Taking God at His Word ~ Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Fathers' Day

Ez 17:22-24
Ps 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16
2 Cor 5:6-10
Mk 4:26-34

Are we really prepared to take God at His word?  In today's second reading, Paul reminds the Christians of Corinth that "we walk by faith, not by sight."  We recall the Old Testament story of Abraham and his son, Isaac.  God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations; and yet, God ordered him to offer his only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to Him.  Shouldn't that have put a pause in Abraham's mind of whether he should trust God or not?  But Abraham walked by faith in God.  He fully trusted that what God had promised him would come true...

In today's Gospel from Mark, Jesus likens the Kingdom of God to the sower who scatters his seeds on the land, not knowing exactly how or whether the seed would sprout.  The sower was willing to do the work required and to trust that his work would come to fruition and a bountiful harvest would result.

Again, Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God being like a mustard seed.  The seed might be small but in that seed is contained everything that will turn a sprouted seed into a large plant... that is even tall enough for birds to nest in it.

This Kingdom of God that we are given to believe in, requires faith and trust that God has indeed given us His word and His promise that it exists.  We are to nourish this faith and trust in God and to preach this word to the whole world by the way we live and love God and our neighbor...

Blessed are those who do not see or understand everything that God has wrought, but who believe and trust in Him anyway!


The psalmist says it best:

They that are planted in the house of the Lord
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall bear fruit even in old age:
vigorous and sturdy shall they be,
declaring how just is the Lord,
my rock, in whom there is no wrong. (Ps 92)


 ~ The Mustard Seed