Seeds That Teach of the Kingdom
January 29, 2010
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Mark 4:26-34
He said,"This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and
would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own
accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is
ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come." He said, "To what shall we compare the
kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the
ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the
largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade." With many
such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not
speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I come into your presence with openness of heart. I know that you want to plant
your seed in me and help it to bear fruit. I trust that you will pour out your mercy on me as I spend this time
with you. I want to love you more and become a better instrument of your love.
Petition: Lord, help me contemplate the action of your grace upon the world and fully cooperate with you.
1. Steady As She Grows. Jesus reminds me that his grace is working in the world. His message carries an
interior dynamism that affects souls and brings about change in them. I think of someone who has
surprised me by a sudden conversion or steady growth in Christian living. I see many people who are
working on projects of evangelization or are full of Christian charity. I see many other people who are trying in
their secular occupations to do their part to make this world better. I contemplate the many families that are
striving to be places of love in which each person is valued as a unique gift. This is the seed of the Gospel
that grows silently without our knowing how.
2. To Make Your Garden Grow and Matur. God, in his mercy, often adds years to our life so that we can learn
wisdom and produce in our actions fruit that is worthy of eternity. How much do I value the opportunities I
have each day to do simple acts of charity or leave messages that have a beneficial effect on others? How
often do I pray for others? Each day I should be attentive to the small and big opportunities the Lord gives me
to help establish his kingdom more deeply in my soul and in the souls of others.
3. Disproportionate Size and Vigor. Like the image of the mustard tree in the parable, Christ’s grace
sustains many men and women throughout the world. People discover in Christ’s friendship the true home
their hearts seek and the communion with all men they intuitively desire. What a great gift we have in the
Church! Let us try to make it a true home for all people. Let us partake deeply of its teachings and its grace
and become more deeply a gift for others. The strength of love sustains us.
Conversation with Christ: Lord, thank you for the workings of your grace in so many souls. I want to be
united with your grace throughout this day and throughout my life. Help me to use this day in such a way that
I will be planting your love around me.
Resolution: Today I will take time to say a special prayer or make a special sacrifice for the conversion of
sinners.
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The Catholic Calendar for Friday, January 29, 2010
Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
2 Samuel 11:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17
Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6a, 6bcd-7, 10-11
Mark 4:26-34
A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:
The reign of God is like a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds. But once it is sown, it becomes the
largest of shrubs, enough for birds to build their nests. (see Mark 4:31-32)
Today's scripture emphasizes God's primary concern, humanity's redemption, not condemnation for its
misdeeds. God permits people to face difficult relationships, events and situations as opportunities for them
to learn their weaknesses and face the consequences of their sins. Some, who refuse to see themselves
as God sees them, react with anger and stubborn denial. Others, the less prideful, react as God intended, by
facing difficulties with His love, truth, patience and compassion. Such people grow in resemblance to Christ,
thus becoming true children of God who attract others to live in God's Word, in the shelter of His kingdom.
King David's selfishness and lust led him to commit adultery and murder. Despite David's treachery, God
saw a man who was not beyond redemption; for David's conscience became tortured when Nathan, the
prophet, confronted the king with the contempt he had shown toward the life, love and truth given him by God.
Remorseful for his sins, and in deep sorrow, David wrote Psalm 51, our second reading, in which he begs
God's forgiveness and asks Him to create in him a new spirit to rectify his vile behavior and by grace to
enable him to affect others' lives, to draw them also to be sanctified by God's Spirit.
In today's gospel, Christ compares God's kingdom to a mustard seed, for this seed is God's Word that
contains within it the power of bringing forth new life. God is ever sowing His seed, and if it falls on a
receptive and fertile soil (soul) it will grow to provide a blessed shelter for others, who like them, admit to
being small, weak and in need. Christ's kingdom grows like seeds, hidden at first within the depths of
human hearts and souls, but reaching maturity, the love and truth they develop extends beyond them to
direct others past this world's confines to Christ's eternal kingdom.
