February 1, 2019 Friday
3rd Week in
Ordinary Time
1st Reading:
Heb 10:32-39
Gospel: Mk 4:26–34
Jesus also said, “In the kingdom of God it is like this. A man scatters seed upon the soil. Whether he is asleep or awake, be it day or night, the seed sprouts and grows, he knows not how. The soil produces of itself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when it is ripe for harvesting they take the sickle for the cutting: the time for harvest has come.”Jesus also said, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what shall we compare it? It is like a mustard seed which, when sown, is the smallest of all the seeds scattered upon the soil. But once sown, it grows up and becomes the largest of the plants in the garden and even grows branches so big that the birds of the air can take shelter in its shade.” Jesus used many such stories or parables, to proclaim the word to them in a way they would be able to understand. He would not teach them without parables; but privately to his disciples he explained everything.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Jesus compared the growth of the kingdom to the process of sowing seeds. A deeper reflection on the analogy reveals something interesting about the role of good works in the growth of the kingdom of God. In sowing, the sower loses control over the seeds after he has committed them to the ground. In the case of good deeds, a person loses control of the effect of his righteous works after his execution of the same. God does the rest.
This nice moral lesson didn’t get through because they were distracted with the word “kingdom” which they understood politically. They had been under Roman domination for a long time. Each mention of the word “kingdom” triggered in them so much thirst for political freedom. They looked forward to the coming of the kingdom so they could submit to God’s reign unconditionally.
Their ancestors were already under the absolute reign of God. But there was a time when they demanded for a human king. God gave them what they wanted and had kings anointed to rule over them one after another. They suffered the consequence of their choice, for as God had predicted through Samuel, these kings were unfaithful and laid them at the feet of their enemies. This bitter experience with human kings deepened in them the desire to submit to the power of God so that never again will they fall into the hands of the enemies.
Unfortunately the kingdom Jesus wanted to inaugurate was not a political one characterized by absolute power. Human beings needed to establish it with faith and good works. Only these. God was to do the rest. -(Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM.
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