Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Friday, 30 January 2015

Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Friday, 30 January 2015
Meditation - Mark 4: Another Story about Seeds
26 Again Jesus said:
God’s kingdom is like what happens when a farmer scatters seed in a field. 27 The farmer sleeps at night and is up and around during the day. Yet the seeds keep sprouting and growing, and he doesn’t understand how. 28 It is the ground that makes the seeds sprout and grow into plants that produce grain. 29 Then when harvest season comes and the grain is ripe, the farmer cuts it with a sickle.[a]
A Mustard Seed
30 Finally, Jesus said:
What is God’s kingdom like? What story can I use to explain it? 31 It is like what happens when a mustard seed is planted in the ground. It is the smallest seed in all the world. 32 But once it is planted, it grows larger than any garden plant. It even puts out branches that are big enough for birds to nest in its shade.
The Reason for Teaching with Stories
33 Jesus used many other stories when he spoke to the people, and he taught them as much as they could understand. 34 He did not tell them anything without using stories. But when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.[Footnotes:
4.29 sickle: A knife with a long curved blade, used to cut grain and other crops.]
3rd Week in Ordinary Time
The seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. (Mark 4:27)
In the film Mr. Holland’s Opus, the lead character is Glenn Holland, a composer working on a symphony who takes a job as a high school music teacher to support himself and his wife. At first he is frustrated by teaching and dreams only of finishing his composition. But he gradually learns to love his job and to see how much he has taught his students—and how much they have taught him. The film’s message is best expressed in a verse from a John Lennon song that Holland sings for his deaf son, Cole: “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”
Unexpected results is also a theme in these two parables. The farmer can’t predict his harvest from just planting seeds. And someone who knows nothing about mustard plants can’t possibly imagine that they grow from such small seeds. But that’s the point. It’s often the case that when we’re working on one thing, God is doing something else in our hearts, creating something new that we can’t recognize until we look back and see it.
This means that you can relax a bit. Of course, try to stay vigilant at avoiding sin and growing in virtue. But let it be a confident, happy vigilance, secure in the knowledge that God will bring growth in the areas he knows you need the most. Just plant your seeds and tend your garden as you think best, and know that your heavenly Father will bring his good work to completion in you (Philippians 1:6).
God doesn’t always show us what he is doing in our lives, but that’s okay. In fact, it can be very comforting. Rather than expending so much energy trying to figure everything out, we can devote ourselves simply to loving God, loving our neighbors, and helping the needy. If we can focus just on this, we can rest assured that our heavenly Father will take care of everything else!
“Lord, thank you that you have an awesome plan for my life—even if I can’t see it all. Help me to trust you day by day. Lord, I place my life in your hands!”Amen!
Hebrews 10:32 Don’t forget all the hard times you went through when you first received the light. 33 Sometimes you were abused and mistreated in public, and at other times you shared in the sufferings of others. 34 You were kind to people in jail. And you gladly let your possessions be taken away, because you knew you had something better, something that would last forever.
35 Keep on being brave! It will bring you great rewards. 36 Learn to be patient, so that you will please God and be given what he has promised. 37 As the Scriptures say,
“God is coming soon!
    It won’t be very long.
38 The people God accepts
will live
because
    of their faith.[a]
But he isn’t pleased
with anyone
    who turns back.”
39 We are not like those people who turn back and get destroyed. We will keep on having faith until we are saved.[Footnotes:
10.38 The people God accepts will live because of their faith: Or “The people God accepts because of their faith will live.”]
Psalms 37:3 Trust the Lord and live right!
    The land will be yours,
    and you will be safe.
4 Do what the Lord wants,
    and he will give you
    your heart’s desire.
5 Let the Lord lead you
    and trust him to help.
6 Then it will be as clear
as the noonday sun
    that you were right.
23 If you do what the Lord wants,
    he will make certain
    each step you take is sure.
24 The Lord will hold your hand,
    and if you stumble,
    you still won’t fall.
39 The Lord protects his people,
    and they can come to him
    in times of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them
and saves them from the wicked
    because they run to him.
____________________________