Trust is difficult in a world driven by material and personal success. It is far easier to drive to an outcome than to trust that someone else will achieve it. We live in a culture that is extremely individualistic and often values self-reliance as a virtue. I have often heard the saying that, “if it is a job worth doing, then it is a job worth doing right.” I also have had many a work colleague tell me that they were the only one they could trust to get the job done, “right.” In their mind, success was driven only by their effort. What a scary way to live! So alone.
Jesus tells us today that the Kingdom of God does not operate that way. God has given us the gift of community, for He is love and love demands an “other,” a plurality. Even the nature of the mystery of the Blessed Trinity proclaims this truth. God never intends that we work alone. Love always drives us to a body of Christ, the Church. Our work for the kingdom depends on a community that in love, has trust and faith in the other. All work, rightly oriented, WE do for God. So, it never depends on us alone. The value of every task is the love with which it is performed.
Certainly, this is true when it comes to the conversion of souls, we must do the work God gives us and do it well. Then give that work to God. He will do the rest. Never despair! You never carry the burden alone and the Kingdom of God is unstoppable. Jesus gives us the example of a Farmer and a Mustard seed to make this point. The farmer simply does His part of growing a crop, God does the rest. Though his task, like a mustard seed, may seem small and unimportant, in the kingdom every task done with love for the kingdom of God has tremendous potential.
Today’s Gospel is a reminder that as workers in the Kingdom, we must trust in others and have faith in God. St Josemaria Escriva wrote,
“Faith. It’s a pity to see how frequently many Christians have it on their lips and yet how sparingly they put it into their actions.” (The Way, 579)
We are a people of faith! Live that way! Like the produce of the farmers field, the kingdom of God never depends on our work alone. This is really freeing. It is God’s power that “gives the growth,” as St. Paul writes,
I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth. (1 Corinthians 3:6–7 NABRE)
The Lord simply counts on us to run the race he has given us each day. Yesterday is of little consequence, that course is finished. Tomorrow is never promised to us, it belongs to God. It is simply in the “right now,” that we are called to persevere in faith. For though our work is as lackluster as a mustard seed, it is important to do that work well. In the kingdom of God, such work has eternal consequences. In the words of St Paul to Sts Timothy and Titus, whose memorial we celebrate today,
“Stir into flame the gift of God that you have (2 Tim 1:6 NABRE) so that you might set right what remains to be done (Titus 1:5 NABRE).”
We do not work for some earthly boss, but a heavenly Father. Give that work to God and in faith, trust that He will take our work and produce a miracle. “To begin is for everyone, to persevere is for Saints.” (St Josemaria Escriva, The Way 983) A Saint is exactly what we are all called to be!
Today is a gift from God to grow the Kingdom. So, we need to get to work. Do not be discouraged. You are not alone but surrounded by a heavenly crowd of witnesses cheering you on (Hebrews 12:1). Trust your brothers and sisters in Christ running to your right, left, to your front and behind. Trust in their love. Persevere in your task, even if it is as small and insignificant as a mustard seed. God has this!
Endnotes
Escriva, Josemaría. The Way. In The Way ; The Furrow; The Forge. Scepter Publishers, 2004. Print.
Long, Fredrick J. Workbook for Kairos: A Beginning Greek Grammar. Mishawaka, IN.: Fredrick J. Long, 2005. Print.
New American Bible. Revised Edition (NABRE). Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011. Print.)
Wonderful article Deacon!
Thank you for this article. It struck me a cord in my soul.