Homily for 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time June 13, 2021

By Rev. Rudolf Ofori

When we want to explain anything, we have to say how it is like something else. All good teaching opens up the unknown by starting with what is known, because to speak about what is strange, we have to begin with what is familiar. When Jesus speaks about the kingdom of God, he never says what it actually is, he speaks about what it is like. Words cannot capture the mystery of the kingdom, but they can paint a picture of what the kingdom is like. 

So it is that Jesus uses parables when he teaches the crowds. In today’s Gospel Mark tell us: ‘’He would not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything to his disciples when they were alone.’’ This doesn’t mean that Jesus gives one message to the crowds and another to his disciples. By definition parables are never enough; there is always more to say because the subject can never be exhausted. Besides, the followers of Jesus have a bigger investment in getting his teaching right. Their shared commitment involves living out their understanding of what Jesus teaches. 

In the first parable of today’s Gospel Jesus compares the kingdom of God to what happens when seed is sown by a farmer. Once the seed is sown, the farmer waits for harvest time. The cycle of growth follows its own secret rhythm; how it all happens the farmer does not know. Even though nothing much seems to be happening, the miracle of growth is taking place. The farmer cannot improve the crop by staying awake at night and worrying; the seed is nurtured in its own silence. The harvest will not be rushed; neither will the kingdom of God be advanced by those restless for instant results. Just as the harvest comes in its own time, so the kingdom will reach its completion in God’s appointed time. It is God’s kingdom, not ours. 

In the second parable Jesus compares the kingdom to a mustard seed that grows into the largest shrub so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade. In the ancient world the size of the mustard seed was a byword for the smallest and most insignificant thing anyone could imagine. According to the Koran: ‘’God will bring good and evil to light, even if they are no bigger than a mustard seed.’’ In Jesus’ parable the contrast is made between the smallness of the seed and the exuberance of its growth. Unremarkable beginnings can make for mighty achievements. Littleness is no index of importance. The small mustard seed grows to become a shelter for all the birds of the air. 

It is worth noting that the phrase ‘’birds of the air’’ was a traditional Jewish expression for the Gentiles, all the non-Jews. In today’s first reading, for example, the prophet Ezekiel speaks of the universal openness of God’s welcome in the image of the tree where all birds can find a resting place. Every kind of bird will live beneath it, every winged creature rest in the shade of its branches. Similarly in Jesus’ teaching: the kingdom of God is open to all people. The greatness of the kingdom, which grows from such a small beginning, is for the benefit of all peoples: it is not the exclusive domain of any one flock. 

When we think of the small beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee to the spread of his message throughout the world, we can appreciate the vast growth that has taken place in history. The seed which Jesus planted has indeed grown: who could have guessed in Galilee AD 27 what would emerge from Jesus’ ministry? From small beginning Jesus’ preaching, his attention to the afflicted, his quiet transformations, his unusual company of followers – there did indeed arise the greatness of the kingdom of God. 

God’s work still continues, not only in the Christian churches but in people and places unknown and unrecognized by us. At the heart of the familiar God works in so many ways. God’s kingdom grows of its own accord; how, we do not know. This doesn’t mean that we can be complacent, but it does save us from cynicism and despair. We have reason to rejoice in God’s work, that the kingdom still attracts and welcomes so many different people. We are part of that kingdom. And we shouldn’t be surprised if we seem to be sharing the shade with some really strange birds.