SUNDAY, JUNE 13, 2021
ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
First Reading: Ezekiel 17:22-24
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 92:2-3, 13-16
Second Reading: 2Corinthians 5:6-10
Gospel Mark 4: 26-34
The background of the first Reading today is the exile in Babylon. The people of Israel are longing to return to the Promised Land but have no hope in sight. Ezekiel speaks out, God is about to do something great for Israel. He says, I will tear a tender shoot from the cedar. I will plant it and will become a majestic tree and bearing fruits, and every kind of bird will find a home beneath it. Although this prophecy was fulfilled around 538 BC when Israel returned, its ultimate fulfilment is to be found in the Church. Every kind of bird that will find a home in it speaks about all the peoples of the world. These beautiful words God put in the mouth of Ezekiel reminds us that the construction of the Church is the work of God and not man. It also reminds us of how God uses what is little to work and accomplish great things in the world and in souls.
In the Gospel, Jesus gives the same teaching. The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed which when sown upon the ground is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows up, it becomes the greatest of all shrubs and puts forth large branches so that the birds of the air can make their nests on it. Our Lord chose a few men to begin the work of evangelization. For the most part, they were humble fishermen, unlettered men with evident defects and with few or no material resources. He choose what is weak to shame the strong.
Looking at the mustard seed from a purely human point of view, it is impossible to explain how it grows. It is the work of God. The same way, looking at the Church from a purely human point of view, it is impossible to explain how these men could have spread the teaching of Christ to the ends world in spite of the many difficulties and persecutions they had to endure. In the parable of the mustard seed, the Lord urges His us to have faith and to be confident that the preaching of the Word of God will be carried out in spite of our littleness and weakness, in spite of every difficulty.
We are like grains of mustard seed in the face of the tasks that await in the middle of the world. The disproportion between the means i.e., our powers and talents on the one hand, and the magnitude of the apostolate or work, and the challenges on the other hand may frighten us. But we can always count on the help of God who knows how to use the weak to accomplish great things. Difficulties will come and we will become more aware of our nothingness. This should bring us to have more trust in Jesus and in the supernatural character of the tasks we are trying to accomplish. If we don’t lose sight the power of grace available to us, we will surely be able to accomplish great things. If we lose sight of it, we will become discouraged, pessimistic and loose heart. This is why St Paul tells us in the second reading, that we walk by faith and not by sight.
God bless you!
Rev. Fr. Chidi Onwuka msscc