Daily Liturgy
Tuesday October 26
Thirtieth WEEK IN ordinary time
MUSTARD SEED AND YEAST
Introduction
Creation itself, says St. Paul, is to be liberated and redeemed together with the people living in it. As they become freer, people will use God’s creation and technical progress not to destroy but to build up and to serve, to liberate more and more everyone and everything.
The kingdom of God must grow among us, like a seed growing into a tree, like flour transformed into bread by the yeast. But growth means change and going ahead, marching forward, and this cannot happen without change and saying goodbye to the past and even to the present, to walk forward in hope toward the future. This brings the pain of separation, of giving up something familiar, but also the joy of knowing that we are on the way with the Lord.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you call us away from the certainties
of the familiar present
on a pilgrimage with your Son
toward a future of hope and joy
even though we do not see it now.
Do not allow us to remain installed
in our own mediocrity.
Let our farewell to the present
not be marked with sadness.
Fill us with trust in him who guides us to you,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Reading 1: Rom 8:18-25
Brothers and sisters:
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing
compared with the glory to be revealed for us.
For creation awaits with eager expectation
the revelation of the children of God;
for creation was made subject to futility,
not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it,
in hope that creation itself
would be set free from slavery to corruption
and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now;
and not only that, but we ourselves,
who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
we also groan within ourselves
as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
For in hope we were saved.
Now hope that sees for itself is not hope.
For who hopes for what one sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 126:1b-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6
(3a) The Lord has done marvels for us.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Alleluia: Mt 11:25
Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Lk 13:18-21
Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like?
To what can I compare it?
It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.
When it was fully grown, it became a large bush
and ‘the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.'”
Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God?
It is like yeast that a woman took
and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”
Intercessions
– That the tiny spark of faith still alive in the hearts of many who abandon the Church may not be extinguished but grow again into a bright light to guide them to God and people, we pray:
– That parents and our schools may implant into the hearts of our youth the seeds of faith and of generous, serving love, we pray:
– That missionaries may lavishly keep sowing the seed of the joyful Good News of the Lord in our often indifferent and hostile world, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God, you offer us your own future
in your Son Jesus Christ.
Let him give us the courage
to march toward that future in hope,
without looking back, without regrets or hesitation.
Give us the bread of life
that sustains us on our journey,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord God, to you who are all our hope
we pray with the fullest trust.
Let your Son here in our midst
wake us up from our self-contentment,
and open us to change and growth,
however painful the process.
Kindle in us the fire of his Spirit,
that what you have sowed and planted in us
may yield a rich harvest
of goodness and light and lasting love.
Grant this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Blessing
Let us also think of our faith as a small seed that must grow. We have received it as a gift to be developed. As we grow in age and, hopefully, also in wisdom, our faith and love of God and people should become wider and deeper. Ask God for this grace and may he bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Commentary
We live in an interim stage—not only ourselves but the whole of creation with us. Just as sin brought consequences for humanity, so too creation itself was affected by sin in the world. Corruption has tainted the universe as a whole, subjected to it by the One who inflicted the punishment. And just as we who now enjoy the first fruits of redemption look forward to its completion, so too does the universe. The universe itself is destined to share in the final glory of God’s children. This is part of what we term “cosmic redemption,” the belief that all of the universe has been touched by redemption and therefore enjoys a sacred character. We now wait for what we do not see, and we wait with patient endurance.
The parables of today’s Gospel are meant to console followers of Christ who have seen the small beginning. The small mustard seed when it comes to full growth is a large bush visited frequently by the birds of the air. So too a small amount of yeast produces a large quantity of leavened dough.
The single point is being made. From insignificant beginnings, great things come forth. So too will it be in the kingdom of God.
A God-of-the-earth theology is more relevant in our times than ever before. Global warming is a reality that we ignore to our own grave detriment. Unlimited consumption, with its ceaseless exploitation of natural resources and its total disregard for waste, will certainly affect the lives of our children and their children. God will not condone human destruction of the natural world he created.
This is a serious threat to the universe that shares in our redemption. Any step that we can take to move our government to action or to conserve on a local level has become a moral imperative. We cannot forget that the kingdom of God embraces the world in which we live, and its preservation is part of our faith expression.
Points to Ponder
The fall and corruption in the universe
Cosmic redemption
The growth of the kingdom