Homily Notes 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2018
11th Sunday of Ordinary Time/ “God Makes the Kingdom Grow”
Many of us are pulling weeds out of our yard during this time of year. Somehow it seems appropriate, in this summer season, to hear Jesus talking about a weed in the Gospel, the mustard plant. How can a weed be like the Kingdom of God we ask?
We probably have had to deal with a lot of weeds that we can’t control. Some have some interesting histories. I worked on my uncle’s farm when I was in high school. He had all kinds of plants on his farm that he tried to eradicate because they were a nuisance.
In the gullies of his farm, there was a tall green weed that would grow high over your head. The weed had a leaf with seven leaflets on it. My uncle said one day that we had to spray this weed to get rid of it. If law enforcement would ever come by, we would be cited for having it growing on the farm. I asked him what this weed was. I was a little naïve to say the least. He explained that these were marijuana plants. But he said these are not anything you want to try and smoke because it was a common hemp plant, not the good stuff.
He went on to explain that during World War II there had been a big rope making factory in a town in our county. Hemp was the raw material. Ropes were used on ships and other war time equipment, but after the war the factory closed. The hemp, though, had been introduced to the area, it went wild. No matter how hard farmers tried they could not get rid of it. The marijuana plants were big enough for birds to roost. When I hear about the mustard plants of Biblical times I think of the hemp plants I have seen. Both the mustard plant and the hemp plant are a nuisance. And Jesus says that this is what the Kingdom of God is like?
The Gospel is kind of nuisance to us in a way. The reason this could be said is that it disrupts our way of thinking. Once we start to try to live as the gospel asks we find that selfish ways of living give way to merciful ways of living. Sometimes it seems discouraging though. We see that with some of the pro-life debates we have in our world.
A couple of things happened recently that are destressing in light of the Gospel. One thing transpired in Ireland. The Irish people voted that one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world needed to be repealed. The Irish people instead want abortion on demand. Why did this happen? Some would say that this is because the Irish Catholic church lost its moral authority when it handled the child abuse crisis in a poor way. For whatever reason, the laws went from one extreme to another. Is the pro-life position is being eradicated?
Another recent event has happened here in our own country. Perhaps we have heard that there is a practice now in our immigration policy that revolves around separating children from their parents when families arrive on our southern borders. The Christian faith has been used to justify this abhorrent practice. Christian ministers from Franklin Graham to the United States Catholic Bishops have spoken with an uncommon unanimity. The practice of taking children from their parents when they try to enter the United States to discourage immigration is not something that Jesus Christ would ever approve of.
We would have to belief that these unfortunate events are temporary setbacks. For these things are not of the Gospel. Goodness will not let evil stand. Grace spreads like a mustard weed. You cannot stop it forever.
We can ask what our role is in building the Kingdom. A wonderful image might be this. In India there are what are called “living bridges.” In the tropical rain forest there are rubber trees that grow along ravines. The roots of these trees sometimes get exposed due to erosion. The people have learned to steer these exposed roots across gullies where a bridge is needed. The native people string a wire across. The roots wrap around the wire, growing to the other side of the open space. Over many years the rubber tree’s roots take root across a gorge on the opposite side. The more roots that implant on the far side of a gulch the stronger the bridge becomes. Some of these living bridges have held 150 people. The living bridges seldom wash out. The bridges are free for all to use. Sometimes it takes generations for a living bridge to be built. People must be concerned about those who will live on after them to invest time and effort in something they will never benefit from. If a living bridge is to be built, patience is needed.
Our task as Christians is slowly, painstakingly, to build bridges. Our charge is to construct the kingdom. When see evil we need to steer things a little bit at a time, slowly, gently, firmly in the right direction. People who are rigid, judgmental and power hungry cannot build a lasting Kingdom. We need Christians who believe that the Gospel message will never be eradicated. When it is uprooted in one place it will grow in another. As the gospel reminds us, it is God who brings the growth. All we can do is be open to the grace that is within us and everyone we meet.
Please note this is a rough draft, grammar may not be perfect!