The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home
July 19, 2020 – Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Matthew 10:26-33
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Download this simple process to Prepare for Sunday using the Observe, Judge, Act Method.
Most of what most of us do each day is small. Our daily deeds are usually unnoticed. Our accomplishments never get into the pages of a newspaper, nor are they posted online. We pick up a discarded sock on the floor that was dropped by one of our children. We add a special touch to a salad for dinner. We empty the dishwasher or take out the garbage. We say “thanks you” to the check-out person as we leave the store. We always wear a mask in public to protect others and ourselves from Covid-19. Little things. Hardly anything. Easily overlooked.
But (a small but important word here) God notices because in the eyes of our Creator, nothing is unseen, and everything counts.
Once, Jesus wanted to teach us about measurements and significance in the world created by God. He picked up the smallest thing at hand, which was a tiny mustard seed. “Look at what’s in my hand,” he said to those around him. “Look at what?” they asked. “We don’t see anything.” “Look closer,” said the Lord Jesus. “It’s there in the middle of my hand.”
He continued. “This tiny thing that you can hardly see will someday turn into a giant bush. Birds high up in the sky will notice it and fly down and land in it branches. For them, it will be like the Atlanta Airport, visible for miles.”
Our society values size and often sings the praises of those who make great accomplishments. The world of sports honors those who win the big game. Many want “to make it big.” Big seems better.
But most of life, especially in the family, is made up of countless small gestures of love, something Pope Francis mentioned in his exhortation on family life, The Joy of Love, fifteen times!
As I write this, our country is suffering through a terrible pandemic. The cause, as we all know, is a very tiny virus, proving that smallness can be very significant. Either positively or negatively. The parable of the mustard seed helps us to have a better perspective about what life, even our spiritual life, is about. Every little bit!
©David. M. Thomas, PhD