“Man Knows Not How, but God Knows All” by Sam Miller
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Thus says the Lord GOD: I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar, from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot, and plant it on a high and lofty mountain; on the mountain heights of Israel, I will plant it. It shall put forth branches and bear fruit and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it, every winged thing in the shade of its boughs. And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, bring low the high tree, lift high the lowly tree, wither up the green tree, and make the withered tree bloom. As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do. (Ezekiel 17:22-24)
For we walk by faith, not by sight. Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. When we do, each of us shall receive compensation, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil. (2 Corinthians 5:7,9-10)
Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord, the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.” He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. When it is sown in the ground. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade. (Mark 4:26-32)
Piety
We Walk by Faith, and Not by Sight (Author: Henry Alford, 1844)
We walk by faith, and not by sight;
no gracious words we hear
from one who spoke as none e’er spoke,
but we believe him near.
We may not touch his hands and side,
nor follow where he trod,
yet in his promise we rejoice,
and cry, “My Lord and God!”
Help then, O Lord, our unbelief,
and may our faith abound
to call on you when you are near,
and seek where you are found:
That when our life of faith is done,
in realms of clearer light
we may behold you as you are
in full and endless sight
We walk by faith, and not by sight;
no gracious words we hear
from one who spoke as none e’er spoke,
but we believe him near.
Study
What’s this “too” business? It turns out that Ezekiel 17 is “The Eagles and the Vine.” At the beginning of the chapter, an eagle started with a cedar crest and wound up with a VINE! In our first reading, verses 22-24, God also takes a tender shoot from the cedar crest and becomes a “majestic cedar”! I had to refer to the footnotes on verses 22–23: “The Lord will undo the actions of the Babylonian king by rebuilding the Davidic dynasty so the nations realize that only Israel’s God can restore a people’s destiny.” to try to understand the passage. God is planting the Tree of Life anew for Israel and us!
The NAB footnote to today’s Psalm 92 verse explains:
“Planted: the just are likened to trees growing in the sacred precincts of the Temple, which is often seen as the source of life and fertility because of God’s presence.”
God knows and has seen all!
In Mark’s Gospel, footnotes to 26, 27, and 29 reveals: “Only Mark records the parable of the seed’s growth. The sower and harvester are the same. The emphasis is on the power of the seed to grow itself without human intervention. Thus, the kingdom of God initiated by Jesus in proclaiming the word develops quietly yet powerfully until he fully establishes it at the final judgment.” Then there’s the parable about the mustard seed, the tiniest of sources, that becomes a massive bush!! Vine? Bush? Tree? It’s all beyond me!! We are so grateful that God blesses us with the ability to know Him. God brings everything into His order, thankfully, with NO help from “human intervention.”
But, wait, that’s not even the best part!! During this week, St Francis of
Assisi’s Friar George, of friarmusings, has written five “musings” on these Scripture readings, and I haven’t included any of the great thoughts from them! Please, Google friarmusings (https://friarmusings.com) and lookup:
- “A Sunday of Parables,” 7 June;
- “Parables of Growth,” 8 June;
- “The Seed that Grows Itself,” 9 June;
- “The Mustard Seed,” 10 June; and
- “Parables: Final Thoughts,” 11 June!
The Word of God is like a Seed
I
particularly liked the last paragraph from the 7th… “another great minister of the reign of God has offered us his balanced perspective concerning his
respective role in God’s great plan. Pope John XXIII, who initiated the process
of putting the church in touch with the twentieth century, once said, “The
feelings of my smallness and my nothingness have always kept me good company.”
After John XXIII called for a Second Vatican Council, the enormity of the task
at hand began to weigh upon him and rob him of sleep. So many people, so many
issues, so many concerns, so much work to be done. Peace and restful nights
finally came to the pontiff when he admitted, “Listen, Lord, this church is
yours, not mine. I’m going to sleep.”
Action
Father, that I may more closely “walk by faith and not by light” that the word sown by Christ grows into whatever plant that best suits Your plan for me!!
Amen!
De Colores!!
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