O Heavenly Father,
from the beginning You have formed a people in the image of Your Son.
May we serve You by loving one another as You have loved us in Christ.
Amen.
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Meditation: 2 Samuel 11:1-10,13-17
Nice guys finish last. At first glance, it might seem that this is the message of today’s first reading, in which a
faithful soldier loses both his wife and his life to a scheming king. But this isn’t just another “bad things
happen to good people” story. It’s worse.
Uriah belonged to the elite group of military heroes known as “the Thirty-seven” (2 Samuel 23:39). He was
one of King David’s most upstanding warriors—too upstanding for his own good, a cynic might say. While
Uriah was out fighting David’s battles, David was repaying his loyalty by taking Uriah’s beautiful wife,
Bathsheba, into his bed. Then, to cover up her pregnancy, he recalled Uriah from battle and urged him to
spend some romantic time with his wife (2 Samuel 11:8).
But Uriah didn’t pick up on David’s pointed suggestion or on his efforts to get him drunk the following day.
Considering himself still on duty, he stuck to the regime of sexual abstinence that the Law of Moses required
for active-duty soldiers. So David conspired to have him killed in battle. It seems that doing the right thing
cost Uriah his life.
We live in a world that is full of scheming, lies, and injustice. Sometimes the situation gets so bad that good
people die. Of course this is unfair and very difficult to accept. But sometimes there is nothing we can do
about it.
So how should we respond? By all means, we should not give in to anger or cynicism. It doesn’t help the
situation, and it only darkens our own hearts. Whenever Jesus saw injustice, he called it what it was. But he
never let it get the better of him. He knew that injustice is the work of the devil and of human sinfulness, not
of God, and that helped keep him pure in the face of evil.
If you yourself have been wronged, try your best to forgive and show mercy. Remember: It’s not a question of
if something bad will occur. It’s a matter of when. That’s just the nature of life in this fallen world. So we
should all make sure we are ready for it when it happens!
“Lord Jesus, give me a trusting heart, no matter what goes wrong. Protect me from bitterness, and help me
to love and serve everyone you bring across my path.”
Psalm 51:3-7,10-11; Mark 4:26-34
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Reading 1: 2 Sm 11:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17
At the turn of the year, when kings go out on campaign,
David sent out Joab along with his officers
and the army of Israel ,
and they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah.
David, however, remained in Jerusalem .
One evening David rose from his siesta
and strolled about on the roof of the palace.
From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful.
David had inquiries made about the woman and was told,
“She is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam,
and wife of Joab’s armor bearer Uriah the Hittite.”
Then David sent messengers and took her.
When she came to him, he had relations with her.
She then returned to her house.
But the woman had conceived,
and sent the information to David, “I am with child.”
David therefore sent a message to Joab,
“Send me Uriah the Hittite.”
So Joab sent Uriah to David.
When he came, David questioned him about Joab, the soldiers,
and how the war was going, and Uriah answered that all was well.
David then said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and bathe your feet.”
Uriah left the palace,
and a portion was sent out after him from the king’s table.
But Uriah slept at the entrance of the royal palace
with the other officers of his lord, and did not go down
to his own house.
David was told that Uriah had not gone home.
On the day following, David summoned him,
and he ate and drank with David, who made him drunk.
But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his bed
among his lord’s servants, and did not go down to his home.
The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab
which he sent by Uriah.
In it he directed:
“Place Uriah up front, where the fighting is fierce.
Then pull back and leave him to be struck down dead.”
So while Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah
to a place where he knew the defenders were strong.
When the men of the city made a sortie against Joab,
some officers of David’s army fell,
and among them Uriah the Hittite died.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 51:3-4, 5-6a, 6bcd-7, 10-11
R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
I have done such evil in your sight
that you are just in your sentence,
blameless when you condemn.
True, I was born guilty,
a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness;
the bones you have crushed shall rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my guilt.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Gospel: Mk 4:26-34
Jesus said to the crowds:
“This is how it is with the Kingdom of God ;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”
He said,
“To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God ,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
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