Gospel (Lk 13:18-21)

Jesus said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”

And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”

And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

Commentary

The sanctifying action of the Holy Spirit can go unnoticed by us. The growth of the interior life is gradual. God counts on time. He knows our weakness and the difficulties that will arise in our lives, but his grace, his love, is constant. The good spreads naturally, and this is true of holiness. Our Lord uses the image of the birds of the air, which make nests in the branches of the tree that has arisen from the mustard seed. The same is true of the children of God, if they strive to be faithful. Many people will take refuge in the love of God reflected in their lives.

We must persevere in our struggle, a daily struggle waged almost always in small things, which makes our soul ready to receive the divine seed and bear fruit. It doesn't matter that our desires for holiness are weak and unreliable. God is so good that, with a little good will on our part, he builds the edifice of our holiness. Saint Josemaría used to say that every time he made an act of contrition, he began again. We constantly experience our own shortcomings. But far from becoming discouraged, we know that our weakness attracts God’s love, a love that leads him to exclaim: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you” (Is 49:15).

God acts like the leaven in the dough. He applies to our fallen human nature the infinite merits of his Redemption and transforms it, divinizes it. This is what we are called to do in the middle of the world: to be leaven in the dough, sanctifying our daily occupations, taking advantage of every circumstance to grow in holiness and sanctify others. Holiness consists in loving. The leaven of love will give rise to a new civilization, a new culture that will dawn in the world, made possible by the children of God, because, as the Apostle states: “creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God” (Rom 8:19).