Readings: Jeremiah 13:1-11, Deuteronomy 32:18-21, Matthew 13:31-35
“It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. *(Matthew 13:32)
The distance between you and sainthood is just one little step in the right direction. A good act done today is like a tiny mustard seed that is sown upon the ground, or like a teaspoon of leaven capable of mixing a large quantity of flour.
Helping a poor little child with food this afternoon may seem like nothing, but such an act is a seed. Your action may inspire someone, and this could become the beginning of a chain of positive actions. The child may never forget that experience and may eventually grow up to become a great person tomorrow.
The first time you do something is always the hardest. Beginnings can be very deceptive and discouraging. Hence, the parable of the mustard seed is one parable we must keep reminding ourselves of when we feel discouraged.
Jesus tells us that the kingdom of God begins as a mustard seed; he did not tell us how many seeds. You have to keep planting until it grows. Robert Kiyosaki, the author of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, said when he was told that “nine out of ten businesses do not survive their first birthday,” he became determined to start one hundred businesses in the hope of creating at least ten successful businesses.
Do not be discouraged by your failures in spiritual life. Keep planting. Keep applying your little leaven. In the miracle of the loaves, just five loaves and a few small fish were enough to feed a whole multitude. Do not be discouraged by little beginnings. Bring it to God, and He will work with your little to make it great.
In our first reading, God laments the level of moral degradation in society. He told Jeremiah to buy a waistcloth (undies) and place it in the Euphrates in the cleft of the rock. When he placed it, it was still good, but by the time he went back for it, it had become spoiled. When society places values in the wrong places, the total corruption of society as a whole is unavoidable.
Let us pray: O God, protector of those who hope in you, without whom nothing has firm foundation, nothing is holy, bestow in abundance your mercy upon us and grant that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may use the good things that pass in such a way as to hold fast even now to those that ever endure. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. May God’s abundant blessings be upon us all. (Monday of week 17 in Ordinary Time Liturgical Colour: Green. Bible Study: Jeremiah 13:1-11, Deuteronomy 32:18-21, Matthew 13:31-35)
@Rev. Fr. Evaristus E. Abu