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 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.
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The two parables – the Seed that grows by itself and the Mustard Seed – show the innate power of the Word that Jesus sows in the hearts of people. The seed of the Word will grow and produce fruits independent of the efforts of human beings because it has an inner power, being the Word of God. God says in Isaiah, “Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful… so shall my word be… it shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it” (55:10-11).
The parable of the Mustard Seed, on the other hand, points to the humble beginning of Jesus’ ministry. But again the Gospel has an innate power to grow and spread and cover the earth like a large plant that welcomes the birds in its branches. The effects of the power of the Gospel may not immediately be evident, and it cannot be hurried by human efforts, but the Lord, in his time, will make it achieve its purpose.
An example of the innate power of the Gospel is illustrated by the life of St. Charles de Foucauld. He lived as a hermit with the Tuaregs in the Sahara, preaching not through sermons but through example. Assassinated in his hermitage, he would have been forgotten, but his life and writings were discovered and gave birth to new religious congregations and spiritual families.
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SOURCE: “366 Days with the Lord 2020,” ST. PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632895-7328; E-mail: publishing@ stpauls.ph; Website: http:// www.stpauls.ph.
