11th Sunday in
Ordinary Time, Cycle B
St. Francis DeSales Church,
Abingdon
June 17, 2012
Being Led by God
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P.
Amato
The
Coming of the Kingdom
Several
years ago I was approaching retirement age and knew I didn’t want to keep doing
what I was doing, yet I wasn’t sure where the Lord was leading me.
With
the help of my spiritual director, I began looking at the things that brought me
consolation and satisfaction and kept moving more and more toward them, things
like: more silent time simply to reflect, noticing a desire to pray quietly
without words, and becoming aware of hundreds of little things I was grateful
for but overlooked.
I slowly
began to realize that I was being led from the life of a pastor to a life of
deeper prayer and sharing that experience with others.
It’s
this mystery of where God is leading us that is the topic of today’s scripture.
The
Silence of the Kingdom
In
the gospel Jesus tell how it is with the Kingdom of God. “It’s as if a person scatters seed on the land and would sleep and
rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, and they
know not how.”
In
a similar way God’s kingdom or God’s reign is at work in us as a bit of a
mystery, growing silently by an energy or grace that is beyond us.
In
addition, what we experience is the emergence of small signs of that kingdom,
as Jesus says of the seed, “First the
blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.”
Again
somewhat mysteriously, as I fulfill my desire for God something becomes a bit
more evident in my life. It’s as if a cloudy murky picture is becoming clearer
and clearer.
The
Growth of the Kingdom
The
second image Jesus offers for the kingdom of God growing in our midst completes
the picture of what is taking place in us.
He
says, “The kingdom of God is like a
mustard seed, when sown in the ground is the smallest of all the seeds of the
earth, but once sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants.”
Thus
what is happening within us may seem like only a miniscule effort, but one day
it will flower and become full and mature.
The
Attraction of the Kingdom
Finally,
the full mystery is revealed: “And the
mustard tree puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell
in its shade.”
Here
we see that the work of grace in us is not for our sakes, just as the branches
of the mustard tree are not for its own sake, but for the birds of the sky to
dwell in its shade.
Thus
what’s happening to us is moving us out of our own self-interest to the care,
love, and support of others.
Application
The
same story of the mystery of where God was leading me could be written of a
mother whose young children are finally all in school freeing up her up a bit
on weekdays.
How
might she use those hours in reflective or reading time for inner refreshment,
thus making her more available to her kids?
Or
what of the individual who, because of a physical or emotional mishap, finds
themselves thrown into a life that is very different from what they’ve known
before?
How
might they use the time to explore the quality of their own relationships, join
a support group of folks with the same physical challenges, or become an
advocate for people with the same struggles?
Take
the spouse who’s lost their partner. How through prayer and reflection might
they move through the sadness of their loss or hurt to discover new life in
giving to others?
Finally,
what of someone approaching retirement and wondering what to do next or asking
was making money all there was?
The
bottom line for each of them is that life’s circumstances have changed and that
in the midst of the loss, whatever it be, you have also noticed a desire to
live more deeply in God.
Conclusion
The
challenge of today’s Gospel parable of the mustard seed is to pay attention to
my desire for God and to where, silently and by God’s grace, God is leading me.
What
is certain, Jesus assures us, is that while I follow this desire I’ll notice
small steps of movement along the way and in the end my fully mature response
will result in my serving others.
That’s
good news for all of us, but it takes noticing and reflecting.
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