Going Home to Our Father
Jun 16: Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
According to the Catechism, there are four ways of interpreting scripture:
Literal
Moral
Allegorical
Anagogical
The Literal is obvious—that’s just what the story says. The Moral is, well, the moral lesson we’re supposed to take from the Biblical story. Allegorical is way of finding parallels between the Old and New Testaments. And Anagogical is the way we look forward to things prophesied that haven’t come to pass yet.
You can apply at least two of these to almost any passage of the Bible, frequently three or four. Because these senses of scripture can interact in complex ways, it’s possible for two learned people to extract extremely different and yet perfectly acceptable interpretations from the same text.
Last father’s day, for example, Bishop Barron took the opportunity to discuss our spiritual fathers, priests—
While Fr. Mike decided to discuss our literal fathers—
Is one of them wrong? Or more right than the other? No! They took their understanding of God’s inspired word, as well as their own personal experiences, and contemplated what their flock needed to hear at this time.
They’re both true and correct. You might find one more useful or inspirational than the other, or maybe you prefer your own parish priest. That’s okay!
Just like we all have different earthly fathers (except for siblings, obviously), we all need different spiritual fathers, too. Look for the one that’s right for you!
Reading 1
Ez 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.
God can take something insignificant and turn it into something majestic. Notice that the tree isn't majestic for its own sake—it's a home for others, as well.
We, like the tree branch, can only do so much on our own. But our efforts combined with God's will can do great things.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16
R. (cf. 2a) Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,
To proclaim your kindness at dawn
and your faithfulness throughout the night.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
The just one shall flourish like the palm tree,
like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow.
They that are planted in the house of the LORD
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
They shall bear fruit even in old age;
vigorous and sturdy shall they be,
Declaring how just is the LORD,
my rock, in whom there is no wrong.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
Trees can grow quite large in the wild, but they're also subject to random chance. Their seed could get eaten by a squirrel before they even begin to grow, an unseasonable frost could freeze them at an early stage.
But a tree planted in a loving home will be tended to and cared for. And, like in the first reading, it will be productive as well as pleasant. The goal for us should be to ensure that we're planted in the right spot.
Reading 2
2 Cor 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.
Just like our parents want us to behave when we are away from home, so God wants us to do what is right and pleasing when we are far from our heavenly home. We can look forward to God’s Kingdom, while still being present in this world.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower.
All who come to him will live forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
So the metaphor has switched. In the first reading, we were the trees; now, we’re the ground in which the seed is planted.
No metaphor is perfect; we should focus on the ones that help us grow closer to God.
Gospel
Mk 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 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.
A seed doesn’t become a tree out of nowhere. It has to sprout, push up through the Earth, reach up to the sky. It must struggle in order to become the thing it’s meant to be.
And for a mustard seed, that struggle is worth it. It spreads out to to become the largest plant, just as Jesus wants His Church to spread throughout the world.
We’re the seeds. At the time we’re planted in the wet dirt, we don’t know why it’s so dark and cold. But we know there’s something higher for us to reach towards.