As I work in my rectory office which has a large window facing Aberdeen Avenue, I’m sometimes distracted by bright red, yellow and blue flashes as cardinals, finches and blue jays fly from the tops of nearby trees and swoop down to feed on the grass and shrubs in front of the rectory. It reminds me of today’s first reading from the prophet Ezekiel, where we hear God foretell the growth of a great nation using the image of a shoot that he will take from the top of a cedar tree and plant to become a majestic cedar with birds of every kind dwelling in its branches, much like the cardinals, finches and blue jays I see in the trees around the rectory. With this colorful imagery, Ezekiel is prophesying the return to glory of Jerusalem, which had been destroyed by the Babylonians. You will recall that Ezekiel proclaimed his prophetic message from his exile in Babylon where he, along with the rest of the royal court of Jerusalem, had been taken. Ezekiel foresaw a time when people of every nation on earth would become part of this new kingdom. And, he ended his prophecy with a strong admonition that we should all heed: “I, the Lord, bring low the high tree, lift high the lowly tree, wither up the green tree, and make the withered tree bloom.” Those who take pride in themselves will falter but those who humbly allow God to work through them will prosper.
And, as our patron saint – Catherine of Siena – once said so well, “all the way to heaven is heaven, because Jesus said, ‘I am the way.’” We who work to bring about God’s kingdom in this world already enjoy a touch of heaven even before we die! The atmosphere of God’s eternity wafts into the present, transforming it and making those who experience it joyously hunger for more. St. Paul speaks of it in today’s second reading with a touch of homesickness when he writes: “We know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord,” and “we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.” And, as we hear in the first reading, St. Paul includes a judgement in his message, reminding us that “we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.”
Today’s Gospel also speaks of a new kingdom – the kingdom of God. With the two parables that we hear today, Jesus offers us some very important insights into the growth of God’s kingdom right here in our midst. And, as he does so often, Jesus calls us to humility in the face of God.
Speaking to his contemporaries, many of whom were farmers, Jesus uses two images they can all understand. Anyone who has worked on a farm or even a little home garden understands these images, too. We know that it takes a lot of work to get plants to grow and flourish. All plants need just the right amount of sun and water and food. And, they need to be kept free of weeds that can choke them and insects that eat them. And, as we water and fertilize and weed and apply insecticides, we marvel at the miracle of growth that, as Jesus says so well, happens we “know not how.” In the end, it is God’s work that offers us the harvest of vegetables, fruits or flowers; we humbly admit it to be a mystery as we gratefully enjoy the harvest.
And, our work sometimes yields surprising crops, like the tiny mustard seed that grows into a large bush so that, just as the cedar tree in today’s first reading, birds can come and dwell in it. Of course, here Jesus is not just talking about our garden but the work we do in bringing about God’s kingdom. We are called to work hard to bring it about by our faith and trust in God and our kindness and thoughtfulness, patience, mercy and forgiveness with one another, and by sharing our abundance with the needy in gratitude for God sharing his abundance with us. But, in the end, we are not responsible for bringing about God’s kingdom – how and when it happens is God’s work. These two parables do not excuse us from working to build up God’s kingdom but make it very clear that it grows according to God’s plan – not ours.
This year, we have all been humbled as we realize that God’s plan does, indeed include some surprises and it prevails over our best-laid plans. We may have felt like seeds that have been kept buried deep in a farmer’s sack. Hiding from the virus may have kept us safe but it has prevented us from flourishing. Now, we’re finally seeing the light of day and enjoying the life-giving encounters with others. Like a seed, we’re beginning, once again, to sprout and grow. So, all three readings provide us with really good food for thought and prayerful reflection. As we begin another week in God’s grace, perhaps feeling like seeds that are finally beginning to grow again after being deprived for so many months of those things that nourish us, let us be grateful to God for welcoming us into his kingdom and let us recommit ourselves to humbly continuing the work of building up his kingdom, aware that we are privileged to continue the work that his son began and that it is, indeed, God’s work. Remembering that we must all give an account of our lives, we know that our efforts will be blessed by the Lord in the heavenly kingdom.