Dear Saints,

In this weekend’s Gospel, Jesus uses seed-sowing images to make his kingdom-of-God proclamation.

There’s something about these particular images that presses home two significant points to me: God’s kingdom will not come in the way that I ordinarily expect, but it will come about in the most natural way imaginable.

Strange, right, but bear with me.

When I think about the coming of God’s kingdom, I’m still tempted to believe that it will come all of a sudden with “power” and “glory.” You know where you’re praying for miraculous intervention in your life? That’s the kind of thing I’m talking about: God can do something about our problems and I wish he would hurry up. As you know from experience, these prayers aren’t that fruitful. God doesn’t operate the way I wish he would when I pray that way, and he doesn’t always do what I think he should do.

The image Jesus uses to proclaim and advance God’s reign (this is another way of talking about God’s kingdom) is organic. The sowing of seeds and the growth of crops and plants is a very natural picture. As such, it reflects something of the creator. I don’t know what theological sense it makes to say that God enjoys the process, but he seems to delight in the way his creation produces its fruit.

The way God will come to rule, then, reflects creation, which itself is a reflection of the Creator. But what does it mean?

As briefly as possible, God’s kingdom is the definitive answer to the world’s ills. God’s world is out of sorts, but he will put it to rights by transforming human hearts and lives. Humans turning to God, submitting themselves to his rule, is the essence of the coming of God’s kingdom. This quiet activity often goes unseen, but the faithful work of bringing to life God’s merciful, patient, kind, and generous love best advances his rule and will not go unnoticed.

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