Homily: 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B
One
of the most prevalent ideologies of our day—one, in fact, that covers many
other ideologies—is that we make can make ourselves. This is the idea that there is no set plan
for our lives and so our job is simply to decide what we want to make of it and
then to go and do it. Our scriptures
today remind us, however, that there is a plan, much bigger than us, that God
is working around us and with which he wants us to cooperate so as to bring
about his kingdom; and that our fulfillment comes not when we make ourselves,
but when we participate in God’s plan.
Let’s take a look at what I mean.
Like
all good ideologies, the ideology that we can make ourselves is founded in
truth. Having been created in the image
and likeness of God, we have freedom to determine our lives. This is important: because, without this
freedom, we would be less than human.
But where the ideology goes wrong is when it assumes that our freedom
begins with a blank slate. In other words,
the ideology that states that we can make ourselves assumes that we can be
anything we desire—that is, that, if we are free, we are free from all
restrictions—and so we must determine for ourselves what we are going to be and
then go out and do it ourselves.
This
type of freedom can certainly take us far; and thinking beyond all restrictions
has helped us to achieve amazing things (space exploration being one of the
most amazing ones, in my opinion). It
has the potential to lead us to great satisfaction in our lives—like when we
set out to achieve a dream and then achieve it—but it also can lead us to the
depths of despair—like when we realize that the goals upon which we had set all
our hopes become unachievable (or, even worse, when we achieve the goals and
find the achievement disappointing). In
either case, however, much is lost because this idea of freedom doesn’t take
into account the bigger picture: that there is a plan, much bigger than us,
that God is working around us and with which he wants us to cooperate. This is the message in our scriptures today.
In
the first reading and the reading from the Gospel, we hear about how God’s
plans are working mysteriously around us in order to build his kingdom. In the beautifully poetic passage from the
prophet Ezekiel, we heard an allegory for how God will build his kingdom. From the many branches of the cedar tree,
which represent the many nations of the world, some big and strong, others less
so, God will choose a tender, young branch from the top of the tree, that is, a
nation that doesn’t seem significant, and he will remove it from the tree and
plant it in a choice place where not only will it grow, but it will grow and
stand tall above all of the other nations.
It will be fruitful, meaning prosperous, and the birds of the air,
meaning the peoples of all nations, will flock towards it to nest among its
branches.
Notice
in this allegory that the tender branch doesn’t choose on its own to be removed
from the tree and planted on the place where it can grow to be greater than the
tree from which it was taken. Rather, it
is God who chooses the branch and the place where it would be planted so that
it can flourish and become the place to which all the birds of the air will
flock. In other words, the “tender
branch” couldn’t make itself into God’s kingdom, nor did it prove itself
worthy, but rather cooperated with God and his plan working through it in order
to achieve the full flourishing for which God had made it.
This
is the message for us. Certainly, we can
make a lot of ourselves in this world by our own doing. We will never achieve the greatness that God
wants for us by working on our own, however.
Rather, we must recognize that, if we exist, we do not exist for
ourselves alone, but for a greater purpose: which is to be part of a plan that
is working around us, orchestrated by God, to bring about his kingdom: the
kingdom in which everyone will discover the full flourishing of happiness (which
is the image of the birds of the air that nest in the tree’s branches). We become part of the plan when we use our
freedom to choose to cooperate with it.
As
the Gospel reading shows us, this cooperation doesn’t need to be very
complicated. In it, Jesus gives us two
parables about the Kingdom of God. “What
is the Kingdom of God like?”, he asks.
Well, it’s like seeds sown in a field.
The farmer sows them and they become part of the earth. Then, through the mystery of nature, they
begin to grow and eventually produce fruit.
The farmer, having watched all of this, then comes to reap the
harvest.
For
us, this simple image still applies. Our
baptismal call is a simple one of spreading the seeds of the Gospel in the
hearts of those around us. We do this
when we speak about our faith, telling others how the love of Christ has made a
positive difference in our lives, and by our good works, showing that the love
we receive is an unconditional love that begs to spill out to others. Then, after spreading these seeds of faith,
and by watering them by our constant witness to it, we wait as God then works
mysteriously in the hearts where these seeds have been sown. Soon, we begin to see the fruits of our
labors in the form of conversions to the faith or in the fulfillment of
vocations to Holy Marriage, the priesthood and the religious life: all of which
are the harvested fruits of the Kingdom of God.
In
the second parable, Jesus again describes the Kingdom in simple terms. He says that the Kingdom of God is like a
mustard seed and notes that, though one of the smallest seeds, it nonetheless
produces a large bush in which birds can make their nest. What he is emphasizing is that something
small and seemingly insignificant can—through God’s mysterious work—grow into
something significant that can benefit many.
In doing so, he reminds us that even our smallest good works—a simple
gesture, or a smile, or a kind word in a tense situation—things that don’t seem
worth saying or doing—can and are used by God to produce great fruits in the
lives of others.
This
is a great example for our parents here today.
Though rarely easy, the task of being a parent is simple. There is no magic formula except to love your
children and your spouse, to pray for and with your family, to teach your
family the faith and to give example of living it in your own life, and to
courageously stand up for the truth—both in your home and in the public
square. These are the seeds of faith
that you as parents are called to sow.
These are the seeds that God will use to produce a great harvest for his
Kingdom.
Friends,
we are free to make of ourselves nearly anything that we desire. But if an all-powerful, all-knowing, and
infinitely loving God already has a plan for our eternal happiness, why would
we want to follow our own plans? Why
not, instead, give ourselves over to cooperating with his plan, in which we are
promised to find great fulfillment and peace?
Let us give ourselves, then, to this good work of planting the seeds of
God’s kingdom: for when we do, we’ll find that the happiness that we were
pursuing, has actually been pursuing us; and God’s kingdom, the tender shoot that
has been planted here among us, will flourish so as to draw all of God’s
children back to himself.
Given at Our Lady of Grace Parish: Noblesville, IN – June 13th,
2021
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