“The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower.
All who come to him will live forever.” Jn 12:31B-32
In today’s Gospel
Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a tiny mustard seed, hidden in the earth,
quietly sprouting and growing until becomes a tree large enough to provide
shade for the birds in its branches. It’s a hopeful parable, which helps us to
realize that even the tiniest, hidden efforts we make for the kingdom of God
can grow in the same way.
Those who seek to
do God’s work must trust in His help to make it fruitful. Because we walk by
faith and not by sight in this world, we may not see the harvest, but we must not
become discouraged. Instead we must hope, pray, and faithfully do our small part,
scattering the seed of God’s word far and wide. If just one of those seeds
takes root, it can become the large branching tree that provides shade and
shelter, providing seasoning for life, and producing new seed for the next
planting.
Jesus Himself gives
us the example of how we are to spread the Good News. He showed us the way,
when He became the grain of wheat that fell into the earth and died to produce
the bread of eternal life. His disciples are called to follow Him to the cross
and martyrdom, rather than to earthly glory and power. In the same way, His
Church grew in darkness and obscurity, persecuted and maligned, to form a
great, branching tree that provides shelter for the faithful.
It rumored that
Pope Benedict XVI once said, “I have a mustard seed, and I’m not afraid to use
it.” If we have faith even the size of a mustard seed, we must not be afraid to
scatter a multitude of tiny seeds in as many fields as we can, with prayer and
trust that God will take it from there and use our small efforts to produce
abundant fruit for the Kingdom.
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