First reading Hebrews 10:32-39
We are the sort who keep faithful
Remember all the sufferings that you had to meet after you received the light, in earlier days; sometimes by being yourselves publicly exposed to insults and violence, and sometimes as associates of others who were treated in the same way. For you not only shared in the sufferings of those who were in prison, but you happily accepted being stripped of your belongings, knowing that you owned something that was better and lasting. Be as confident now, then, since the reward is so great. You will need endurance to do God’s will and gain what he has promised.
Only a little while now, a very little while,
and the one that is coming will have come; he will not delay.
The righteous man will live by faith,
but if he draws back, my soul will take no pleasure in him.
You and I are not the sort of people who draw back, and are lost by it; we are the sort who keep faithful until our souls are saved.
Responsorial Psalm 36(37):3-6,23-24,39-40
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
If you trust in the Lord and do good,
then you will live in the land and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord,
he will grant your heart’s desire.
Commit your life to the Lord,
trust in him and he will act,
so that your justice breaks forth like the light,
your cause like the noon-day sun.
The Lord guides the steps of a man
and makes safe the path of one he loves.
Though he stumble he shall never fall
for the Lord holds him by the hand.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord,
their stronghold in time of distress.
The Lord helps them and delivers them
and saves them: for their refuge is in him.
Gospel Mark 4:26-34
The kingdom of God is a mustard seed growing into the biggest shrub of all
Jesus said to the crowds: ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man throws seed on the land. Night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he does not know. Of its own accord the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the crop is ready, he loses no time: he starts to reap because the harvest has come.’
He also said, ‘What can we say the kingdom of God is like? What parable can we find for it? It is like a mustard seed which at the time of its sowing in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.’
Using many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, so far as they were capable of understanding it. He would not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything to his disciples when they were alone.
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God comes in the ordinary and the littleness
Today’s gospel consists of two parables. In the first parable, Jesus speaks of a farmer who does the sowing and then goes on to do his other daily affairs. As time goes on, the soil seeds start to sprout and grow. The farmer does not know how it happens because there is something more going on beyond his work of sowing the seeds. Likewise, we do the work of planting God’s goodness and love in the lives of others through our words and actions. We do our part and God is the one doing the rest. He is the one who makes our works of love grow and bear fruit.
In the second parable, Jesus speaks of the mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds. However, once planted, it becomes the biggest shrub of all. Jesus calls us to appreciate the small acts of love we do. Doing God’s will is not about doing big things. Instead, it is sowing small, faithful efforts of love. God is the one working and making these small acts life-giving.
Reflective question:
What is Jesus’ message to me in this time of prayer?
What is Jesus’ message to me in this time of prayer?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year A” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
