us, within others to whom we relate or minister, and within our entire society.
It is especially good for me and for all of us in Church ministry to remember this.
Maybe it is also good for parents to remember this in relation to their children.
Often, we just don’t know the effect of what we say or do for others.
Occasionally, we see this immediately; sometimes, we see this some months or a few years down the road; sometimes, we never know the effect.
We simply need to cooperate with God and then leave the rest up to God.
I see the parable as doing two things for us: 1) encouraging us and 2) cautioning us.
The parable serves as an encouragement for us when we think that our efforts have been fruitless.
It also serves as a caution when we think that we can bring about the kingdom by our own efforts and programs and plans.
