‘We are people of the mustard seed’: Homily for 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

As I mentioned on Corpus Christi, in smallness there is greatness.  And Sunday’s scripture reminds us of that once again.

Read on: 

Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a mustard seed – “the smallest of all the seeds of the earth” – but one that grows so large that the birds can nest and “dwell in its shade.”

When you consider how the faith has grown, how our Church has spread in this country and around the world, it comes down to this startling but beautiful idea:

We are people of the mustard seed.

We are people of the mustard seed because God’s kingdom, the kingdom we are striving to build on earth, is one that actually embraces smallness.  It is the kind of a kingdom that understands humble beginnings, and littleness, and meagerness, and simplicity.

It is a kingdom that has roots, and branches, and shade.

But that isn’t where it ends.

It spreads.  It grows.  It becomes a haven and a shelter for those who need it, so birds from all over can “dwell in its shade.”

It is a place of possibility, of hope.   And it begins from something so small you might easily dismiss it, or overlook it.

One of the many challenges we face is to nurture that seed—to be patient with it, to help it grow and to protect it.   Sometimes, God’s kingdom grows slowly.  There can be obstacles and setbacks.  Strong faith is often tested by the dryness of doubt, and battered by storms.

Consider our faith, our church. This place of shelter, a place of love and mercy,  isn’t universally admired.  Those of us who are a part of it face skepticism, criticism, condemnation, even persecution.  We have seen it in the past.  And we are seeing it today.

But scripture reminds us that God’s kingdom, no matter how humble its beginnings, or how difficult its challenges, will thrive. And St. Paul reminds us, too, of something you might even call transcendent.

“We are always courageous,” he wrote, “for we walk by faith, not by sight.”

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