May God in today's Eucharistic celebration, grant us the grace to realise that the word of God has a vital dynamism in us, which is capable of overcoming obstacles of sin, may we be docile to this word of God so as to bear good and abundant fruit.
DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Ezekiel 17, 22-24; 2 Cor. 5, 6-10; Mark 4,26-34; 11th Sunday of Year B, June 13, 2021)
Today the liturgy offers us teachings on trust and courage. All the three readings go in this direction. The Gospel tells us that the kingdom of God is a force that advances through any difficulty and circumstance, it has an un-stoppable dynamism. The first reading, taken from the prophet Ezekiel, also speaks of an extraordinary growth. In the second reading, Paul declares himself full of confidence, and thus proceeds in his commitment to be pleasing to the Lord.
We welcome this teaching of trust, which we need so much, given to us in today's liturgy. In our lives there are circumstances that undermine our trust and push us to pessimism: painful circumstances and circumstances of hostility on the part of adversaries. Our situation today in our country Nigeria is a typical example of such difficult and adverse time. All these weakens our dynamism. We must then regain courage, because the Lord is stronger than any other power, and we feel his presence within us as a wonderful force.
The Prophet Ezekiel speaks in a situation of great trial for the people of Israel: the situation of exile. It is a situation that threatens hope. His oracle wants to infuse the people with one great confidence. The prophet presents the image of a very small twig, which God plants and becomes a magnificent cedar: Under it, all the birds will dwell, every bird in the shadow of its branches will rest. What a contrast! A twig, which seems despicable, becomes a magnificent cedar, shelter for every bird. Ezekiel here takes up a concept that often reocurs in the Bible: God humbles the proud and exalts the humble. The Lord declares in this oracle: All the trees of the forest will know that I am the Lord, that I humiliate the tall tree and raise the low tree, let the green tree wither and the dry tree sprout. God turns situations upside down. Whoever trusts him, is sure that he will be able to overcome all adversity, misfortunes, and painful circumstances. But it is necessary to be humble, docile to the Lord. Those who believe they are achieving ambitious goals with their own strength and in a proud way, certainly, will not be able to do so and encounter insurmountable difficulties. On the other hand, whoever puts his trust in the Lord will always be able to overcome all difficulties and win.
The Gospel presents us with some of Jesus’ parables. He willingly speaks in parables, relating the kingdom of God with all the realities of life, especially agricultural life. Here he compares the kingdom of God to a seed thrown into the earth. The seed on its own is not an important thing, it's insignificant, like a pebble. However, it has a vital dynamism in it, and on account of this it does not behave at all like a pebble. Jesus points out that, whether the farmer who sows the seed is sleeping or awake watching, on its own the seed germinates and grows. Man does not know how this happens. The seed possesses a vital dynamism. The word of God has a vital force: it is capable of overcoming obstacles, like a plant that makes its way and sinks its roots even in inhospitable soil. For this reason, we must have confidence in the dynamism of the word of God. The Lord sowed the seed of his Word in our land, that is, in our human existence. We can remain calm and be sure that this seed will produce its fruit in all circumstances, even in the most difficult ones. Jesus then tells another parable, which presents a contrast between a very humble beginning and an amazing result. He likens the kingdom of God to a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all the seeds that are on earth, but as soon as it has been sown, it grows and becomes greater than all herbs. It makes branches so large that the birds of the sky can take shelter in its shadow. There is, therefore, a strong contrast between a very modest start and a grandiose result.
The Church began as a very humble, modest seed. It was like a mustard seed. After the death of Jesus, it seemed that everything had been annulled, made useless. Instead, passing through so many difficulties and persecutions, she grew, because it, had within itself, the power of the Word and of the grace of God. We know that, from the very beginning, she faced persecution. In Judea and in all the places where Paul passed and sowed the good seed of the word of God, persecutions took place after a short time. But, despite these hostilities, she was growing, despite these fierce oppositions (the systematic persecution in the first two centuries of Christianity) the Church has grown. In 313, with the edict of Milan, it was recognised by the Emperor Constantine, and thus it was able to develop more freely. This is a reason for trust for us. We are part of the Church and we possess this vital dynamism that makes us overcome all the difficulties of life. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Asks Paul; then he lists all the most impressive obstacles imaginable: Tribulation, anguish, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, sword, and concludes: In all these things we are more than winners by virtue of him who loved us (Rm. 8,35-37). The love of Christ is the secret of everything. The strength of the word of God comes from the fact that it expresses the love of Jesus, the love of God revealed by Jesus. The strength of grace and this love, Paul is always full of confidence, as the second reading shows us. Even in the face of death, instead of having a pessimistic attitude, he has a positive attitude. He recognises that death is the means to, definitively, reach the Lord. In fact, as long as we live in the body, we are in exile far from the Lord. Earthly life does not allow us to have full union with the Lord: we must go through death to reach him in a perfect and definitive way. The Apostle affirms: Let us go in faith and not yet in vision. We are moving towards vision, therefore, we can proceed with optimism. We are full of confidence and prefer to go into exile from the body and live with the Lord. Paul does not hesitate to say that he would prefer to die, to live with the Lord; but at the same time he is aware of his apostolic responsibilities; for this he agrees to extend his stay on earth. We must strive on this earth to be pleasing to the Lord; otherwise, we will not be able to reach him. If in everything we do, we try to be pleasing to him, to do his will, which is always a will of love, then our optimism can grow more and more. Paul reminds us that we must appear before Christ’s court, and this makes us feel responsible for everything we do. Therefore, in our lives we must always have this sense of responsibility, but with the certainty of also being helped by the Lord in a very effective way. In this way we will be able to reach the marvellous end that awaits us: definitive link with Christ in the eternal life, that is, in the life of union with God, who is love. +John I. Okoye
(grephics by chukwubike)
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