Mark 4, 26-34
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
Today we celebrate Father’s day. It is a day that society has set aside to honor those of us that have received the blessing of fatherhood; it is a day that our families celebrate and thank God for Fathers living or dead; a day that we thank our fathers for giving us life and being men of faith. A day that we forgive them for their imperfections but we trust that they did their best; a day that we love them, that we pray for them so that they may continue being the Spiritual leaders of our homes.
It is also the day that we honor not just the biological fathers in our lives but all of those men that have stepped in and have become the mentor, the counselor and the support. The father figure for so many lives that appeared in God’s time where there was no father to be found, we honor you; rest assured that we know who you are.
I was born and raised in Washington State where the environment that I grew up in and was familiar with was mostly agricultural and farming in nature. My family traveled every year at the beginning of spring as migrant farmworkers and upon arriving in the Yakima Valley, went through the seasonal runs of harvesting all sorts of fruits and vegetables. Never would I have thought that in that phase of my life, so many years later, today, a lesson would be learned.
You see, as I prepared for this homily, my approach, so I thought, would be an easy one considering that today’s Gospel involves seeds, soil, water and the final product, a mustard seed that becomes a tree; What different could it be from my harvesting life experiences in Washington? Same agricultural logic, right? Well, not really.
Once I began researching the theological approach to this parable, a revelation that had nothing to do with nature and everything to do with Jesus, came to life.
“To what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it?” Well, it so happens that proclaiming the Kingdom of God was Jesus’ favorite subject. In fact, one of his first public sermons began stating that “The kingdom of God is at hand.” And as we can see, he continues proclaiming his kingdom in today’s Gospel. In this parable passage that comes from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus compares the kingdom of God of all things, to a mustard seed. A seed that even though it may be the tiniest of all seeds; grows to become one of the largest trees of its kind.
It is through the parable of the Mustard seed that our Lord explains through metaphor what his kingdom is all about and He speaks to us of the wonders that he has worked in his kingdom. Jesus reminds us that He himself was truly considered the smallest and lowliest of all seeds because during his years in ministry he was treated worse than all the prophets of old. And even though He was the one that the prophets of the Old Testament pointed to as the Messiah, the leaders of his time still mistreated him and considered him to be the smallest of all mankind.
Jesus explained that once the mustard seed is planted it grows and becomes the largest of all plants, but is through the death of the seed that the plant comes to life. Just like his own death and resurrection brought us life. He is also significant to the kingdom of heaven because as the tree comes to full growth it becomes a haven for all kinds of living creatures, just like the kingdom of God is home for all of us. We may ask how it can be that Jesus refers to himself as the Kingdom of God. The reason is due to the fact that Our Lord is The King and The Head of his kingdom and his entire kingdom is part of him, and we, as members of his kingdom form a part of his mystical body and are truly incorporated into him.
Jesus, being the divine teacher shows us that his power is mostly apparent through his weakness, for when he was considered to be at his weakest point, buried at the sepulcher, is when the power of God was manifested at its best; raising Jesus from the dead on the third day.
Even though he prepared his apostles for his death and resurrection reminding them time and time again, It is not until He resurrects that the apostles realize and understand the true meaning of the mysteries of his parables. For even though he took time to privately explain each parable to them, they did not gain the full understanding until after all took place. And it was not until all took place that they faced reality and realized that their Christian mission is about to begin; it is then that Jesus, the Mustard seed, arrives to full fruition.
Our Lord instructs us that as we go about our daily lives we are to stay close to his mystical body, the church. We are never to depart from her morally or physically for as we go about our laboring we do so as members of the body of Christ. We must allow ourselves to be used in the effort of bringing all souls to an understanding that there is only one refuge for sinners in this world and that this refuge is his Church.
We are guided by the Church to follow the teaching of the apostles and to follow the sacramental life. It is here in the Church that we gather and prepare ourselves to receive the Holy Eucharist which is the source of strength that energizes us to go and labor for the kingdom of God. And as we labor, it is through our efforts of announcing his Gospel that Jesus the mustard seed grows and grows becomes larger and larger becoming holy and immaculate just like its Lord.”
When we as the mystical body of Christ arrive at this holiness level, it is then that the Lord in all of his Glory will come to reward those that have formed to become part of his body. It is also the time that he will come to condemn all those who reject the graces that he has to offer.
