Fr. Daniel Evbotokhai
KINGDOM GROWTH
Jesus preached about the kingdom and its proximity during the course of his earthly ministry. He used different images and parables to speak to the people about the kingdom. Today’s gospel presents us with three such parables: The Parable of the Weeds (Matt. 13:24–30); the Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matt. 13:31–32); and the Parable of the Yeast (Matt. 13:33). Our reflection will focus on each of them for proper understanding.
The Parable of the Weeds: The parable says “a man sowed good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.” This shows that there are hostile and aggressive powers working in the world seeking and waiting to destroy good seeds. You don’t need to offend an enemy before he comes to attack. The parable did not say the man with the good seed offended the one who came to plant weed. An enemy does not wait for an offence; that is why we must always be on our guard as Christians. 1Pet. 5: 8 says “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Therefore, be alert. The gospel reads “while men were sleeping the enemy planted weed” (Matt.13:25). We must be awake spiritually to ensure no one comes to plant evil in our faith, heart, family, children, church and schools. We have to be vigilant to know the kind of friends our children keep; we have to know the content of their phones, the site they visit and the movies they see; the groups they belong to even on Whatsapp and Facebook. This may sound funny but it is the truth, many children are bad today because they came in contact with bad people, bad friends and bad classmates. Be vigilant!
The parable of the Mustard seed: This parable describes the kingdom of God like a mustard seed. The Church is like a mustard seed; it started so small, but has grown very big that men and women take spiritual and physical shelter in it. In Acts1:15 they were 120 believers when peter addressed them, in Acts2:41 about 3000 members were added to the number of believers. Verse 47 says the Lord added to their number daily. Till this day the number has not dropped. Beloved, we must not be discouraged by our humble beginnings. You may begin small, but if it is of the Lord, it will grow into a big mall. No matter how small your beginning may look, if it is of the Lord, it will grow and it will flourish. Even your faith has this capacity to grow bigger and greater. Grow it!
The parable of the Yeast: The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast mixed with three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened. This parable tells us of the interior work of grace. The kingdom of God grows with the help of God, and without this help, our efforts are in vain. The grace of God should act like yeast in each one of us; it should saturate our whole being and cause an increase in faith. It should completely spread in our whole life; such that we are Christians in the Church, markets, farms, streets and on the play grounds.
Summarily, the mustard seed is small but produces a big shrub and bread is flat unless yeast is added to make it rise. Do not be discouraged with small beginnings. With one FAITHFUL believer the whole world can start believing. Therefore, we should ask ourselves whether we are the good seeds or the weeds. If we are the weeds; God is still patient, the first reading says He is merciful to the repentant, let us turn to him and ask for pardon before his judgment comes. No doubt man by birth is weak, but the Holy Spirit has been given for his empowerment. Precisely because of this, the second reading says the Spirit comes to help us in our weaknesses. We should allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, to bring about transformation and growth in his Kingdom. God bless you.Amen
