A Thing of Wonder

Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time. Fr Martin Ganeri preaches on the parable of the mustard seed.

The parables that Christ gives us are intended to fill us with wonder. Christ takes images or scenes from the world around us and calls on us to wonder again at the natural world or human affairs, and to wonder at what the parables mean for us and how we should think about ourselves and our lives and about how we need to change what we think or do.

In today’s Gospel passage we have these two short parables of the kingdom of God: first the parable of the man who scatters seed on his land, which then gradually changes into a shoot and matures as the crops he can harvest; and then second the parable of the mustard shrub in which that tiny mustard seed does grow into so impressive a shrub.

To the readers of Christ’s day the world of natural growth and of human cultivation would have been an immediate experience, something taken for granted most of the time. And yet, when attention is drawn to it, it remained a thing of wonder that such amazing things happen. How did it all work? And, although human beings take an active part in the process of cultivation, nonetheless the fundamental reality of natural growth is not caused by human beings at all. It is all so amazing, even if it occurs every day all around us.

Such wonder was and still is twinned with delight. For the wonder of nature is also the delight of human beings, as we enjoy the rich bounty of the earth, as it produces crops for our daily bread, vegetables for healthy living, and spices and herbs to add savour to our food.

And so, when we apply these parables to our understanding of the growth of the kingdom of God, we should start by grasping the similarity and then end with a sense of wonder and delight.

The first thing that we should grasp is that the growth of the kingdom of God is the work of God himself. The kingdom of God is the reality of God’s reign in our world, the reality of God’s work of salvation for human beings, a reality that cannot be overcome or distinguished. The kingdom of God is the active presence of God’s Spirit and grace in our lives, overcoming sin and death, filling us with faith, hope and love, drawing us into God’s own eternal life.

So, just as it is nature that properly produces the crops albeit with the help of human cultivation, so it is God who properly is the one who brings enables the kingdom of God to grow in our world and lives, albeit we cooperate with that work of divine grace, by being open to it and by putting all our own abilities and actions at God’s service.

And, if we let God work within us, then just as vast crops can grow from the seeds sown in the land, or just as the mighty mustard shrub can grow from that tiniest of mustard seeds, so amazing things can happen in our lives. The kingdom of God can grow within us and transform both our lives and those around us.

And the active work of divine grace is something that remains mysterious and wonderous for us most of time. Perhaps what makes a lot of people reluctant to recognize the reality of divine grace is that it is not tangible or immediate in the way physical things are, the way physical feelings, or physical exercise or physical actions are. But divine grace is so very real and will do so much, if we let God act within us. And when we do let God do the work, and when we do see that we have become more loving than we were otherwise, then we will experience delight.

The parable of the mustard seed teaches us also both encouragement and ambition. On the one hand, encouragement, because it tells us that the work of God, the presence of God’s kingdom, is real, even if the change it makes may be very small, even if we might fail to notice it. The mustard seed is indeed tiny, but it is very real and packs a punch whether eaten while still a seed or left to grow into a shrub. And so, we should be encouraged to have confidence in the presence and power God’s grace, even if we find our lives are still ones of struggle with sin, temptation and weakness, all the things that seem to deny the reality of the kingdom of God within us.

And, on the other hand, ambition, because who knows what wonderful things God might bring about within us if we let him do so. All too often, we draw back from being ambitious because we see only our own limitations, or the limitation of those around us. But who knows what we might become and do, what mighty shrub we might be, if we let God bring that growth about within us.

Readings: Ezekiel 17:22-24 | 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 | Mark 4:26-34

Image: Mosaic from St Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington DC, showing St Francis preaching to the birds, photographed by Fr Lawrence Lew OP