The Mustard Seed

                                    11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                 

Holy Family
Stained Glass Window
Assumption Church
Fairfield, CT

Today’s first reading from the book of the prophet Ezekiel speaks of a tender shoot that the Lord plucks off a great cedar tree and plants it among his people. It will itself grow into a mighty tree offering sustenance and shelter to those who seek refuge in its branches. Of course, this botanical imagery is just meant to be a metaphor for how God calls upon all of us to grow and bear great fruit in our lives.

Jesus uses the same imagery in today’s gospel when he says, “this is how it is with the Kingdom of God.”

            It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,

            Is the smallest of all the seeds of the earth.

            But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants…

Like Ezekiel Jesus is calling on little, ordinary people like ourselves to put forth large branches and bear much fruit.

Today’s gospel reminded me of one such a person in my home parish who passed away a few years ago. His name was Theodore, which coincidentally means God’s gift, but everyone called him Ted. He was a small, unassuming, and quiet spoken man who rarely talked about himself but he was one of the most giving men I have ever known.

At his funeral I saw an old black and white marriage photo. Ted, who served in World War II, was in uniform next to his young Italian war bride who had sewn her beautiful white wedding gown out of Ted’s parachute. I never met his wife because she died shortly before I met Ted, but I know that he loved her until the day he died. They had four or five children and all were there at the funeral with a number of grandchildren. One of the grandchildren gave a brief eulogy in which he described all the things his grandfather had taught him.

           

Ted was an avid gardener and wine maker but by profession he was a master electrician who worked at his trade right until his final illness struck. My wife and I originally met him in an Italian language class but he subsequently became a friend as well as our electrician. I will never forget the night our electricity went out during a violent ice storm. Ted came to the house, climbed a ladder, and repaired a broken power line in the midst of the storm.

The only problem we ever had with Ted was that he was always reluctant to accept payment from friends. There was a large crowd in the Church at his funeral and I’m sure that most had also been the recipients of Ted’s generosity will never be canonized but he was one of the multitude of ordinary men who loved their families, their church, and their country.

In today’s second reading St. Paul speaks of courage. He says that even though our real home is not here, we must live our lives as best we can here on earth. We must be courageous. Today’s readings about little, ordinary people provide an opportunity to give a brief mention of Fathers’ Day. I know that we all have our different vocations in life, and I do not wish to slight anyone, but it takes real courage to be a father. It takes real courage to make a commitment to give up your own wants in order to live for your wife and children.

In today’s world when even the idea of Fatherhood is maligned, it is very important that we do all we can to support those who have accepted the challenge. Here is a prayer for fathers.

Our Father in Heaven, we thank you for all the fathers on earth who,

            like St. Joseph, accept the responsibility to care for and love their children.

            May you strengthen them with the kindness, patience and wisdom they need

            to encourage and guide their children.

            May they be supported by a steadfast wife, a caring family and good friends.

            Most of all, may they know that you and you alone are the source of all that is

            good and truly valuable in this world.

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Reading 1.  Ezekiel 17: 22-24

Reading II. 2 Corinthians5: 6-10

Gospel. Mark 4: 26-34 (a mustard seed).

My Mother and My Brothers

                                    10th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                    

           

In the last three weeks we have celebrated the three great feasts, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, and the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, that mark the end of the Easter season. Now we return to what the Church calls Ordinary time, that period of the liturgical year that is not associated with the great feasts of Christmas and Easter.

The priest dons a green colored vestment (a symbol of hope) that will be worn for practically every Sunday until the start of the season of Advent. Ordinary comes from a Latin word and doesn’t exactly mean what we mean by ordinary but still, most of the readings in Ordinary time deal with the ordinary day by day events in the mission of Jesus.

However, our first reading goes back to the beginning where we have the familiar story of Adam and Eve from the Book of Genesis. In today’s passage we read of the first consequences of original sin. We do not like to talk about original sin anymore, but it is good to define the term. Sin is a very blunt English word, but the Latin equivalent is peccata which means a stain or imperfection. None of us likes to be called evil or sinful but we can all agree that everyone is imperfect. Original means from the origin or beginning.

In other words, we can find imperfection not only in ourselves but also in every human being from the dawn of time. The greatest saints have acknowledged their imperfection and claimed that they were sinners who only had been saved by the grace of God. Even the Moslem Koran says that only Jesus and his mother, Mary, entered this world without being touched by Satan.

Because we all are imperfect, we can instantly recognize and understand how Adam and Eve reacted when their disobedience was discovered. They blamed someone else! Adam blamed Eve. “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.” In turn, Eve blamed the serpent. “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”  

Interestingly, this passage ends with a phrase that has long been misunderstood. The Lord says to the Serpent:

I will put enmity between you and the woman,

And between your offspring and hers,

He will strike at your head,

While you strike at his heel.

In times past the “woman” became associated with Mary, the new Eve, and artists often depicted Mary standing on the head of the serpent who vainly attempted to strike at her heel. Today, as our translation indicates, it is the offspring, Jesus, who will strike at the head of Satan, and destroy his kingdom.

In today’s gospel passage we actually see Jesus in combat with the serpent, Satan. This passage picks up right after Jesus had embarked on his mission of  teaching and healing. In particular, he had been driving out demons from those who were in their power. Moreover, in the previous verses, he had just called his apostles and given them the power and authority to combat demons as well.

His success had attracted large crowds, and Mark tells us that immediately on arriving back home with his apostles from this first journey, Jesus was surrounded by a crowd to the extent that his own relatives could not even get in to see him. It may be that the relatives were alarmed by the charges that Jesus himself was possessed by the Devil.

There were scribes or biblical experts from Jerusalem in the crowd who claimed that rather than opposing Satan, Jesus actually derived his power to drive out demons from Satan. In effect, they were saying that He, himself, was possessed with “an unclean spirit.” The reply of Jesus is simple. “How can Satan drive out Satan?"

