[1]The
story is told of a father of five children who came home with a toy. He summoned his children and asked which of
them should be given the present. “Who
is the most obedient one here? Who never
talks back to Mom and does everything that Mom says to do?” He inquired.
There were a few seconds of silence, and then all of the children said
in one accord: “You play with it Daddy!”
A
godly father is an unseen spiritual submarine who lurks below the surface of
every activity of his child’s life. A
man who has put on the full armor of God and with that armor, goes to warfare
on his knees for his children, is a force to be reckoned with. We cannot be with our children 24 hours a day. Yet, through his prayers he has the ability
to affect situations even when he is not physically present. He may be undetected but that does not mean he’s
ineffective.[2]
Using
the agricultural analogy, I see my role as a father much like a farmer. By word, and more importantly by deed, I must
be a sower. As a sower I must prepare
the field, my children, to receive the seeds of faith. This may include the need to remove rocks,
uproot bushes and remove weeds that will disrupt growth. I also have to have the sense that, through
it all "the seed would sprout and grow, I may not know how. Of its own accord the field yields fruit.” (Mk 4:27-28) Sometimes I need to realize I need to be the
unseen spiritual submarine.
Jesus
uses the image of the tiny mustard seed, the smallest of seeds, scattered on
the Earth, and we’ll hardly notice that it’s growing, yet it grows, a purely
organic growth. What an image of how
change happens, how growth happens, how love happens. You see, it’s not in doing great, big, heroic
things, but doing little things with great love, little things like being a
good daddy on an ordinary day, when no one notices.
Jesus’
parables of the Kingdom are intentionally non-glorious. They’re not big. They’re not organizational or institutional
images. Jesus doesn’t talk about
creating a huge building. He doesn’t
talk about running an institution from Rome.
He just talks about little people doing little things that are hardly
noticed and they change the world.
Little by little, often unnoticed they yield a harvest. Isn’t this the story of most of our lives?
The
“mustard seed conspiracy” has little to do with formal or clerical
ministry. It is more about the little
things that we all have the power to do in our everyday ordinary, simple lives.
The
point Jesus is making in today’s parable is, once a mustard plant takes root,
it takes over everything, even where it is not wanted. It gets out of control, and it attracts birds
and animals, it is teaming with life and it wreaks havoc with our crops, and
our plants, and our plans.[3]
The
parable of the kingdom is about God’s reign on earth, where people respond to
God’s grace and try to live in justice and peace. It looks forward to a day when God’s will is
done on earth as perfectly as it is in heaven.
The Kingdom of God is not like the majestic and orderly cedars of
Lebanon but like a pungent shrub with dangerous takeover properties.
When the seed of
Catholicism first reached North America remains a complex conversation. We do know the seed planted grew to include
the formation of the Diocese of Orlando and now 50 years later, our diocese has
grown its branches across Central Florida to include 79 parishes, 12 missions,
2 basilicas, 37 schools and hundreds of ministries.
As
followers of Jesus it is our challenge to be the messengers of hope that
changes lives. We are challenged to be
like tiny mustard seeds taking over hills and fields, spreading the Good News
of the Kingdom of God everywhere.
We
are called to sow the seeds of faith and to allow our Heavenly Father to act on
these seeds, so they remain true to themselves and their purpose. His Fatherly influence, often as an unseen
spiritual submarine, begins with something very small, that grows of its own
inner strength into something very big, that provides a nesting place for the
birds and home for His adopted children, which is an image for the universality
of the Father’s love.[4]
[1] New American Bible, Saint Joseph Edition ©
1986. Scriptures: Ezekiel 17:22-24; 2
Corinthians 5:6-10; Mark 4:26-34.
[2] Standing Tall, How A Man
Can Protect His Family. Steve Farrar © 2006.
[3] Sick, and You Cared For
Me. Edited by Deacon Jim Knipper © 2014.
“The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed.” Fr. Richar Rohr, OFM.
[4] Sundays with Jesus.
By James DiGiacomo, SJ © 2008.
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