The Smallest of Seeds Becomes the Largest

You know well enough how prone the people are to evil. They said to me, ‘Make us a god to be our leader; … So I told them, ‘Let anyone who has gold jewelry take it off.’ They gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out. (Ex 32:22-23)

… Moses, his chosen one, Withstood him in the breach (Ps 106:23)

“The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed … It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants….and the birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches (Mt 13:)

Piety

May I grow strong and sturdy in your love, my God. May my faith be deeply rooted in you and my actions spread like protective branches into the world. May I quiet my own ideas, thoughts, desires in order to be open to you within, nourishing my very being. I rejoice in the gift of life you have bestowed on me. Help me to give glory to you by rejoicing in Life through loving others as you love me. Amen

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/073007.shtml

“The devil made me do it.” “Everyone else is doing it.” “I made a mistake.” “It’s for the good of everyone…”

Moses “stood in the breach” to beg forgiveness for the people who had turned away from God. Jesus, God’s Chosen, hung on a cross to be forgiveness to humanity who had turned away from God.

Jesus’ enigmatic parable about the mustard seed is full of the beauty of God’s creation and the gifts God has given to us. The roots of the mustard seed must be buried in good ground to be as fruitful as Jesus’ image is. Faith and action must be rooted in the Word, the promises and generosity of God who bestows “mercy down to the thousandth generation”. (Ex 20:6) God expects the Chosen to act righteously following Gods tenets and, while doing so, bestow mercy, as the mustard tree feeds the birds.

Our culture does not provide an easy source of good ground. Wanting more material belongings does not fertilize but desiring God above all else does. Roots of faith are nourished when we truly give over and accept “give us this day our daily bread”. And truly seek to “forgive others as you forgive us”. Being God’s chosen, we must be alert; only we can separate ourselves from God for God is with us now.

A young, Dutch Jew faced a culture gone mad with violence and fear, writing in her diary: “I draw prayer round me like a dark protective wall, withdraw inside it as one might into a convent cell and then step outside again, calmer and stronger and more collected again.”
- Etty Hillesum, "An Interrupted Life"[1] How do you stay strong, calm, collected to God? How do you step outside again to nourish, to invite birds into your branches?

Action

Moses stood in the breech – what can we do to stand protectively, lovingly in the breech? Be still, listen for God’s agenda rather than our own.

Add your voice requesting an end to war: http://www.catholicsforanend.org

Interfaith dialogue is a path to understanding and relationship rather than fear and division: In Jakarta, Indonesia, “An Islamic leader condemned recent Muslim protests against a conference planned by the Carmelite Prayer Center. Syafi'i Maarif, head of the Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second largest Islamic organization, said that police must protect everyone's right to express their religious faith. … The rally has tarnished the good image of Islam. As Muslims, we know that Islam is a good, peaceful and loving religion," Maarif added. There is no good "reason to use and abuse [Islam] in an effort to legitimate harmful actions against other religious beliefs, to express dislike about them or conduct any unfriendly gestures" to scare Catholics, the Muslim scholar said.” (from July 26 Zenit.org “Muslim Leader Defends Carmelite Prayer Meeting”)

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[1] http://www.spiritualitytoday.org/spir2day/884012downey.html