Tuesday, October 29, 201330th Week in
Ordinary Time
First Reading: Rom 8: 18- 25 Gospel Reading: Lk 13:18-21
Jesus said, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? Imagine a person who has taken a mustard seed and planted it in the garden. The seed has grown and become like a small tree, so that the birds of the air shelter in its branches.”
And Jesus said again, “What is the kingdom of God like? Imagine a woman who has taken yeast and hidden it in three measures of flour until it is all leavened.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Like a mustard tree that begins from a tiny seed, the kingdom of God has humble beginnings. It begins by sprouting on earth.
Then it soars to greatness by the blood of the martyrs and by the sufferings of Christ’s faithful followers. This fact alone humbles the kingdom, for earth is never fertile enough to generate anything spiritually great as the kingdom of God.
When Jesus started calling people to build God’s kingdom on earth, only a few fishermen responded, risking their destiny by putting faith in the promises of a carpenter. Peter said, “We have left everything and followed you. What are we to have then?”
Jesus said to him, “I tell you solemnly, …(e)veryone who has left houses, …for the sake of my name will be repaid a hundred times over and also inherit eternal life. “ (Matt. 19: 27-29).
The promise was irresistible, but the requirement was demoralizing because it involved so much self- denial. Jesus said, “Unless you deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me, you will never become my disciple” (see Matt. 16:24).
If we want to be part of priming up God’s kingdom on earth we must be humble. Lau Tzu’s maxim is instructive. The popular form of his maxim is “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step”. But the original one goes like this: “The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one’s feet.” (quotationspage.com). If we want to set that thousand mile journey of building God’s kingdom, our feet must stand firm on our humble beginnings. The Gospel reminds us of this humble origin when it says,
“Remember man you are dust and to dust you shall return” (see Ecclesiastes 3:20). God is not asking the impossible from us. Humility is supposed to be innate to us because we came from dust. The words ‘human’ and ‘humility’ share the same Latin root “humus” (soil). Humility is not really inconsistent with humanity.
A kingdom so humble cannot flourish in the hands of proud people. Let us recover our lost humility so that true to our nature we may hasten the priming up of God’s kingdom here on earth. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website:www.frdan.org.
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