Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (2)

cultivate Kingdom like farmer

Trust Providence like farmer nature

faithful in mundane

As nature most work in farming, so let God

mundane cultivation produces abundance

Notice how much nature takes care of crop like Providence kingdom

farmer like saint, crop like kingdom, nature like Providence

does farmer

create seed

craft each and every new cell

provide the power sun

make the mechanisms of photosynthesis

create the mechanisms of root nutrient withdrawal

No, rather he harnesses what already given Him

So it is with the Kingdom of God

it is more a work of God,

simply harness it,

trust in constancy of His providence

For us?

patient

If we cultivate crop, God more reliable than nature

no bad seasons

hardships, scary rainfalls, hot days, but all for crop

faithful will grow more exponential than mustard

Do not panic when evil seems to prevail in history,

part of providential cycle

martyrs seed of Church

not like earthly crop grow

if we harness nature like farmer a crop will grow

How harness it?

as the farmer, trust mundane process.

nature of our crop does not change

God revealed how grows

faithful in small, brings mighty things thru God

like mustard seed

think of Mary, little virgin girl utterly loyal to God in her tiny life

grows her into the mighty Empress of the whole universe by the grace of God at her harvest

sacraments

prayer

mind pollution

acts of charity daily

daily seemingly mundane

remb God does most growth, this is the harnessing

like mustard seed grows exponentially

Conclusion

be like farmer

trust in God to grow the crop

be loyal first in the small things

from these humble things come greatness, for

raises up lowly and casts down the mighty.

Notes

Me

mysterious

let God do it

tiny beginnings large unexpected growth

not glorious earthly empire, but undestroyable and when let grow becomes big

Cultivate faith like pants

go thru practices, and begins to flourish in unexpected ways

faith not fully seeing end, but trusting and slowly plant comes to life with your little bity gardening

Commentators

Pitre

Jesus say parables make difficult/secret for those outside

seed

mysterious inner power kingdom (‘knows not how’)

patience of letting IT grow

Kingdom grows of own power

God not us (just like nature)

Mustard seed

begins humbly rises mightily

next to Ezekiel

God take a small sprig and plant lofty

Gentiles dwell in it

Cedar of lebanon

referred to greatness/strength/tall

refers to empire (e.g. Ez 31)

birds under dominion/shadow of the empire

irony that not refer cedar

greatest of all shrubs

Not what would expect glorious empire to look like

spread rapidly, ugly shrub, hard to wipe out

Not tree but a huge plant (often hear mustard tree, but the word here is plant or shrub)