Readings:
Saints Timothy and Titus (Australia)
Hebrews 10:32-39
Mark 4:26-34
Reflection:
“Night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he does not know”.
Jesus used this as an image to describe something about the Kingdom of God. It is one image among many. Underneath the brilliant simplicity of the image is a profound truth. No matter how much more we may know now about how the seed becomes a shoot, and then the ear, and then the full grain, the Kingdom taking place in our lives and throughout our world is always more than we can see, understand, grasp or even for which to find an adequate human image.
It is being blind if our scientific knowledge of botany leads to a loss of awe and wonder at nature. The very advance of our knowledge of botany and of the universe is something to wonder about. The human intellect is wonder-full! We keep learning just how much we don’t know.
It is in that area of wonder and awe, of not knowing and trusting, of knowing that there is always more than meets the eye, that God finds us.
To believe this is to accept that the God who only wishes Life for us is at work in our lives, our hearts and minds and bodies, in ways that are beyond our comprehension. It is necessary that we have words to be able to talk about God and our relationship with the Lord, using human images, but it is never enough.
What is God ‘doing’ in my life now? Where is that invitation inviting me to travel?
When our image of God isn’t larger than the immensity of the universe, it is too small.
When we come to know that any image of God is so much smaller than the reality, then we can enter more deeply into the life of God, the Dead and Risen Jesus.
Can I spend some little time today in pondering in what ways am I not more clearly ‘seeing’ how God is at work in my life?
“Don’t be surprised if you cannot explain what God is doing for you. If you could explain; it would not be the work of God”. (Paul of the Cross “In the Heart of God”)
Tony Egar CP is a Passionist Priest that lives at St.Paul Monestry, Glen Osmond, SA.