The Lord speaks and acts
Eleventh Sunday - Year B
Ezekiel 17:22-24; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10; Mark 4:26-34
The two parables about the Kingdom of God have a clear message. The Kingdom of God has a modest beginning. When we look at the history of salvation, it begins with the call of an old man, Abraham. Who would then suppose that as the letter to the Hebrews says, from one man “as good as dead came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky” (Heb. 11:12).
The history of the Church has also begun modestly fulfilling the prophecy of Ezekiel from today’s first reading. A tender shoot torn off from the topmost branches of the cedar is the Messiah of the lineage of David (Ezek. 17:22), Jesus Christ. Our Savior called twelve ordinary men from Galilee and transmitted to them the message of the Gospel, and their testimony drew others to the community of the Church. Today the Church is “a majestic cedar” and a multitude of peoples and nations dwell “in the shade of its boughs”(Ezek. 17:23).
Another message that we can draw from today’s parables is the inherited power of grain. Abraham became the father of many nations, not by his efforts, but because he allowed God to act in his life. The church has grown into a majestic cedar thanks to God's grace. “And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, bring low the high tree, lift high the lowly tree, wither up the green tree, and make the withered tree bloom"(Ezek. 17:24).
The history of Israel and the history of the Church is a great miracle of God. When the powerful Babylonian empire built towers up to heaven to make a name for themselves (Gen. 11:4), God brought it down after 70 years. However, God made the name of Abraham great because the old patriarch obeyed God’s word (Gen. 12:1-2). It is also true regarding the Church. Twelve “unschooled, ordinary men” (see Acts 4:13) obeyed the call of Christ, and then filled with the power of the Holy Spirit brought the Gospel to every creature. "Do not be afraid, from now on you will fish for people" (Luke 5:10).
Contemporary man thinks that he needs to do everything. He is a control freak. Instead of sleeping and letting the grain ripen into the harvest, he must use different techniques to force the seed to grow. We forgot what it means to "walk by faith and not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7). My spiritual director always reminds me: 'Let God take over'. We work too much and we pray too little. We try to please the world, not God. We do not fill our hearts with the word of God, but with a human word. Instead of reading the Holy Bible and listening to the voice of God, we read the newspapers, browse the portals and listen to the radio, that often spread a message contrary to God's word. Reality is not confined to material things only, and life is not limited to earthly life alone. We are called to "the fullness of life" or "everlasting life".
“This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground."(Mark 4:26). Our task is to scatter the seed of God's Word into the soil of our hearts and the world. Let us read the Holy Scriptures, participate in the liturgy of the Eucharist, and share the Gospel with others. But, let us leave the rest to the Lord who alone has the power to do great things. Then all the nations shall know that our God is the Lord, who speaks and acts (Ezek. 17:24).