Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 13, 2021
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 92
Reading I
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar,
from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot,
and plant it on a high and lofty mountain;
on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it.
It shall put forth branches and bear fruit,
and become a majestic cedar.
Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it,
every winged thing in the shade of its boughs.
And all the trees of the field shall know
that I, the LORD,
bring low the high tree,
lift high the lowly tree,
wither up the green tree,
and make the withered tree bloom.
As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (cf. 2a) Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,
To proclaim your kindness at dawn
and your faithfulness throughout the night.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
The just one shall flourish like the palm tree,
like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow.
They that are planted in the house of the LORD
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
They shall bear fruit even in old age;
vigorous and sturdy shall they be,
Declaring how just is the LORD,
my rock, in whom there is no wrong.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
Reading II
Brothers and sisters:
We are always courageous,
although we know that while we are at home in the body
we are away from the Lord,
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Yet we are courageous,
and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.
Therefore, we aspire to please him,
whether we are at home or away.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each may receive recompense,
according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower.
All who come to him will live forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to the crowds:
“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 through it all the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”
He said,
“To what shall we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
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.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
Reflection: HEAVENLY KINGDOM
What is the famous 'kingdom', the reign, or the government of God? A difficult concept to understand or explain. The people in general thought that it stood for the defeat of the Roman overlords and the reestablishment of Davidic dynasty. So, when Jesus spoke of the Kingdom, they mostly misunderstood him. He told them not to run here and there and follow any local leader who said, 'lo, here it is' or 'look, there it is.' It is hidden among you, and it is in fact within you, said Jesus. All this looks so abstract that Jesus could not or did not describe its features directly. So, he resorted to stories and parables. He used many such parables, amazingly simple ones taken from daily life. He did not speak to them except in parables, not because he did not want, but he could not. When he narrated one story, he would look at their blank faces, and then would wonder again: "With what can we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it!" I would like to make two simple reflections:
1. God is already ruling his world. The Kingdom is already in act. That is why even a man sowing his seeds, or the mustard that grows, or the man who fishes, a landlord who gives a banquet, and just about everything else that is happening around us can speak to us about God's rule. None of these would happen without his rule!
2. This gives us the reason for total optimism in life. We may think that God is absent, or does not care, or has gone to sleep, like the farmer does after throwing his seeds, or the woman, after putting the yeast in the dough. But the seeds and the yeast continue to work, without they even being aware of it, and certainly produces the effect. Hence, we need to wake up and realize that God never sleeps, and his Kingdom is never absent, even when you and I think that he has gone on a holiday, leaving the world in the hands of thugs and criminals or to the vagaries of nature. No! He, his omnipotent love is still in control! Thank God!