This morning’s gospel reminds me of what I call my favorite miracle of daily life. Jesus says:
This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear…
Living in upstate New York, I don’t see as much grain growing as I do corn, but each spring I await the plowing of the fields which catches my attention and then I begin to watch closely for the tiniest hint of a green hue that precedes the smallest of shoots in the corn rows. Then they become visible to the casual observer and within about two weeks hardly anyone can miss the order of the rows and the abundance that is beginning until the plants are “knee high by the 4th of July.” It is astounding to me that farmers just need to watch, as I do, for the next month until the stalks are as tall as I am and the ears begin to form. That joy is palatable for me, as much as is the eating of a recently picked ear of “Silver Queen.” It’s easy to forget all the labor that goes into the preparation of the land and the harvesting. As in everything, there is a rhythm of work and observation until the growth is assured. So it is with the kingdom of God. So it is with the mustard seed, mentioned in the second half of this text. The smallest of our good works, our kindnesses, our prayers, can manifest in abundance if only we are attentive and proceed with intention. I wonder today how ready is the ground of me and where will I find the seeds.