Introduction: May you continue to grow in the way that GOD intends, and may you be willing to share your experience of growth with others.
One science experiment that is done with little children is the planting of a seed of a fast growing plant and letting them watch the development of the plant over the relatively short growth cycle. The children are amazed as the seeds which they planted begin to sprout, form stems, and possibly produce a flower or a vegetable.
One year at the beginning of Lent, our parish passed out potatoes to all the families. The pastor invited all the families to put part of the potato into water and see how the potato grew during Lent. It was interesting to hear how the growth varied at the homes of different families. Some grew quickly, and some just barely grew (and a few, like mine didn’t grow at all).
The same is true of the spiritual growth of individuals. Some seem to take what is planted within them and sprout and grow and develop quickly. Other persons grow at a much more slow and steady pace.
What is important in all growth, physical and spiritual, is that GOD is author and initiator of growth. Without GOD’s willing it, no growth is possible. With GOD’s action, even the apparently least significant start can produce great growth. We must allow ourselves to bloom where we are planted so that we can give glory to GOD and enrich the lives of others.
Growth and development are key concepts in our readings today. In the First Reading, the prophet Ezekiel proclaims that GOD can take a shoot from the top of a cedar tree and replant the shoot elsewhere and it will grow and produce growth and give provision to the birds. The Responsorial Psalm also speaks about the growth of a cedar tree that is planted in the house of the LORD. In the fifth chapter of his Second Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul speaks about his desire to be in heaven where GOD will give blessings to those who have produced Good from their work on earth. The Gospel contains two parables: 1) about the growth that takes place from a seed that is planted, and 2) how some large growth can come from a small seed when it grows.
First Reading: Ezekiel 17:22-24 I will plant a shoot on the high mountain of Israel
Commentary: The task of prophet Ezekiel was to keep up the spirits of the Jews exiled to Babylon. For them it seemed that the Sack of Jerusalem was the end of all hope: they had lost their homes, their king, their Temple and even their covenant with God. Ezekiel was a person of fantastic imagination, not afraid to indulge in wild and daring mimes to force through his message that God was still in charge and still caring for Israel. He mimed the siege of Jerusalem by building a mud-brick model and escaping through the wall. His visions are also daring and inspiring. Perhaps the best-known is the Valley of the Dead Bones, prophesying that Israel will come to life again, and read at our Easter Vigil. The present chapter is a imaginative allegory about a great cedar tree despoiled by two eagles, that is, Israel despoiled by Babylon and Egypt. Our reading is a tailpiece, promising that Israel will again become a great cedar tree, in whose shade the nations will come to take shelter. The gospel parable uses the same figure of a great tree in which all peoples will shelter. The great cedars on the mountains of Lebanon are an awesome and unforgettable sight, stretching far into the sky and wide across the hills, a suitable refuge for great birds.
Responsorial Psalm 92:2-3,13-16. It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.
The Responsorial Psalm echoes the growth factor that GOD can provide. The psalmist uses the imagery of the cedar tree, that is one of the sturdiest and largest trees known in biblical times. It also emits a pleasant scent.
Second Reading 2 Corinthians 5:6-10. We want to be exiled from the body and make our home with the Lord
Commentary. Paul uses several different sets of imagery to convey the goal of the Christian life for which he is longing. We know that all imagery is inadequate, but especially such pictures as heaven ‘up there’, in the clouds, playing harps. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul used images of participating in God’s power, incorruptibility and glory, transformed into a new mode of being by the Spirit. In last week’s reading he spoke of the ‘weight of glory’. In today’s reading he speaks of ‘being at home’ with the Lord in contrast to being in exile. Now that we are adopted children of God, to be with the Lord is our natural family home-coming. In the final sentence he envisages also the final judgement when we are laid bare for what we truly are, the frightening but comforting moment when we see ourselves as God sees us, when we can cease putting on an act and keeping up appearances. Before God there is neither need nor possibility of pretence. All masks are stripped off. This too is an aspect of being at home, for there is no pretending before the family. This fills him with courage and optimism on his journey home from exile.
Gospel Mark 4:26-34. The kingdom of God is a mustard seed growing into the biggest shrub of all
Commentary. Jesus was a countryman, from the rich agricultural plains of Galilee, where wheat and fruit-trees abounded. It was natural from him to use such imagery for the Kingship of God which he was proclaiming. Today’s gospel-reading offers us two of the many images in Mark’s chapter of parables. What did Jesus want to teach by them? Images can carry many layers of meaning. First, the Seed Growing Secretly. Perhaps Jesus meant that God’s purposes are accomplished in spite of our feeble and fumbling efforts. Perhaps it was a warning that after long waiting the time for decision, the time of harvest had come with Jesus’ own mission. Then the Mustard-Seed: was this a reply to the discouraged disciples – or perhaps Jesus’ critical opponents – that his motley little group of undistinguished peasants, fishermen and tax-collectors would grow into God’s own mighty tree. Perhaps this is a first hint that Jesus’ mission is for all nations, not just for Israel. All nations would come, nest and find a home in its branches. At any rate, both images show that God is in charge, and has great plans which will be fulfilled despite our own inadequacies.
Reflection: What can mustard seeds teach us about the kingdom of God? The tiny mustard seed literally grew to be a tree which attracted numerous birds because they loved the little black mustard seed it produced. God's kingdom works in a similar fashion. It starts from the smallest beginnings in the hearts of men and women who are receptive to God's word. And it works unseen and causes a transformation from within. Just as a seed has no power to change itself until it is planted in the ground, so we cannot change our lives to be like God until God gives us the power of his Holy Spirit.
