Martin Jumbam
The Universal Church celebrates June 14, 2015 as the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “O Lord, hear my voice, for I have called to you; be my help. Do not abandon or forsake me, O God, my Saviour! Amen.” In this day’s Mass, we see how God always lifts up those who are brought low and makes them the instrument of his saving power. This is seen in the first reading from the prophecy of Ezekiel in which the prophet describes how God will restore Israel from its present state of bondage and bring low those who have conquered and plundered her. He speaks words of consolation to a despondent people in Babylon, reassuring them that God will shelter them because he is true to his promises.
In the second reading, Saint Paul, conscious of his imminent death, reassures his converts of Corinth that both in life and death he is united to with the Lord. He reminds them to live in such a way as to please the Lord. A Christian life has only one objective, which is to please Christ always. In the Gospel message from Saint Mark, the evangelist shows Jesus teaching in parables referring to the coming of God’s kingdom. He narrates the parables of the seed that grows and is harvested, and of the grain of the mustard seed, the smallest seed that produces the biggest shrub that gives shelter to God’s creatures. This is synonymous with Christ’s Church that starts with a handful of timid followers and has spread to take over the whole world. All these readings focus our attention on the presence of God in human history. There is nothing in the course of human history that God cannot in some way turn to good effect, all things being restored in Christ. It is in Christ that history will find its fulfillment. In the course of this Eucharist, let us ask for the grace to remain faithful members of Christ’s Church that started like the mustard seed and has now grown to provide shelter for people the world over.
First Reading: Ezekiel 17: 22-24.
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.
Comment.
There are 16 prophetical books in the Bible – four are the works of the Major Prophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. Twelve are attributed to the Minor Prophets – Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. These are considered ‘minor’, not because their works are of less importance than those of the Major Prophets, but because their works are generally much shorter. Whereas Ezekiel, for example, is forty seven chapters long, Joel is only four chapters long.
Church historians tell us that the prophet Ezekiel lived at the most critical period of the history of Israel, which saw the destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation of part of its population to Babylon. Ezekiel was a member of the priestly family. In the year 597 BC, while still a young man, Ezekiel was among the first group of people that King Nebuchadnezzar deported from Jerusalem. Like the other prophets, Ezekiel was called by God to urge the people of Israel to remain faithful to him and his covenant. Ezekiel’s message was addressed principally to his fellow exiles but also to those who remained in Judah after the deportation.
The book of Ezekiel is the third book of the Major Prophets, after Isaiah and Jeremiah. It is usually divided into two parts. The first part (chapters 1-24), from where our reading of this day is taken, consists almost entirely of reproaches and threats addressed to Israel on account of its transgressions that lead to the disaster of the exile. The second part (chapters 25-48) seeks to console the exiles and raise their spirits. The figure of the Lord – particularly his presence in the midst of his people which shows itself in what the prophet calls “the glory of God” – is the key element in Ezekiel’s work.
In the first chapter, from where our reading is taken, the glory of the Lord is manifested in an extraordinary way to Ezekiel when he is far away from the Promised Land, among the exiles of his people. Right from the beginning of this book, it is clear that the Lord has not abandoned his own when they are most in need of his help. Even when they are in a foreign land, he is there with them.
What message am I taking home from this reading? I see clearly from Ezekiel’s reading that the God, who took care of his people in exile, is the same God who’s taking care of us, believers, living in the city of Douala today. It is the same God of compassion, God of mercy, God of forgiveness, who continues to take care of us, especially those redeemed by the blood of his Son, Jesus Christ. Let us therefore ask him to continue to protect us as a people, even when we fall short of his expectations. May he bless our people and raise from among our people leaders of integrity, who truly care for us and who are out to serve our people and not expect our people to serve them, as it is the case at the moment. We make our supplications through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5: 6-10.
Brothers and sisters: We are always courageous, although we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord. Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.
Comment
The African Bible tells me that Saint Paul probably wrote his second Letter to the Corinthians from Macedonia after leaving Ephesus; this would have been around the autumn of the year 57 AD during the journey narrated in Acts 20: 1-2. Paul had written his first letter to the Corinthians to answer some difficult questions that the church in Corinth had put to him, and to correct some reported disorders.
