Sunday July 19th 2020: Read Br Michael’s Gospel Reflection The Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The tiny mustard seed and the yeast
In the gospel last Sunday, Jesus spoke about the seed as the Word of God. Today we continue with this theme and message as Jesus carries on talking about sowing seeds among weeds. He also uses two other very important images; the tiny mustard seed and yeast used for making bread.
Traditionally, the mustard seed is the smallest of seeds, and some would say the most insignificant. I have held them in my hand; they are very small – the size of the head of a pin. It is indeed a miracle that when they are planted that anything, least of all the mustard tree grows. Again, traditionally the mustard tree is actually the biggest of trees! From small beginnings come great and wonderful things. This is closely connected to the image of the yeast and the flour that Jesus speaks of at the end of the gospel. He says the Kingdom of God is like a woman who takes the yeast and mixes it with flour to produce plenty of bread. Flour on its own is simply flour, not bread! The flour needs the active power of the yeast to change and transform into something new – bread.
Why is Jesus drawing our attention the smallest of seeds and yeast? It is very easy for us to ignore or even dismiss that which we believe to be unimportant or insignificant. Yet, these two parables suggest the very opposite. This smallest of seeds, which grows slowly and silently in the depths of the earth becomes the biggest of trees where the birds take shelter and make their home. Yeast, when added to flour is transformed into dough and becomes bread. The yeast transforms the flour from within.
The Kingdom of God exercises its powerful presence from within, not without. It may have small beginnings, but it will increase and grow like the seed and the yeast. Just as the yeast is the ‘active ingredient’ in the flour, so too, we as followers of Jesus are called and challenged to be the ‘active ingredient’ in our modern culture and society. Without the seed, there is no mustard tree; without the yeast there is no bread. Without each of us and our efforts, no matter how small, the Kingdom of God will not grow and spread. Today, as followers of Jesus, we are being called to slowly transform the world around us from within. Each of us is called to be actively engaged in bringing the message of the gospel into all areas of life. We are called to be the mustard seed and the yeast!
It would be a mistake to think that it takes big projects and actions to bring about change. The smallest of actions and gestures can have a huge impact on those around us. Remember, it only takes one person to stand up in a theatre or a huge stadium to start a standing ovation of thousands! We can all do something; each of us is capable of bringing about change one small action at a time. Small acts of kindness and generosity, when multiplied by millions, can and will transform our own lives, the lives of those around and indeed the whole world.
If the small mustard seed and the yeast can be powerful agents of change, so can you and I!
– Br Michael Moore OMI
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Gospel
Matthew 13:24-43 ©
God will judge all justly at the end of time
Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.” Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.” Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds ar the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!
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