In the Middle Ages, some cathedrals took centuries to build. Most of the people who worked on them never saw the completed edifice. But they labored on tirelessly to do their part. So must we keep working as we build the Kingdom of God.
As Catholics, we believe that Christ founded the Church and sent the Holy Spirit to empower the members of the Church to continue his mission. The Church exits to share the Gospel of Christ with all of humanity, both geographically and generationally. Our task is to take the Good News to every single person in the world.
We might feel that our individual efforts are too small and insignificant. What can any of us really do to impact the larger trajectory of human history? But God, for the most part, does not ask us to do great things, but, as St. Teresa of Calcutta put it, to do small things with great love. We are called to offer to God the little we do have and he will bless it, multiply it, maximize it, and bring it to fruition in ways we cannot even imagine.
As it has been remarked, when Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, he did not expect the disciples to give him enough for over 5000 people. He just asked for the few that they had. He then took the five loaves they offered him, blessed them, and made more than enough for everyone.
As we build the Kingdom of God, we do not know the full outcome of the work we do. We are a part of the ever-unfolding, multi-generational life of the Church. The seeds we plant now through the things we do may not come to fruition for years or decades in the future. One image that comes to mind is a man planting an oak tree that his grandchildren will sit under. He will not see the tree in its full glory nor will he enjoy its benefits. But his work will bear fruit for future generations.
We do not know how exactly God will make use of our labors. We need to submit to the mystery of his work in our lives. Sometimes the fruits of our labors will not be evident in this life at all. For example, we might be praying and praying for someone who is far from Christ, without any evident results. But perhaps our prayers will help that person accept the love of Christ in the moment of their death. We might see no sign of the transformation in this life, but we will rejoice to see the fruit of our prayers in the hereafter, when we are together with Christ, our Holy Mother, and all the heavenly hosts.
But the question might arise, how do we know how to serve God in this life, while we are still on earth? The first step is to participate regularly and consistently in the prayer and sacramental life of the Church, embracing all the blessings Christ has given us. If we do so, we can gradually discern the specific life mission God has given to each of us. Additionally, we should offer all of our daily life to God, our joys, our sorrows, our dreams, our desires, our hopes, our fears, all of our work and accomplishments and our failures too.
We start to change the world by allowing Christ to change us first. As the saying goes, we need to be the change that we want to see in the world around us. When we align ourselves completely with the will of God in our lives, when we allow Christ to reign in our hearts and in our homes, then we can start being the channels of Christ's grace for the world. No matter how small or insignificant we might seem to ourselves, the grace of Christ will then radiate out from us and will transform the world.
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The readings for Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B are:
Ez 17:22-24
Ps 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16
2 Cor 5:6-10
Mk 4:26-34
The full text can be found at the USCCB website.
Photo Credit: Oak Tree, AI generated art using NightCafe by Zoltan Abraham.