***
Gospel: Luke 13:18-21
Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like?
To what can I compare it?
It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.
When it was fully grown, it became a large bush
and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”
Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God?
It is like yeast that a woman took
and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
There’s a story of an early Christian hermit, who dedicated his life to prayer while living in the desert. His name was Telemachus. One day while deep in meditation, Telemachus felt the Lord calling him to Rome.
So, he left his simple desert cell, made his way to Rome, and eventually to the Colosseum, where he witnessed gladiators fighting to their death, while bloodthirsty crowds cheered them on.
He was horrified.
Telemachus literally threw himself into the arena and tried physically separating one gladiator from another. Enraged, the crowds hurled stones at him until he was pounded to death.
When the emperor got word of the story, he was so moved this hermit’s sacrifice that he eventually ended the gladiator games.
Telemachus became like the mustard seed in today’s Gospel. He was a single person, but he changed an entire culture – and many lives in the process.
***
That’s also the story of Jesus, whose singular death on the cross changed the course of human history.
***
It’s also the story of the Church.
The Church began with twelve imperfect men and a band of women, each of whom dedicated their lives to sharing the Gospel.
Two-thousand years later, that small community of believers has exploded into more than 1 billion people around the world.
***
So, what might this say to us?
God is constantly at work, but often his plans start small – with a child born in Bethlehem at Christmas, a hermit leaping into the Colosseum, a person saying “yes” to God and following him into the unknown. Suddenly, the world is changed.
May we see ourselves like tiny mustard seeds – insignificant on our own, but when empowered by grace, a force to be reckoned with.
***
***
Image credits: (1) YouVersion (2) CEPAD (3) Desert Streams Ministries