Daily Reflection for Tuesday, October 27, 2020
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
We encourage you to reflect on Tuesday’s readings at this link:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102720.cfm
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Ephesians 5:21-33
Responsorial: Psalm 128:1-5
Gospel: Luke 13:18-21
Our reflection on Tuesday’s readings:
Fresh bread . . . hot cinnamon rolls. The fun of climbing a tree . . . hiding behind one . . . or staying dry under one as it rained. Bread . . . trees. As a child, I loved both – and never thought about what I could learn from them.
In today’s gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to the yeast that leavens dough . . . and to a seed that grows into a bush with birds dwelling in its branches. These metaphors mean a lot to me:
- There is the contrast between a tiny seed and a large tree . . . between bits of yeast and many loaves of bread. Small things can be agents of growth and transformation.
- The seed and yeast lose their identity as the beautiful tree and fresh bread are formed. Because they seek no credit, credit is always theirs.
- The tree and the bread serve God unselfishly . . . their very existence is as servant.
Without the seed, the birds have no home. Without the yeast, the people are not fed. Without Jesus and his disciples . . . without today’s Body of Christ . . . without you and me . . . there is no Kingdom of God. We are all yeast and seeds . . . agents of transformation and growth. And like Jesus’ disciples, our formation begins with the two great commandments . . . love of God and neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40).
As we grow, we learn that “faith, of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:17). Jesus calls us to works of love in the parable of God separating the righteous (the sheep) and the accursed (the goats) in the Judgment of the Nations (Matthew 25:31-46). Seed becomes tree – homes for the homeless. Yeast becomes bread – food for the hungry.
You and I are the Kingdom of God – seeds and yeast – caring for others. We can change the world.
Peace, my friends,
Bill Bradbury