Mustard seed and Yeast
Creation itself, says St. Paul, is to be liberated and redeemed together with the people living in it. As they become freer, people will use God’s creation and technical progress not to destroy but to build up and to serve, to liberate more and more everyone and everything.
The kingdom of God must grow among us, like a seed growing into a tree, like flour transformed into bread by the yeast. But growth means change and going ahead, marching forward, and this cannot happen without change and saying goodbye to the past and even to the present, to walk forward in hope toward the future. This brings the pain of separation, of giving up something familiar, but also the joy of knowing that we are on the way with the Lord.
Reading: Romans 8:18-25
That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.
All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.
Gospel: Luke 13:18-21
Then he said, “How can I picture God’s kingdom for you? What kind of story can I use? It’s like a pine nut that a man plants in his front yard. It grows into a huge pine tree with thick branches, and eagles build nests in it.”
He tried again. “How can I picture God’s kingdom? It’s like yeast that a woman works into enough dough for three loaves of bread—and waits while the dough rises.”
Prayer
Lord our God,
you call us away from the certainties
of the familiar present
on a pilgrimage with your Son
toward a future of hope and joy,
even though we do not see it now.
Do not allow us to remain installed
in our own mediocrity.
Let our farewell to the present
not be marked with sadness.
Fill us with trust in him who guides us to you,
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
