June 14th 2015. 11^th SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

GOSPEL: Mark 4:26-34

(Translation of a homily by Don Fabio  Rosini broadcast on Vatican Radio)

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Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel.

GOSPEL                                    Mark 4:26-34

Jesus said to the crowds: ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man throws seed on the land. Night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he does not know. Of its own accord the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the crop is ready, he loses no time: he starts to reap because the harvest has come.’

He also said, ‘What can we say the kingdom of God is like? What parable can we find for it? It is like a mustard seed which at the time of its sowing in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.’

Using many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, so far as they were capable of understanding it. He would not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything to his disciples when they were alone.

Kieran’s summary . . . This Sunday’s readings present us with various parables. The things of God often have a humble nature but they spontaneously bear great fruit. It is not the significance of the origins of a thing that count: what counts is what the power of God will achieve in that thing. We have the task of seeking to discern if the seed of God is within our actions and our projects. Sometimes we are so in love with our own ideas, or so preoccupied with the external glory of the things that we are doing, that we do not bother to ask if the seed of eternity is contained within that which we are doing. We ruin families, parishes and workplaces by pursuing goals that are not the goals of the Lord. But how can we tell is some project or activity contains the seed of God within it or not? The things of God proceed gradually and give rise to fruit in the end, just as the seed produces the shoot, then the ear and then the grain. The things of God may have humble and insignificant beginnings, but they have a nobility in them right from the beginning. They are not filled with ambiguities and contradictions. They are noble and good and proceed gradually. The highest trees have the deepest roots. The things of God develop peacefully and steadily. Do my projects have the seeds of God within them, or purely human seeds? Are they directed towards external glory, or towards genuine fruit that need not be noticed by anybody? Do they have an ostentatious aspect, or are they of a noble and humble character?

It is not the quality of the plant that matters. What counts is what the Lord will do with it.

The first reading from Ezekiel tells how God will take a cutting from the top of a cedar tree and sow it on a mountain in Israel. The cutting comes from the highest and most unlikely part of the tree and is then sown in an unlikely place. It all seems absurd. Such a cutting from the cedar tree in particular should never become a fully-grown tree. But the reading goes on to tell us that this cedar will become a great tree in which the birds will find shelter. The Lord is the one who humbles the great trees of this world and raises the lowly ones. The power of God operates according to a logic that is completely different to ours. It is not important that this cutting has such an impotent nature in itself. What is important is what the Lord will do with that cutting: “I the Lord have spoken and I will do it.”

The things of God spontaneously bear fruit. We must ask ourselves continually if what we are doing contains the seed of God

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus speaks in parables. John Paul II, during a beautiful homily, stated that God always speaks to us in parables. The entire world is filled with parables through which God reveals himself to us. The parables from Sunday’s Gospel tell us what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. Seed is sown in the land and grows by itself even while the sower is sleeping. First it produces the shoot, then the ear, then the grain. Things of nature produce their fruit spontaneously. In a similar way, the things of God have a spontaneous way of bearing fruit. They develop gradually and give rise to a harvest at the proper time, just like the extraordinary way that a child develops in the womb from the most insignificant beginnings. The things of God have within themselves the power of life. When we evaluate things, we must not look on their exterior aspect or glorious character. We must ask: “Did the Lord plant this seed?” If he did then it will spontaneously arrive at maturity. When young couples are preparing for matrimony, they must seek to discern if there is this seed of eternity between them. Sometimes we embark on ambitious and risky projects without ever asking if they have their origins in God. Couples must ask themselves if there is a seed of God between them; if there is something between them that is fundamentally directed towards good. Do we produce life? Is our union life-giving? The same question must be asked for all ventures and projects that we embark on, in the church and elsewhere. First the shoot appears, then the ear, then the grain. But we are so in love with our ideas that we do not bother to discern if our projects are developing in this natural way! We ruin families, workplaces, associations because we did not bother to ask if our agenda had the eternity of God within it.

How can we tell is something has the seed of God in it? Do not be deceived by its humble nature! The great and glorious things are not necessarily from God. The things of God may appear humble but they have a nobility, serenity and clarity right from the beginning.

How can we know if something has its origin in God? The second parable tells us not to be preoccupied with the humble beginnings of that which we sow. What matters is the final product. The things of God have the capacity to be transfigured, the capacity to make the journey from earth to heaven. God has sown many seeds of goodness and beauty. We must be attentive to these seeds, not in the sense of trying to exploit these things for all they are worth, but in the sense of being in tune with the nobility and beauty of the inner nature of things. It is not important if our projects have rapid and enormous success. The things of God often proceed in a slow and gradual fashion. The highest trees have the deepest roots. It is the one who begins steadily who arrives at the peak, not the one who departs in a hurry. The things of God may appear humble and insignificant, but they are noble right from the start. Things that have a turbulent origin, that are shrouded in ambiguity, do not arrive at a mature harvest. We must always be attentive and ask ourselves: “Did God plant this seed or not? Is God the origin of this thing or not?” It is important to be in a constant state of discernment with regard to our behaviour and thoughts. The things of God are directed towards arriving at their destination; they are not directed at shipwreck. The things that are merely human begin in a human manner and remain purely human.