The Kingdom of God Seed Parable

What is Ordinary Time for the Church?

When the Easter season is over, the Church moves back into Ordinary time. But, ordinary does not mean “plain.” Rather, ordinary means the counted Sundays between the liturgical seasons like Christmas and Easter. The word “ordinary” comes from “ordinal” or numbered. You may notice that priests wear green vestments during Ordinary time. In some cultures, the color green symbolizes hope. Consider ordinary time as the season of hope, where we joyfully wait in hope for the coming of our Savior.
As we wait in hope, we live lives as disciples of Jesus. We try to follow him in our daily lives, we learn from his teaching, and we try to grow in our faith.

Faith starts small

After the Easter season, the first gospel reading in Ordinary time is from Mark. Jesus gives us some interesting parables about the kingdom of God and about growing in our faith, and he uses farming imagery.

Jesus says, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”

Consider a plant you have watched grow. Especially during the spring time, plants and flowers are sprouting up all around us. Think about how much corn can grow. It is impressive to see these little green shoots turn into 8-foot tall corn stalks. What starts out as little seeds, become these huge plants.

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus makes this an analogy for our faith? It is something we can all relate to and understand. What starts out as a little seed, becomes something big. We all wish for our faith to grow bigger and bigger; faith like the great saints, who did amazing things. But, it is helpful for all of us to think about faith in terms of this analogy. Faith starts small, and it grows over time. So, how do we make our faith grow?

The first parable in the Mark’s gospel might seem a bit strange. Jesus tells us that the farmer does not know why the plants grow. We know how plants grow, we know how to take care of them, but can any of us really say “why” a plant grows? It grows because it is a living thing; it grows because it has this internal will to live, which we all know comes from God. Our faith is the same way.

We don’t know exactly how we grow in our faith. Faith is a gift that comes from God. It has its own internal will to live as well. Our faith grows over time because God is causing its growth.

But, thinking again about plants, we all know that we have to do many things to create the best environment for plants to grow. Many people love palm trees because they only grow where it is warm all the time. Plants like that don’t survive our cold winters; so, plants need a proper home. We know that plants need sunshine and water. Plants need to be protected from animals that attack them, and weeds that can choke them.

Our faith grows through the Church

This analogy can be applied to our faith as well. Our faith needs a proper home where it can flourish. Isn’t that what the Church is? This is our home. Being a faithful member of this amazing universal Church gives us the proper home for our faith to grow. Trying to live a life of faith without being firmly rooted in the Church is like trying to plant palm trees on the North Pole, faith simply cannot grow without a warm home. Just like plants need sunshine and water, we need the sacraments to feed our faith.

The Blessed Sacrament is like the sun that shines on plants, it nourishes our faith and allows it to grow. To us, receiving the eucharist is like watering plants. The more we read the Bible and let the word soak into us, the more faith can grow. But, we also have to protect our faith from those things that can harm it. There is a lot stuff out there that is simply not good for our faith: think about the movies we watch, the music we listen to, the stuff on the internet. These things can be like the animals that attack our gardens. Just like weeds can choke the life out of our plants, our sins and selfishness can also choke out our faith.

Our faith grows because God causes it to grow within us. We all want that big faith that will move mountains, but we all need to remember that faith starts out as a tiny seed and grows over time. This season of Ordinary time is a great chance for us all to ask ourselves if we are giving our faith a great environment where it can grow. Our faith might start out small, but through the grace of God it can grow like the mustard seed.

 

Mustard Seed Gospel

Mk 4:26-34
Jesus said to the crowds:
“This is how it is with the kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and through it all the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”

He said,
“To what shall we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

 

 

About the Author

Father Jake Runyon is a priest in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend where he serves as the Rector and Pastor of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne. This post was originally published on his personal blog Docete and is shared here with permission.

 

 

Mustard Seed Products and Faith Products

How do we remember the words of the Gospel that our faith can be as strong as  a growing seed? There are a variety of products including mustard seed T-shirt apparel, water bottles, keychains to help you surround yourself with these powerful words. 

Wear a walk by faith and not by sight tee shirt or commute with a walk by faith coffee mug to remember this important teaching.