We Grow with Patience and Faith — Your Weekly Reflection from CMMB
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Jesus speaks to us through parables in today’s Gospel. Entwined in these stories are important lessons about patience, persistence, and faith.
In both parables Jesus reflects on the life of a seed. In the first, a farmer scatters his crop throughout a field. Over time the seed will sprout, grow, and eventually yield a full crop. But in order to do so, it needs time. In this way, the seed is like the Kingdom of God. Planted by Jesus during his time on earth, the Kingdom requires time to flourish.
In the second parable, Jesus talks specifically about a mustard seed. Though small, it sprouts into a tree. With sprawling branches, it grows to provide shade and a place of rest for birds. The tree as a place of reprieve mirrors God’s Kingdom. But just as the first seed takes time to yield its crop, so does the mustard seed.
Today, we feel God’s presence but his Kingdom has not yet come to fruition. As people of faith we live with patience and trust that if we continue to follow in God’s footsteps, the Kingdom will one day flourish. The same can be said about the prospect of a world in which peace and human dignity are shared by all.
Changing the world isn’t easy, and like the seeds in Jesus’ parable, it doesn’t happen overnight. For many of our volunteers, the change they witness is subtle. But they continue forward with faith, because no matter how small it may seem at first, one day the change will be great.
Dr. Jose Garcia, Kenya 2019
We will conclude today’s reflection with the words of Dr. Jose, a humanitarian and former CMMB volunteer in both Kenya and Sudan. In the following reflection he speaks to his experience in Sudan, the challenges he faced, and the power of hope.
“Hope plays a big part in this, because the people in Sudan, they take it one day at a time. They say, ‘We’ll see tomorrow what God brings us!’ And that was hard for me to understand. My mind doesn’t see it that way. But it is one day at a time. And you do see change, it’s very hard, but you do see change.
Dr. Jim Peck, a volunteer I served with, said something to me that just clicked in my mind. He said, ‘You know Jose, we are all pushing here. Pushing forward, that’s what we do.’ And I said to myself, ‘That is what we do! We’re all pushing forward.’”
If you’re interested in learning more about Dr. Jose’s volunteer experience, you can do so by clicking HERE.
In grace and peace,
CMMB