Big Things Come From New Beginnings
Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
My dear encountered couples:
The disciples of Jesus had high hopes for big things. They thought Jesus was going far. Maybe he would become king and make them his right-hand men. The future looked wonderful to them.
But it wasn’t progressing that way. Opposition against Jesus was on the rise. All his work and all their efforts didn’t seem to be accomplishing what they expected. And so, Jesus tells them this short parable in an effort to keep them from becoming discouraged. “The kingdom of heaven is like a small mustard seed which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a large shrub and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”
Big things come from small beginnings. There are only 26 letters in the English alphabet, but think of all the words and sentences, novels, poems, and speeches that have come from them. There are only eight notes in an octave, but more music than you and I can imagine have come from those eight notes. The apostles were only twelve. The greatest Church on earth would rise from them and last forever, first on earth, then in heaven. Millions of people would enter that Church and Heaven because of them.
You are only one person. But what you do means a lot. With Christ backing your efforts no act of love you perform will ever be in vain. Like the tiny mustard seed, your smallest efforts will produce wonders. Keep the faith, and spread it.
