On this eleventh Sunday in this ordinary time in the Church’s liturgical year, our Lord Jesus Christ tells us very beautiful parables about how it is with the kingdom of God. As a good teacher, he uses the image of a seed and comparing the kingdom of heaven to the growth of a mustard seed. It is very important to note that this gospel passage, (Mark 4:26-34),  has a lot to teach us about our faith and the kingdom of God.

Actually, the growth of God’s kingdom depends on the power of God but not without the disposition of the heart on which it is planted. First, he talks about a man who scatters seeds on the land which over time sprouts and grows, when the grain is ripe he goes for the harvest. Again, in the second parable, he talks about a mustard seed which happens to be a very tiny seed but when it sown, it grows and becomes the largest of plants with branches providing shelter and comfort for the birds of the air.

Remember that the emphasis in these parables is the seed which seemingly grows naturally on its own but guided by the force behind creation. Like the kingdom of God Jesus plants seeds of the kingdom in our hearts through his life and teaching. It is our belief that God the source of life is the one who causes seeds to grow and grants the increase. The great Apostle to the Gentiles St Paul acknowledges this awesome power of God in his first epistle to Corinthians chapter 3 verse 6 to 7, when he says, “I planted, Apollos watered but God gave the increase”.

God generously provides the grace which can be referred to as the seed and when we do his will which is the planting, God through his infinite kindness grows his kingdom in our hearts. In our journey of faith as Christians, we do what we can by our own sincere efforts while God provides abundance of grace. We are therefore challenged today to put God’s gift to us into good use and we shall marvel at how God takes care of us even when we slumber. May God continue to bless our faith and prosper it for his own glory.

Have a grace filled weekend my people.

Fr Vincent Nnatuanya, CSSp