Once again, this week Jesus speaks to us in parables…multifaceted gems that once tumbled around in our hearts and when ruminated upon, yield unbelievable insights into the Reign of God. While the disciples certainly preferred straightforward answers, Jesus obviously preferred parables.
Of the comparisons of the reign of God to a field, a mustard seed and the leaven in bread, I have always liked the comparison of the mustard seed to the Reign of God. This tiny, tiny little seed grows into a great bush…so large that the birds of the air make their nests in it.
If you take the parable at its face value it all seems quite lovely. However there is a dark side that farmers know well: the mustard bush is an invasive plant, it grows wildly and rapidly, quickly overtaking a garden…ruining the plants that had been planted with care…reducing their yield, if not completely choking them out.
Mustard bushes can be uncontrollable and rapidly spread across a farm if not quickly uprooted before going to seed. Surely this reality was not lost on Jesus…nor on those who heard him tell the parable. It seems that perhaps Jesus is presenting an image of the expansion of the Reign of God as something uncontrollable, invasive and fast growing!
But the reality of the mustard seed is that while it can be an invasive plant, it can also be a desired plant. One that is planted with purpose and care, that yields a valuable spice used in the seasoning of foods around the world.
Looking through the lenses of these images…the Reign of God is not something that can be domesticated or controlled…by its very nature it grows uncontrollably and bursts forth offering refuge and flavor to the world. I believe that many of us though would prefer something that we could contain and control… and domesticate!
But the truth is that the Reign of God is just that…“God’s Reign” …not ours. We are part of it by our baptism and we are called to help water it so that it continues to grow and “invade” every crevice and furrow of this planet, to give “flavor” to the world… but we don’t get to tame it and shape it to our designs, our tastes or desires.
Two thousand years ago Jesus’ vision of the bursting forth of the Reign of God was nothing less than radical….and it still is today. We are called to be part of that radical vision: to feed the hungry, to welcome the stranger, to shelter the homeless, to visit the sick and imprisoned…to love God with our whole being and to love one another as Christ loves us and to reach out and to care for “the other.”
Part of the Reign of God is the proclamation of the deep and passionate love of God for all peoples! And wasn’t it just this radical vision of the reign of God that Jesus preached that got him crucified… as his disciple, just how radical of a life am I willing to live? In a world that proclaims a “gospel of personal prosperity” -- tax cuts for the rich at the cost of healthcare cuts for the poor -- to what lengths am I willing to go in building up this radical vision of the Reign of God that Jesus preached? What concrete action can I take today to “water” the Reign of God and fight back against “fake Christianity”? Where and how do I see the Reign of God bursting forth in imaginative and radical ways in the world around me that support the poor and the marginalized and raise people up to the hope and vision that Jesus preached in the Gospel?
Blessings,
Fr Tim
Of the comparisons of the reign of God to a field, a mustard seed and the leaven in bread, I have always liked the comparison of the mustard seed to the Reign of God. This tiny, tiny little seed grows into a great bush…so large that the birds of the air make their nests in it.
If you take the parable at its face value it all seems quite lovely. However there is a dark side that farmers know well: the mustard bush is an invasive plant, it grows wildly and rapidly, quickly overtaking a garden…ruining the plants that had been planted with care…reducing their yield, if not completely choking them out.
Mustard bushes can be uncontrollable and rapidly spread across a farm if not quickly uprooted before going to seed. Surely this reality was not lost on Jesus…nor on those who heard him tell the parable. It seems that perhaps Jesus is presenting an image of the expansion of the Reign of God as something uncontrollable, invasive and fast growing!
But the reality of the mustard seed is that while it can be an invasive plant, it can also be a desired plant. One that is planted with purpose and care, that yields a valuable spice used in the seasoning of foods around the world.
Looking through the lenses of these images…the Reign of God is not something that can be domesticated or controlled…by its very nature it grows uncontrollably and bursts forth offering refuge and flavor to the world. I believe that many of us though would prefer something that we could contain and control… and domesticate!
But the truth is that the Reign of God is just that…“God’s Reign” …not ours. We are part of it by our baptism and we are called to help water it so that it continues to grow and “invade” every crevice and furrow of this planet, to give “flavor” to the world… but we don’t get to tame it and shape it to our designs, our tastes or desires.
Two thousand years ago Jesus’ vision of the bursting forth of the Reign of God was nothing less than radical….and it still is today. We are called to be part of that radical vision: to feed the hungry, to welcome the stranger, to shelter the homeless, to visit the sick and imprisoned…to love God with our whole being and to love one another as Christ loves us and to reach out and to care for “the other.”
Part of the Reign of God is the proclamation of the deep and passionate love of God for all peoples! And wasn’t it just this radical vision of the reign of God that Jesus preached that got him crucified… as his disciple, just how radical of a life am I willing to live? In a world that proclaims a “gospel of personal prosperity” -- tax cuts for the rich at the cost of healthcare cuts for the poor -- to what lengths am I willing to go in building up this radical vision of the Reign of God that Jesus preached? What concrete action can I take today to “water” the Reign of God and fight back against “fake Christianity”? Where and how do I see the Reign of God bursting forth in imaginative and radical ways in the world around me that support the poor and the marginalized and raise people up to the hope and vision that Jesus preached in the Gospel?
Blessings,
Fr Tim
RSS Feed
