TODAY'S WORD
By
Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Rector and Parish Priest
Don Bosco Shrine
Lingarajapuram, Bangalore
Mark: 4:33 "With many such parables He spoke the Word to them, as they were able to hear it;"
TODAY'S REFLECTION
The first of the two parables in today’s gospel reading suggests that when a farmer has sown seed in the ground, he has to step back and allow nature to bring the seed to fruition.
It is only when the seed is fully grown that the farmer swings into action again, harvesting the crop.
Between sowing and harvesting, he has to leave the seed alone.
If he were to start poking around in the soil to see how the seed is doing, he would greatly inhibit its growth.
When Jesus says the kingdom of God is like that, what does he mean?
He may be saying that the coming of God’s kingdom into our lives and into our world isn’t all down to us. We have our work to do, as the farmer has to sow and harvest.
However, the real work of spiritual growth within ourselves and in our world is God’s doing.
As Saint Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians, ‘I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth’.
Having done what we can, we have to step back and allow God to work.
Sometimes, God’s good work can be happening all around us, even when we are doing very little.
God can be working powerfully in our through our lives in those times when we seem to have little to give, perhaps because of advancing years or illness.
The good work we have done in the past can be bearing fruit in ways that we might never suspect.
God’s good work continues, even when we seem to have little to show for our efforts. What the Lord asks of us is perseverance, not to lose heart.
In the words of today’s first reading, we are to ‘keep faithful’, especially when times are lean and difficult.
Have a blessed Friday.
Let's pray for the sick and suffering.