Let us acknowledge our Lord’s saving power of forgiveness and love; May we repent of all our sins; and may we prepare ourselves to receive Jesus in today’s Holy Eucharist, for “The Kingdom of God is at Hand.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
Today we celebrate Father’s day. It is a day that society has set aside to honor those of us that have received the blessing of fatherhood; it is a day that our families celebrate and thank God for Fathers living or dead; a day that we thank our fathers for giving us life and being men of faith. A day that we forgive them for their imperfections but we trust that they did their best; a day that we love them, that we pray for them so that they may continue being the Spiritual leaders of our homes.
It is also the day that we honor not just the biological fathers in our lives but all of those men that have stepped in and have become the mentor, the counselor and the support. The father figure for so many lives that appeared in God’s time where there was no father to be found, we honor you; rest assured that we know who you are.
I was born and raised in Washington State where the environment that I grew up in and was familiar with was mostly agricultural and farming in nature. My family traveled every year at the beginning of spring as migrant farmworkers and upon arriving in the Yakima Valley, went through the seasonal runs of harvesting all sorts of fruits and vegetables. Never would I have thought that in that phase of my life, so many years later, today, a lesson would be learned.
You see, as I prepared for this homily, my approach, so I thought, would be an easy one considering that today’s Gospel involves seeds, soil, water and the final product, a mustard seed that becomes a tree; What different could it be from my harvesting life experiences in Washington? Same agricultural logic, right? Well, not really.
Once I began researching the theological approach to this parable, a revelation that had nothing to do with nature and everything to do with Jesus, came to life.
“To what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it?” Well, it so happens that proclaiming the Kingdom of God was Jesus’ favorite subject. In fact, one of his first public sermons began stating that “The kingdom of God is at hand.” And as we can see, he continues proclaiming his kingdom in today’s Gospel. In this parable passage that comes from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus compares the kingdom of God of all things, to a mustard seed. A seed that even though it may be the tiniest of all seeds; grows to become one of the largest trees of its kind.
It is through the parable of the Mustard seed that our Lord explains through metaphor what his kingdom is all about and He speaks to us of the wonders that he has worked in his kingdom. Jesus reminds us that He himself was truly considered the smallest and lowliest of all seeds because during his years in ministry he was treated worse than all the prophets of old. And even though He was the one that the prophets of the Old Testament pointed to as the Messiah, the leaders of his time still mistreated him and considered him to be the smallest of all mankind.
Jesus explained that once the mustard seed is planted it grows and becomes the largest of all plants, but is through the death of the seed that the plant comes to life. Just like his own death and resurrection brought us life. He is also significant to the kingdom of heaven because as the tree comes to full growth it becomes a haven for all kinds of living creatures, just like the kingdom of God is home for all of us. We may ask how it can be that Jesus refers to himself as the Kingdom of God. The reason is due to the fact that Our Lord is The King and The Head of his kingdom and his entire kingdom is part of him, and we, as members of his kingdom form a part of his mystical body and are truly incorporated into him.
Jesus, being the divine teacher shows us that his power is mostly apparent through his weakness, for when he was considered to be at his weakest point, buried at the sepulcher, is when the power of God was manifested at its best; raising Jesus from the dead on the third day.
Even though he prepared his apostles for his death and resurrection reminding them time and time again, It is not until He resurrects that the apostles realize and understand the true meaning of the mysteries of his parables. For even though he took time to privately explain each parable to them, they did not gain the full understanding until after all took place. And it was not until all took place that they faced reality and realized that their Christian mission is about to begin; it is then that Jesus, the Mustard seed, arrives to full fruition.
Our Lord instructs us that as we go about our daily lives we are to stay close to his mystical body, the church. We are never to depart from her morally or physically for as we go about our laboring we do so as members of the body of Christ. We must allow ourselves to be used in the effort of bringing all souls to an understanding that there is only one refuge for sinners in this world and that this refuge is his Church.
We are guided by the Church to follow the teaching of the apostles and to follow the sacramental life. It is here in the Church that we gather and prepare ourselves to receive the Holy Eucharist which is the source of strength that energizes us to go and labor for the kingdom of God. And as we labor, it is through our efforts of announcing his Gospel that Jesus the mustard seed grows and grows becomes larger and larger becoming holy and immaculate just like its Lord.”
When we as the mystical body of Christ arrive at this holiness level, it is then that the Lord in all of his Glory will come to reward those that have formed to become part of his body. It is also the time that he will come to condemn all those who reject the graces that he has to offer.
Let us acknowledge our Lord’s saving power of forgiveness and love; May we repent of all our sins; and may we prepare ourselves to receive Jesus in today’s Holy Eucharist, for “The Kingdom of God is at Hand.”