The transforming power of the Word of God
The Lord of the Universe is ever ready to transform us by the power of his Spirit. Are you ready to let God change you by his life-giving Word and Spirit? The kingdom of God produces a transformation in those who receive the new life which Jesus Christ offers. When we yield to the Lord Jesus and allow his word to take root in us, our lives are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Paul the Apostle says, "we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). Do you believe in the transforming power of the Holy Spirit?
The cross of Jesus is the Tree of Life
Peter Chrysologous (400-450 AD), an early church father, explained how the " tree of the cross" spread its branches throughout the world and grew into a worldwide community of faith offering its fruit to the whole world:
It is up to us to sow this mustard seed in our minds and let it grow within us into a great tree of understanding reaching up to heaven and elevating all our faculties; then it will spread out branches of knowledge, the pungent savor of its fruit will make our mouths burn, its fiery kernel will kindle a blaze within us inflaming our hearts, and the taste of it will dispel our unenlightened repugnance. Yes, it is true: a mustard seed is indeed an image of the kingdom of God. Christ is the kingdom of heaven. Sown like a mustard seed in the garden of the virgin's womb, he grew up into the tree of the cross whose branches stretch across the world. Crushed in the mortar of the passion, its fruit has produced seasoning enough for the flavoring and preservation of every living creature with which it comes in contact. As long as a mustard seed remains intact, its properties lie dormant; but when it is crushed they are exceedingly evident. So it was with Christ; he chose to have his body crushed, because he would not have his power concealed....
Christ became all things in order to restore all of us in himself. The man Christ received the mustard seed which represents the kingdom of God; as man he received it, though as God he had always possessed it. He sowed it in his garden, that is in his bride, the Church. The Church is a garden extending over the whole world, tilled by the plough of the gospel, fenced in by stakes of doctrine and discipline, cleared of every harmful weed by the labor of the apostles, fragrant and lovely with perennial flowers: virgins' lilies and martyrs' roses set amid the pleasant verdure of all who bear witness to Christ and the tender plants of all who have faith in him. Such then is the mustard seed which Christ sowed in his garden. When he promised a kingdom to the patriarchs, the seed took root in them; with the prophets it sprang up; with the apostles it grew tall; in the Church it became a great tree putting forth innumerable branches laden with gifts. And now you too must take the wings of the psalmist's dove, gleaming gold in the rays of divine sunlight, and fly to rest for ever among those sturdy, fruitful branches. No snares are set to trap you there; fly off, then, with confidence and dwell securely in its shelter. (SERMON 98)
Do you allow the seed of God's word to take deep root in your life and transform you into a fruit-bearing disciple of Jesus Christ?
Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and transform me into the Christ-like holiness you desire. Increase my zeal for your kingdom and instill in me a holy desire to live for your greater glory.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: God gave us what was most precious, by Isaac of Nineveh (a Syrian monk, teacher, and bishop), 613-700 A.D.
"The sum of all is God, the Lord of all, who from love of his creatures has delivered his Son to death on the cross. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son for it. Not that he was unable to save us in another way, but in this way it was possible to show us his abundant love abundantly, namely, by bringing us near to him by the death of his Son. If he had anything more dear to him, he would have given it to us, in order that by it our race might be his. And out of his great love he did not even choose to urge our freedom by compulsion, though he was able to do so. But his aim was that we should come near to him by the love of our mind. And our Lord obeyed his Father out of love for us." (excerpt from ASCETICAL HOMILY 74.28)
WITHER-PROOF
“I, the Lord...wither up the green tree, and make the withered tree bloom.” —Ezekiel 17:24
Once Jesus looked for fruit on a fig tree. The tree had no fruit, only leaves. Jesus cursed that fig tree and it “withered up instantly” to its roots (Mt 21:19; Mk 11:20). It didn’t bear fruit, for it was not yet the season for figs (Mk 11:13). This could be Jesus’ way of indicating that the kingdom of God was now at hand. The time of Jesus’ visitation came (Lk 19:44), and there was no fruit to be found after “three years” of ministry (see Lk 13:6-9).
In the natural world, some seasons are for bearing fruit and others for being dormant. In the kingdom of God, however, we are to bear fruit “in season and out of season” (2 Tm 4:2, RSV-CE). In God’s kingdom, the trees bear fruit every month of the year (Rv 22:2); there is no off-season.
We may be weak and tiny, yet the Lord can make us bloom “and bear fruit” for His Kingdom (Ez 17:23). Though we may be old and “withered,” He will make “the withered tree bloom” (Ez 17:24). Jesus heals the withered (see Lk 6:6).
Rooted in the Word of God, we will be a tree planted by streams of water, yielding constant fruit without withering (Ps 1:3, RSV-CE; see also Ez 47:12, RSV-CE). We will bear fruit even in old age when our bodies would normally wither (Ps 92:15; Is 40:29-31).
A time will come when we must bear fruit (see Lk 13:9; Jn 15:2-6). If we bear no fruit, we will be “like a withered, rejected branch, picked up to be thrown in the fire and burnt” (Jn 15:6). Be wither-proof. Stay rooted in Jesus.
Prayer: Father, give me such a hunger for Your Word that I will become wither-proof and bear the abundant fruit You seek. “We walk by faith, not by sight.” —2 Cor 5:7. Alleluia! Jesus will come again in glory. Praise be to Jesus!
The personal action for today: In what areas have I seen a growth in myself over the course of the last week, the last month, the last year, the last ten years? Can I see the hand of GOD at work in my life? When have I been impressed how GOD has used me for the Good of others, even though I am a sinful, but saved individual? In what areas of my life do I need GOD to work? How can I reach out to others and help them realize that GOD is working in their lives?