We are back in Ordinary Time this Sunday after having many weeks of Lent and the Easter season, of the solemnities of the Most Holy Trinity and the Body and Blood of Christ. Today, in the middle of our summer months, in the midst of farmers trying to grow their crops and many of us trying to grow their gardens, we hear Jesus teaching us about the Kingdom of God through parables about seeds. The parable of the mustard seed is quite intriguing. Jesus spoke in parables in order to help us to better understand the Kingdom of God. The parable of the mustard seed and these other parables shed light on the new reality we are to live out when we are called to a life of discipleship and when we cooperate with God’s grace in our lives.
God’s grace is an interesting concept, isn’t it? I will have to admit that perhaps we don’t hear about grace enough at mass or in our preaching. Nevertheless, grace is the presence of God in our lives. Grace is our participation in the life of God and in the life of the Holy Trinity. Grace is a supernatural gift that God gives us, a gift that comes out of his goodness and benevolence, a gift that he bestows upon us for our eternal salvation. Grace is not something that we have to earn, but it is a freely given gift from God. We are called to respond to God’s grace in order for it to bear fruit in our lives. We have the potential to respond to God’s grace, just as the mustard seed had potential to grow into an amazing huge plant. We can validly receive a sacrament, such as receiving the Holy Eucharist when we come to mass. But there is a difference between validly receiving a sacrament and fruitfully receiving the sacramental graces that the sacrament offers us. We cannot be passive in our faith, just as we cannot be passive in receiving a sacrament. We receive God’s grace in the sacraments and in our lives through our personal faith, through our expectancy, through the hunger and thirst we have for God in our lives.
Grace is costly, not cheap. It demands something for us. It demands sacrifice, commitment, perseverance, and faith. Finding a way to respond to grace in our lives is a way for us to let that little mustard seed of faith grow and develop in our lives and to bear fruit.
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