Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
(II Samuel 11:1-4a.5-10a.13-17; Mark 4:26-34)
The “Kingdom of God”
is a poetic way of saying “God.” What is
God like? Jesus gives a partial answer
to this perennial question with today’s parables. He is like a mysterious power
that makes things happen for human benefit.
There is no patent on the beginning of life. No one knows
how exactly life first came about. In today’s
gospel Jesus attributes its coming to be to God’s acting in the world. “The Kingdom of God” typically acting quietly,
he says, describes how biological life came about.
More than this, Jesus explains life’s blessings with another
parable of God’s Kingdom. He states that
God’s Kingdom has the power to turn a tiny mustard seed into a giant mustard
plant. The product provides nutrition
and repose to a multitude of birds. One might
make her own parable here. God’s kingdom
is the dynamic force that turned a little Georgian restaurant into the
ubiquitous luncheon enterprise known as “Chick Fil A.”
The parables of the Kingdom inspire us to consider God’s goodness. More than that, they encourage us to act so
that we might benefit from its prodigious effects.
