Tuesday in the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle I
Rom 8, 18-25; Lk 13, 18-21
Back in my hometown, I live in an apartment on a rather busy street in a densely-built area. When I was little, one of my biggest treats was to visit my grandmother who lived not far from where we lived but who had a beautiful garden. I used to spend hours playing in the garden, observing nature, seeing how the plants grow from a tiny seed to a large plant, watching ants busily looking for food and storing it for the cooler months, and simply enjoying the garden bursting with life of all organisms of all sorts.
Unless we take some time to patiently sit down and observe nature, we will be missing out on what the church has called for centuries "The Book of Nature." The Church has in fact always taught that we get to know God through two books: "The Book of the Scriptures" and "The Book of Nature."
The examples in today's readings are taken from this Book of Nature. There we see how all nature tends towards life. Not only tends, but pushes strongly towards life. God is that principle of life which moves all this and which pulls all this life to Himself. This principle of life is found in us too. It is the Spirit which Paul mentions, and which is "groaning within us" until it finally bears fruit.
The sad thing however is that sometimes we stifle the Spirit. We are not sensitive to the Spirit within us and therefore how can we feel it pushing us forward toward life, toward God Himself? The Kingdom of God starts getting realised when we finally heed this Spirit and allow it to flourish and to bear fruit.
The mustard seed will not germinate if it is not watered, if it does not have oxygen and the yeast will not raise the dough if the conditions are not satisfactory, if the dough is too cold, for example. Both of these are living organisms.
What can hinder this growth of the Spirit? We have already mentioned that if we are not sensitive to the Spirit, then neither can we allow it to blaze within us. But then there is something else: in another passage, Paul says, "Do not stifle the Spirit." We stifle the spirit through discouragement: when we see a thick brick wall in front of us, when we see no future, when we see death instead of life, darkness instead of light. We stifle the spirit when we think that it is useless to try harder because the battle against sin, against hatred, against war, is already lost.
And Paul gives us the antidote to discouragement: hope. Hope makes us strive for what we cannot yet see. Hope makes us believe that a tiny seed can grow into a big tree in which other creatures can find shelter. Hope makes us believe that yeast, a microscopic organism can make a large batch of dough rise and nourish hungry people. Hope makes us believe that no matter how insignificant and weak we are, we can contribute to the building of the Kingdom of God in which the downtrodden can find shelter and protection and the weak can find strength and nourishment.
And Paul gives us the antidote to discouragement: hope. Hope makes us strive for what we cannot yet see. Hope makes us believe that a tiny seed can grow into a big tree in which other creatures can find shelter. Hope makes us believe that yeast, a microscopic organism can make a large batch of dough rise and nourish hungry people. Hope makes us believe that no matter how insignificant and weak we are, we can contribute to the building of the Kingdom of God in which the downtrodden can find shelter and protection and the weak can find strength and nourishment.
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