God's Kingdom Takes Root
how the Jesus movement materializes
Announcements for June 12, 2021:
We are still collecting your intentions for our Father’s Day remembrances. If you are not using envelopes, you can find the place to donate in the parish campaigns section of our beyond the tithe webpage.
The Corpus Christi food drive is live. To participate, visit Catholic Charities' website to make a monetary donation, or to shop online to have items shipped directly to their food pantries.
As always, check out the Parishioner Portal for more announcements.
Please be in touch with me if you need anything at all, or if you'd like to share any questions or concerns.
Dear Saints,
You might remember my saying that Jesus' parables are part and parcel of his kingdom-of-God proclamation. The stories themselves challenge Jesus' hearers to imagine, grapple with, and give themselves over to God's loving rule.
The seed-sowing images we encounter in this weekend's Gospel passage are no different.
In my recent study and prayer with these scriptures, two important points rise to the surface: 1. God’s kingdom will not come in the way that we tend to expect, but 2. it will come in the most natural way imaginable.
Strange, right? Bear with me...
When I think about the coming of God’s kingdom, I’m tempted to believe that it will come all of a sudden with “power” and “glory.” I know that God can do whatever he wills, so I pray for immediate interventions to all manner of problems I perceive.
When I say that, I'm thinking not only of miraculous interventions, but also of the the more mundane. I want God to fix my problems either now or now-ish. As you know from experience, these prayers don't often yield the results we're looking for. If this is how we expect God to operate, we're going to be surprised by the way his kingdom actually comes.
In contrast, the image Jesus uses to proclaim and advance God’s reign (this is another way of talking about God’s kingdom) is a very natural picture. The sowing of seed and the growth of plants illustrate the way God's kingdom takes root in a remarkable way. Naturally -- he intended it to be that way from the beginning!
The way God will come to rule reflects creation. But what does it mean?
Briefly stated, God’s world is out of sorts, but he will put it to rights by transforming human hearts and lives. People turning to God, living totally for his purposes, is the very seed of God’s kingdom. The faithful work of Jesus' followers to bring God’s merciful, patient, kind, and generous love to life often goes unseen, but it best advances his rule and will soon enough grow to remedy all of the world's many ills.
God bless you, my friends. Drop me a line if you want to chat about this or anything else.
Christ's Peace,
Father Daniel
δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ
Preparing for Mass?
Check out this weekend's readings:
The Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Sower (Sower at Sunset)
Vincent Van Gogh, 1888