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A WORD FROM THE PASTOR
Let Us Keep Planting The Seeds
In a restaurant, a family of five bowed their heads in prayer before beginning to eat. One of the children, a girl of about ten, expressed thanks for the entire family in a hushed voice, her head bobbing expressively. A few moments later a couple, on their way to pay their check, paused at the family's table. "It's been a long time since we've seen anyone do that," said the man, extending his hand to the father. The father smiled and replied, "It was strange at first, but we always express thanks at home before we eat. The children continued it when we went to restaurants, so we just went along with it, and now it's our way." The woman patted the little girl on the shoulder and looked at the mother and said, "Don't ever stop. It means a lot to those around you."
This may look like a little thing, but it was a witness. The seeds of the Kingdom are little, and we are called to scatter them. Some may not bother about praying before meals in a restaurant. They might think it's not the place to pray. Prayer, in their understanding, is to be prayed in a good ambience.
Part of the reason we get discouraged is that we are victims of bigness. Cities compete with each other to claim the greatest growth and the fanciest entertainments. Corporations are proud when their company occupies the tallest building in the city. Every day we read in our newspapers about famous people doing famous things. We have mega-malls, mega-churches, and mega-storms.
In contrast, Jesus spoke of the importance of small things: a mustard seed, a cup of cold water, a widow's mite, a kindness done to the least of people. Jesus knows what we too often forget: the size of the bush and the healthy spread of the branches depend on the vitality of the seed.
When it comes to the seed of the Kingdom of God, Jesus speaks of it with an unshakable confidence, hands holding the future and the seed, and you. That's how much God trusts you to go on planting the seeds: a mother's love, a father's encouragement, a little girl's prayer, a young boy's imagination, sharing of faith by a formation teacher. That's how much Jesus trusts God to bring in the harvest. Just keep planting the seeds of the kingdom, leaving the outcome in God's hands. Let's plant the seeds of the Kingdom wherever we are and whenever we can. God will bring the growth - way beyond anybody's guess.
In the Service of the Lord,
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