Mustard Seed

We walked fast towards the mall entrance and zigzagged around many people inside the mall as soon as we got off the taxi that brought us to SM City Sucat.  We did our best not to give in to the temptation to stop and check out the numerous merchandise that were on sale and on display.  We thought that we were already late for the Mass last Friday.  Good thing that the Mass did not start right away.  We had some time to settle on our seats and catch our breath before it began.

 

I was all ears as soon as the Mass started and especially during Father Eric Santos’ homily.  Father Eric was his usual self, making people laugh every so often with his funny remarks.  But I like it the most when he delivers his beautiful insights and teachings in between his jokes.

 

Mark 4:31 says, “It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”  One of the things that Father Eric said about the mustard seed struck me.  He said that each one of us can be that mustard seed if we choose to die to ourselves and our selfishness.  When we do that, we can grow like the mustard seed into a “large plant” that can bless others. 

Photo source here.

 

I was also moved by an example that he shared in relation to the verses in the Gospel that says, “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.” (Mark 4:26-27)  Father Eric used the fertilization of an egg cell by a sperm as his example.  He said that it’s how life begins and yet the husband and wife do not really see how the baby grows inside the womb every day. They only get to see the baby during the ultrasound.  But that is done only a few times in the course of nine months.  God causes the baby to grow and in that process of procreation, the husband and wife joins God in bringing new life to the world.

 

I thought that this is similar to what we Christians do every day as we live our lives doing our best to proclaim the Good News in our lives.  It’s like planting seeds on different kinds of soil as we meet and interact with different kinds of people.  It is not us who cause these seeds to grow.  We can only do our best to expose it to the right elements and to diligently water and care for it.  How the seeds will grow are beyond our control.

 

The same is true when we evangelize others.  We do not have control on their responses.  But we can make the love of God and the words of Jesus alive through the lives that we live.  Sometimes, God allows us to see tangible results of our labor of love for the Kingdom.  Most of the time, however, we do not know how we are impacting the lives of those we meet.

 

Through the Gospel last Friday and Father Eric’s homily, I was reminded and inspired by God to just keep on planting seeds and to trust that by doing this, I am partnering with Him in bringing forth new life in this world.

 

Let me share my prayer to God that night: “Lord, make me that mustard seed… Help me die to sin and my selfish ways; so that I could grow into a large plant that can bless many for Your glory, honor and praise. Amen.”

 

(Author's note: This reflection was featured/published today in Feast Sucat's Bulletin.)

Update: I recently discovered Catholic Bloggers Network when I joined the Keep Love in Lent blog link up. I also found out that they have Monthly Link Up Blitz this 2013. So, I'm adding this post to the Catholic Bloggers Monthly Link Up Blitz for February 2013 under the Readings and Reflections category.