11th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

Ezekiel 17:22-24

Ezekiel, the prophet, lived during a dark period of Israel's history. During this time, the Israelites experienced civil war and division in their country. As a result, there were Two Kingdoms. The Northern Kingdom is Israel. The Southern Kingdom is Judah. Judah, the Southern Kingdom underwent three periods of captivity: 607BC, 597BC, and 587BC.

 During the second captivity, Ezekiel was one of the people that were taken into exile. He continued to minister to the Hebrews who were in exile. Using the image of a tender shoot from a cedar tree, it will be planted and become a large tree to provide refuge for all winged animals. Ezekiel was providing a message of HOPE for the people as they return from captivity to rebuild their lives. As human beings, we cannot live without hope. Ezekiel knew this. Through Prophet Ezekiel, God gives them hope.

 A STORY OF HOPE

I read a story about a Vietnamese Cardinal named Francis who was arrested during the time of communism in Vietnam. During that time, the Government was afraid that religious leaders may teach things that are not in accords with their agenda, so it's best to silence them. While in prison, he shared about learning a new dimension of HOPE. From his studies, he already learned the concept of hope. But when he was imprisoned, he saw another dimension of hope.

Because for the Cardinal, he didn't know the precise date when he would be released. He wasn't given a defense attorney. He wasn't given an opportunity to share his side of the story. As he sat there in prison, he waited patiently. When will he be free? Was it today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year or ten years from now.  He learned that HOPE may not have a definite time frame.

When the Kingdoms were in exile, they too had to learn the hard lesson that there was no time frame as to when they could return home and rebuild their lives. As they continued on with their lives, they learned to maintain their trust and hope in God.

2 Corinthians 5:6-10

St. Paul says: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.” St. Paul speaks about the judgment seat of Christ.  Paul is using a Greek reference called the Bema Seat.  The Bema Seat is a reference to the time of Ancient Olympics where a judge would sit near the finish line and determine which person came in first, second and third and then hand out the awards accordingly.

St. Paul uses this imagery to speak about Christ who sits at the Bema seat and holding us accountable for our actions.   By using this reference, the Bema Seat, his words imply having a dynamic attitude, rather than a static one. Like athletes in training, it implies a spiritual training and discipline. Like athletes, disciples must spiritually train and discipline themselves to get better so as to win the award. The implication is that we must never be spiritually complacent. We can always do more. We can always do better. We can outdo spiritual training, and outdo our generosity.

Mark 4:26-35

The Kingdom of God is like a Mustard Seed. The Lord often uses Farming Images to help us understand the Kingdom of God. Being a farmer requires patience and perseverance. A farmer knows that if he tills, plants, water, and fertilizes, the seed will eventually grow. But it will certainly not happen overnight. It may take weeks, months or even years. But that's not the farmer's concern. When we work for the Lord in our local parishes, our focus is on the duties and responsibilities that God asks of us. People's hearts are changed, ultimately, because of God.

For instance, a parishioner once told me that he wasn't actively going to church or participating in parish activities. His wife died, and he wanted a Catholic funeral for her. There is a beautiful funeral ceremony, and the parishioners put together a nice luncheon for the family. He was so grateful to witness this. He is now one of the most active parishioners in our parish. He joined the choir, served as an Extraordinary Minister, visits the Homebound to deliver Holy Communion, and is active in the Knights of Columbus. No one could predict what he would do. But like Farmers, our focus is till the ground, sow the seed of the Gospel, water and fertilize. Then we leave it up to God to do the rest, and the time that God sees fit.