Jesus then goes on to say that while all the bad things that humans can say and do can be forgiven, “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness.” In the feast of Pentecost, we saw the Holy Spirit come down upon the disciples. The feast of the Holy Trinity showed us that the Holy Spirit is the spirit of Jesus himself. 

To call His Spirit unclean is to say that it is an evil spirit with no power to save us from our own imperfect nature. If we deny the very power of the Spirit of God to forgive our sins, how can we find salvation and happiness?

Finally, some in the crowd tell Jesus that his mother and brothers are outside waiting for him. Scholars tell us that in the Aramaic language there is no separate word for brothers, sisters or cousins. In any case Jesus informs the crowd that “whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” All of us who bear the fruits or marks of His Holy Spirit will be of his family.

In no particular order, these fruits of the Spirit are modesty, patience, peace, chastity, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control, charity, joy, generosity, and kindness. As St. Paul said in today’s passage from the letter to the Corinthians we are all of one family.

Since we have the same spirit of faith,…

We too believe and therefore we speak,

Knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus,

Will raise us also with Jesus

And place us with you in his presence.

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Reading 1.  Genesis 3: 9-15

Reading II. 2 Corinthians 4: 13—5:1

Gospel. Mark 3: 20-35 (my mother and my brothers)

Corpus Christi

                                    Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

                                     

Stained Glass Window detail
Assumption Church
Fairfield, CT*

           

After the completion of the Easter season, we are presented with three great feast days, all designed to follow up and reinforce the great message of Easter. Two weeks ago we celebrated the feast of Pentecost commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. Last week we celebrated the feast of the Holy Trinity which brought to mind the ways in which God works in our world. Today we celebrate the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, formally called the feast of Corpus Christi, which celebrates our intimate relationship  with Jesus, Himself.

Today’s first reading takes us back to the wanderings of the Israelites in the desert after their escape from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. To many of us today this particular passage might sound offensive. Why was it necessary to kill those poor animals for sacrifice? Why was if necessary to sprinkle the blood of animals all over the altar and on the assembled congregation?

Even though we love our animals today, the animals of the Jews were of much greater value and importance to them. The Jews of the Exodus were a tribe of wanderers whose very lives depended on their flocks. To sacriice some young bulls as they did in today’s reading was to give up a great deal. In effect, to sacrifice these animals was as close to sacrificing themselves as they could get. To give up something of such great value was to acknowledge that the covenant or agreement with God was of even greater importance.

It was only with the Last Supper that St. Mark describes in today’s Gospel, that the followers of Jesus, all of them Jews, first began to realize that they would no longer have to slaughter their animals and sprinkle their blood. Here are St. Mark’s words:

            While they were eating,

            He took bread, said the blessing,

            Broke it, gave it to them, and said,

            “Take it, this is my body.”

            Then he took a cup, gave thanks and gave it to them,

            And they all drank from it.

            He said to them,

            “This is my blood of the covenant,

            which will be shed for many.”

Certainly, we know that the earliest Christians took these words literally. They realized that “the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes” were no longer necessary. The sacrifice of Christ on the Cross opened up the door for all of us. In today’s second reading from the letter to the Hebrews we heard the following words:

  

How much more will the blood of Christ,

Who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God,

Cleanse our consciences from the dead works

To worship the living God.

In this famous letter we are told that Jesus is the “mediator of a new covenant.” What does that mean? A mediator is someone who stands in the middle between two parties trying to bring them together. How does Jesus act as a mediator? On one occasion his disciples asked Him to “show us the way.” He replied “I am the way.”

They didn’t understand and its hard for us to understand although he gave them and us a pretty good road map in his words and in his life. How many times did he have to tell us that He didn’t want our sacrifices, that His sacrifice which we celebrate every Sunday on the altar is sufficient. How many times did he heal people, feed them, comfort them and tell us to do likewise? The only sacrifice pleasing to the Father was that we love our neighbor as ourselves, and that whatever we do for the least of the brethren, we do for Him.

Since the beginnings of Christianity theologians have tried to come to a better understanding of what our Lord meant. In the Middle Ages they came up with an explanation that is as good as any that has been offered since. Guided by the rediscovery of the works of ancient Greek scientists and philosophers, theologians like St. Thomas Aquinas developed the concept of "transubstantiation."

Like most scientific words "transubstantiation" is a long word made up of different parts in order to give greater clarity and precision. But if we break the word down into its parts, we will get a better idea of what it means. First, let's deal with the prefix, "tran." It means going from one thing to another, like in transport or transmit. The suffix, "ation", at the end of the word means a process or action, like in transportation. So if we get rid of the prefix and suffix, we're left with the root or core of the word, "substance." Now  "sub" means under and "stance" comes from the Latin verb, "stare" which means, "to stand."

When we deal with substance we're dealing with that which stands under a thing, it's real core, what it is. So "transubstantiation" means that the bread and wine although they still look, and feel, and taste like bread and wine, have become something else. It's something like when we advance through the different stages of life, from infancy to old age. Although our bodies change, aren't we always the same person?

However, transubstantiation is an attempt to explain a mystery. It is not the mystery itself. Like the early Christians we believe that the Body and Blood of Christ are truly present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist because our Lord said so at the first Eucharist. What we do today at each Mass is what the first Christians did from the very beginning. As St. Paul once said

            The cup of blessing that we bless,

            Is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?

            The bread that we break,

            Is it not a participation in the body of Christ?

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*Image by Melissa DeStefano

Reading 1. Exodus 24: 3-8

Reading II. Hebrews 9: 11-15

Gospel. Mark 14: 12-16, 22-26 (this is my body).