11th Sunday of the Year; Year B June 17, 2018

May you be fully rooted in God by being docile to the word of God you listen to and be transformed by the Eucharist you receive in this Sunday’s celebration. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

               DOCTRINE AND FAITH

(Ezek 17, 22-24; 2 Corinthians 5, 6-10; Mark 4, 26-34: 11th Sunday of the Year; Year B June 17, 2018)

    There is no gainsaying that Jesus was a perfect teacher, who excelled in the use of pedagogical methods. This comes out well in his use of different types of imageries that graphically engrave his message in the minds of his listeners. In the gospel reading of today, he used parables. Parables are brainteasers. They engage two very different realities and use one to throw light on the deeper meaning of the other. They are used by sages, precisely, because they force the hearers to stretch their imagination and make connections they ordinarily would not make. Jesus used this literary form in teaching about God’s reign, that mysterious reality that seems to belong to another world yet is within our grasp here. The reign of God was a familiar expression among the Jews of the Old Testament. It connoted dominion or sovereignty of God over the people of Israel. The Jewish people regarded themselves as the property of God, with whom they made a pact of friendship and whose salvific intervention they enjoyed severally. Its political valence came out in the fact that it was God who appointed kings for them, who were his subordinate and governed in his name. The expression, the reign of God, from Jesus, however, takes up a different significance that has nothing to do with its political connotation. Jesus’ use of it was essentially spiritual, supernatural and means the sovereignty or the rulership which God exercises in the souls and hearts of people; such ruling of God in the soul would imply complete freedom of sin and any trace of dominion of Satan as well as the participation of the soul  in the divine life, thanks to the works of Jesus.

One would ask why Jesus narrates the two parables: the parable of the seed growing on its on and that of the mustard seed and even the parable of the sower that preceded these two. In giving these parables to illustrate the kingdom of God, Jesus encouraged the disciples of the Kingdom of God not to fall into pessimism  and discouragement in the face of difficulties in crisis moments. By giving the parable, Jesus simply wanted to cheer his disciples up and with the parable of the seed that grows by itself to demonstrate that the Kingdom of God grows and it is not the people who give strength or success to the Word, nor will their resistance be able to stop its maturity. The disciple should be able to get rid of every form of useless anxiety. One should wait patiently, for in its time the Word of God will bear its fruit through an intrinsic force and fecundity that is natural to it which nothing or nobody would be able to suppress/hinder. It is to be noted that the word of God follows its own course and in respect of God’s time which is different from that of men and will certainly achieve unexpected and impressive results.
    With the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus wishes to teach that the Kingdom of God, the work of salvation begins in a very humble and modest manner, scarcely noticeable but becomes a very great and impressive reality such that will be able to welcome/accommodate within itself all the people of the world. This will be possible not through the ability or organisation of men but through the power of God. There is certainly going to be an enormous disproportion between the humble beginning of the kingdom and the luxuriance of its full development. 

    Very similar to the teaching of the two parables of today’s gospel is the lesson of the first reading from the book of Ezekiel. The prophet Ezekiel speaks of a situation of great trail for the people of Israel in exile. It was a situation that posed threat to their hope. When the kingdom of Judah fell in 587 BC, it seemed that the dynasty of David crumbled with it. The eventual effect would mean that the divine promise of the emergence of the Messiah from the stock of David would be unrealisable and almost impossible. The oracle of Ezekiel had the scope of instilling confidence in the people. This was because what looked impossible was  accomplished by God as we have in this oracle. From the top of the cedar, from the highest branch I will take a shoot (the Messiah) and plant it myself on a very high mountain of Israel. It will sprout branches and bear fruits … Every kind of bird will live beneath it and every winged creature rest in the shade of its branches. What a contrast! A branch that looked contemptible became a magnificent cedar, a shelter for all birds and flying creatures.  
    The teaching of St. Paul in the second reading of today is in harmony with that of the gospel as well as that of the first reading from the book of Ezekiel. Paul’s teaching is an invitation to have trust in God no matter the difficulties in the pastoral ministry. We should also exhibit confidence in our lives for it is God who made the dry cedar to germinate, saw the untended seed grow to fruition and maturity, the mustard seed grow to such a splendid tree and will make his kingdom to reign over all. What is required of us is a good and coherent Christian life, and a steady search for what is pleasing to God in order to make his reign to be established and grow both in us and the world.  It is a call for us to utilise the gifts bestowed on us as well  as the opportune time conceded to us in order to bear good fruit for the reign of God. Although the mystery of the reign of God unfolds within human history, we need eyes of faith to recognise it. Like the cedar and the mustard seed, it grows within the concreteness of human experience. Just as the life force that thrusts the branches farther and farther out cannot itself be seen, so the reign of God is mysterious, even incomprehensible. Still, it is there, inviting us, urging us to move forward, transforming our world. For this transformation of ourselves and society to be fully effective we must all be, through formidable faith, be rooted in God. May we be fully rooted in God by being docile to the word of God we listen to and be transformed by the Eucharist we receive in this Sunday’s Eucharistic celebration. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye

graphics by chukwubike