Homily for Monday, 28 July 2014– Ferial

Monday of the 17th week in Ordinary Time

Readings of the day: Jeremiah 13:1-11; Responsorial Canticle: Deuteronomy 32:18-19, 20, 21; Matthew 13:31-35

How many of us have ever heard sayings like, “Don’t worry about the small stuff”? Jesus’ parables in our Gospel reading are all about the “small stuff.” On the one hand, Jesus invites us by his parable of the mustard seed to be concerned with the small details; with the small but nevertheless significant contributions we make to building God’s kingdom.

Jesus compares “the kingdom of heaven” to “a mustard seed… the smallest of all the seeds” that blossoms into a magnificent plant on which the “birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.” What are our small seeds that we contribute to building God’s kingdom on earth? Are they small acts or words of kindness? Are they a smile toward somebody who needs her or his spirit lifted? Is our tiny seed a word of welcome to a visitor to our parish community or someone who joins us for Mass from another of the churches within our parish?

On the other hand, while our small acts of kindness are important toward the building of God’s kingdom, Jesus calls us by his parable of the yeast not to overestimate what we contribute. The building of the kingdom of heaven still requires a large measure of God’s grace and (usually) only a small measure of our good works; just a pinch of yeast for the three measures of wheat flour for the batch to turn out correctly.

God’s grace and our good works, each in their proper proportions, that is, a large part of divine grace for every small part of our good works, are both necessary for building the kingdom of heaven. We cannot neglect that we need the grace of God and yet we are called not to neglect the small but significant role our good works play in bringing the kingdom of heaven on earth to its fullness.

If we neglect either our need for God’s grace or the small but significant contribution our good works; our kindness; our welcome; our acts of mercy toward one another make toward building the kingdom of heaven on earth, as our Responsorial Canticle says, we forget “God who gave [us] birth”; God who made us for himself; God who made us co-creators with him of the kingdom of heaven. Those who forget either our need for God’s grace or for our good works become, in the stark and somewhat disgusting image provided by Jeremiah in our first reading, like a rotten loincloth.

Thankfully, I cannot think of anyone, here or anytime or anywhere in my experience, who would merit such a disgusting comparison! And so our readings today should give us hope. I have seen, and we see it among ourselves here in our parish community, how we are a “mustard seed” people; a people that is yeast to the “three measures of wheat flour” that is God’s grace. We are a people who knows our need for God’s grace as well as our small but significant role to play in bringing the Kingdom of heaven on earth to its fullness.