11th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
Ezekiel 17: 22-24 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 Mark 4: 26-34
Theme: Faith in God
Today is the eleventh Sunday of the year B. In today’s liturgy, we see the fact that we serve a God who can bring forth something from nothing. And this idea is seen in the readings presented to us today. The prophet Ezekiel makes it very clear that we serve a God that can change our situation. He gives us a message of hope. He gives us a message of restoration. He gives us a message of liberation. At the time Ezekiel was prophesying, the Israelites were going through difficulties in captivity at Babylon.
The prophesy of Ezekiel was a great source of encouragement to the people of Israel. In the same way God is telling us today that he is going to change our story, no matter the situation we are going through now. He can change the narratives of our lives. He can bring forth transformation, just the way he did it in the lives of the Israelites. The question is do we have faith and believe in God? Because the faith we have in God will primarily help in the realization of what we seek.
The second reading encourages us to live a life that is worthy of our call as Christians and children of God. A solid life that is built on faith in God. That is why my brothers and sisters, let us live like people who know and believe that our lives will not end here on earth, because there is life after death. Life changes after death, not ended.
In the gospel reading of today, we see the mustard seed is being compared to what heaven looks like. Now my brothers and sisters, the mustard seed is the smallest of all the seeds. When it is planted, it is sown into the Earth, it grows into a big tree, and nobody knows how it grows, nobody knows how it happens, but God alone knows how it happens. It is the same for the kingdom of Heaven. The more we grow our faith in God, the more it is possible to realize the salvation we preach and seek.
On this eleventh Sunday, the Lord is saying to you and I that there is need for us to make effort to live a life that is worthy of the name Christian. A life that is rooted in the faith and the love of God is what we need our practice of Christianity. The question is, are we ready to walk the talk? It is not just enough to say it; we must resolve to practice it in our daily lives. This is necessary if we truly want to attain salvation. If we can grow our faith, he will continue to bless the labour of our hands and grant us the grace for salvation. That is why my brothers and sisters, we should continue to make sincere efforts to ensure that we bear fruits that will last, fruits that will be pleasing to God and will help us attain salvation.
We pray in this Eucharistic celebration that the Lord will give us the graces we need to bear good fruits in our lives. May the lord bless his word in our hearts. Peace be with you!