Daily Gospel Reflection
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July 27, 2020
Jesus put another parable before the crowds: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”
The parable of the sower and the seeds has come up in the daily readings twice recently. That parable invites us to consider what kind of ground we are in how we receive the seeds of the Word of God and allow them to grow in our lives. Are we rocky ground, thorny ground, of fertile ground? I think of today’s parable as almost the inverse of that metaphor. Instead of asking us what kind of ground we are, it asks us what kind of seed we are.
I wondered what this mustard plant is that Jesus mentions in the parable. I’ve grown mustard in a garden before and it grows wildly, spreading out and sprouting up all over the place with its prolific greens, tiny flowers, and famous seeds. It turns out that the mustard plant that Jesus talks about was probably pretty similar. The black mustard plant of the ancient near east could grow up to nine feet tall in a single growing season. In fact, it was such an invasive and aggressive plant that, according to rabbinical sources, Jews did not grow it in gardens. Perhaps that is why Jesus mentions that the seed was sowed “in a field.” All of this from one of the tiniest seeds in the plant world!
Yeast shares some of the characteristics of the mustard seed. It is even smaller, invisible to the naked eye, but its effects are rapid and dramatic. Only a small amount can leaven a large amount of dough and substantially alter the final product of the batch. Even the yeast that naturally occurs in the air can have a leavening effect!
What this parable tells me is that God can work amazing things from my small offering of faith. On the days in my life when my faith seems like just a small speck in a sea of stress and things to do, this parable reminds me that even a small speck of faith can produce big results. My contribution to the kingdom of God can start with finding a place to plant that seed today.
Prayer
Dear Lord, when time drags on and prayers go unanswered; when our hard work seems so futile; when we wonder what difference we’re making, remind us of the mustard seed. Though it appears so insignificant, so incapable of bringing forth life, we know it finds its purpose and serves magnificently. Bless us with great possibilities and increase our faith in your presence in all we do. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Sts. Aurelius and Natalia, a Christian married couple in Islamic-controlled Spain, were martyred when they decided to refrain from hiding their faith any longer.
Aurelius was the son of a Spanish woman who had married a Muslim; they were a family of distinction in Cordoba. Both of his parents died when he was a boy, and Aurelius was left in the care of an aunt, who raised him as a Christian.
As he grew and matured, he was Christian in secret and Muslim to all appearances. He married a woman who was also from a half-Muslim family, and after their wedding, she converted to Christianity, taking the name Natalia at her baptism.
One day, Aurelius saw a man from Cordoba beaten and humiliated for standing up for his Christian faith; he was led through the city on a donkey to be gawked at. The sight moved Aurelius, and he was ashamed that he had protected his safety instead of publicly proclaiming his faith.
By this time, Aurelius and Natalia had two young children, and they worried that if they were public with their faith, they would be martyred and would leave their children destitute. They consulted a holy man in the Christian community, St. Eulogius, who advised them to make arrangements for their children to be cared for and raised as Christians if anything happened to them.
Aurelius and Natalia’s discernment inspired a relative to return to the faith. Felix was Aurelius’ cousin and was raised a Christian, but had turned away to practice Islam. Felix’s wife, Liliosa, remained faithful, and when he returned to the faith, they joined Aurelius and Natalia in reaching out to support imprisoned Christians. They even came to know that man whom Aurelius had seen paraded through the streets.
Aurelius welcomed to his home a traveling monk, George, who came from a monastery in Jerusalem and was traveling to beg for alms to support his community. The two became close friends.
Natalia and Liliosa decided to openly visit the Christian churches in Cordoba with their faces open and unveiled. They were spotted and watched. When the two couples were gathered at Aurelius’ house to celebrate the Mass, they were all arrested, along with the visiting monk, George.
They were all charged with turning away from Islam and condemned to death. As a foreigner, George was given leniency and permitted to leave, but he chose to stay with the faithful couples and to be martyred with them.
Relics of St. Aurelius rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
Sts. Aurelius and Natalia, the Christians who inspired their relatives to boldly proclaim the faith in the face of martyrdom, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Natalia is used with permission from Catholic Online. Last accessed March 20, 2025.