Daily Gospel Reflection
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October 29, 2019
Jesus said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”
And again he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
In taking a look at this passage in the Gospel of Luke, it seems strange at first that of all things, Jesus chose to compare the kingdom of God to a mustard seed — something that is seemingly so small and insignificant.
Upon further analysis, it becomes very clear why Jesus chose this comparison. When a mustard seed grows, it grows wildly and uncontrollably — it becomes a weed. In fact, it is a ruthless vine-like weed, and it is simply a matter of time before it spreads to neighboring plants and overtakes them. In Jesus’s time, Jewish law made it illegal to plant mustard seed in a garden. Why? Because they knew that it would grow and grow, and eventually take over the whole garden. If you let the mustard in, soon enough you are left with only mustard!
This is the picture Jesus paints of the kingdom of heaven, an unstoppable force. It begins subtly, and then it grows and infects anyone it comes into contact with. From one life to the next, it spreads and more and more people get pulled in. It is contagious, and soon enough it becomes an epidemic.
God’s love and God’s kingdom is exactly this, something that spreads and grows uncontrollably and will some day reign over all of creation.
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
Blessed Chiara Luce Badano was a young Italian teenager who was beatified in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI. She was chosen by the bishops as one of the patrons for the 2018 Synod on Youth.
Chiara was born on October 29, 1971 in a small town in northern Italy, to Ruggero and Maria Teresa Badano, who had longed to have a child for many, many years. Chiara was a loving and exuberant child, and, despite her headstrong and sometimes defiant temperament, had a close relationship with them. When she was nine, Chiara attended her first meeting of the Focolare Movement. Focolare is a lay ecclesial movement established in Italy by Chiara Lubich, intended to promote ecumenical and global unity on a local level and to build peace through developing relationships. Chiara enjoyed not only strong friendships and community through Focolare, but was particularly attracted to the image of Christ that the group promoted. She began to foster a strong love for Jesus throughout her involvement with Focolare. Chiara developed a profound spirituality through Focolare that caused her high school classmates to teasingly call her "Sister."
Chiara was a supremely ordinary teenager: she loved sports, such as tennis and swimming. She loved hiking, and she loved listening to pop music and dancing with friends. When she was sixteen, Chiara went to Rome on a summer trip with the Focolare community. On that trip, she met the founder of Focolare, Chiara Lubich, and they began a correspondence. Chiara was full of fire for her faith and her love for Christ burned radiantly in her heart. Chiara Lubich gave Chiara a new nickname, "Chiara Luce," meaning "clear light."
Later that summer, Chiara felt a sting in her shoulder when she was playing tennis. At first, she thought it was simply fatigue or tendinitis. But, as the pain persisted, Chiara underwent a series of tests and discovered she had a rare form of bone cancer. When she entered treatment for the cancer, Chiara refused all morphine. She wanted to have a lucid mind to understand what was happening to her. Chiara embraced her sufferings as an opportunity to offer up her life more radically for Christ. For the next two years, Chiara underwent difficult chemotherapy and slowly prepared herself for death as operations failed to slow down her cancer and as she eventually lost both hope of remission and the ability to walk.
Chiara offered up everything—her disappearing hair, her pain, and her sadness at leaving her parents—to Christ. In the hospital, as she prepared for an operation, Chiara described her heart as "filled with an immense joy and all fear left me. In that moment, I understood that if we're always ready for everything, God sends us many signs of his love." Chiara continued to be a bright light of faith and joy for the doctors, for fellow patients, for her friends, and for her devastated parents.
Chiara died after receiving the sacraments, surrounded by the prayers of her families and friends, on October 7, 1990. Chiara's great love for others spilled over into their great love for her—thousands of people attended Chiara's funeral, effectively shutting down her small hometown of Sassello. Chiara was declared a blessed on September 25, 2010, in Rome, and her feast day has been celebrated on October 29 since then.
Chiara Luce is a beautiful witness to the joy that living with and for God brings to the human spirit, and how that joy, if fully embraced, can completely transform even the darkest of circumstances.
Blessed Chiara Badano, joyful witness to holiness and great lover of God—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Bl. Chiara Badano is available for use in the public domain under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public domain Dedication. Last accessed October 4, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