The letter failed to achieve its purpose as other missionaries, Saint Paul’s enemies, had arrived in Corinth and launched an attack on him, winning over many in the community. From Ephesus, Paul wrote a letter defending the worth of his apostleship and the truth of his teaching.
In this second letter, Paul defends the authenticity of his own ministry and his authority as an apostle. He reminds his converts of Corinth that in so far as he had established the church in Corinth, he had a right to say how he thought it should be managed.
He offers a remarkable theology of Christian life and ministry of Jesus himself. In the passage selected for our meditation, Paul is conscious of his imminent death but he is convinced that both in life and death he is united with the Lord. He talks about the ignominy and weakness that God allows his apostles to feel in their missionary work. This is not because God takes delight in persecuting his own missionaries, but this springs from a living faith that sees death as the gateway through which Christ our Lord has passed, and through which we must pass also to be with him.
What am I taking away from this reading? What Saint Paul advised the Corinthians is still very apt for us living in the city of Douala today. He asks them to live in such a way as to please the Lord, who died to save us. “Whether we are living in the body or exiled from it, we are intent on pleasing the Lord.” Let that advice also be our guiding light today. Amen.
Gospel: Mark 4: 26-34.
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 that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. 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.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
Comment
Chapter four of Saint Mark’s Gospel tells of Jesus preaching in parables. Both parables today refer to the coming of the kingdom of God as seeds planted in the ground. Farmers spare no effort to prepare the ground for the sowing; but once the grain is sown there is nothing more they can do until the harvest because the grain develops by itself. The cycle of growth follows its own secret rhythm; how it all happens the farmer does not know. Our Lord uses this comparison to describe the inner strength that causes the Kingdom of God on earth to grow up to the day of harvest, that is, the Last Judgment. Just as the harvest comes in its own time, so the kingdom will reach its completion in God’s appointed time. It is God’s kingdom, not ours.
Jesus is telling his disciples about the Church: the preaching of the Gospel, the generously sown seed, will unfailingly yield its fruit, independently of who sows or who reaps. It is God who gives the growth. The Kingdom of God also refers to the action of grace in each soul: God silently works a transformation in us, whether we sleep or watch. Even though it is necessary for us to make an effort to fortify our faith, the real initiative lies with God because it is the Holy Spirit who gives us inspiration. It is he who leads us to receive Christ’s teaching and to assimilate it in a profound way. It is he who gives us the light by which we perceive our personal calling and the strength to carry out all that God expects of us.
The seed of the Kingdom of God on earth is something very tiny to begin with, like the mustard seed, but it will grow to be a big tree. Thus we see how the small initial group of disciples grows in the early years of the Church (Acts 2: 47), and spreads down the centuries and becomes a great multitude “which no man could number” (Rev. 7:9). Unremarkable beginnings can make for mighty achievements. The small mustard seed provides a huge tree which gives shelter to all birds of the air.
It is worth noting that the phrase “birds of the air” was a traditional Jewish expression for the Gentiles, that is, the non Jews. In today’s first reading, for example, the prophet Ezekiel speaks of the universal openness of God’s welcome in the image of the tree where all birds can find resting place. Similarly, in the teaching of Jesus, the kingdom of God is open to all peoples. The greatness of the kingdom, which grows from such a small beginning, is for the benefit of all peoples. It is not the exclusive domain of any one people. It is not only for the Jews; it is for the Gentiles as well.
What message do we take home from this Gospel message? We admire the small beginnings of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee over two thousand years ago that has spread so remarkably throughout the world. When we see how many catechumens attend doctrine classes in our various parishes, how many are baptized and confirmed each year, we give thanks to God whose kingdom still attracts and welcomes so many different people. We, who are living in the city of Douala, are also part of that kingdom. Let us therefore continue to nurture God’s kingdom in our hearts putting our whole trust in the wisdom and power of the Lord. Let us learn to live a life pleasing to the Lord. Amen.
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