Stay in Faith

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 14, 2015

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord; hail the God who saves us, alleluia.

First reading                                      Ezekiel 17:22-24

The Lord says this:
‘From the top of the cedar,
from the highest branch I will take a shoot
and plant it myself on a very high mountain.
I will plant it on the high mountain of Israel.
It will sprout branches and bear fruit,
and become a noble cedar.
Every kind of bird will live beneath it,
every winged creature rest in the shade of its branches.
And every tree of the field will learn that I, the Lord, am the one
who stunts tall trees and makes the low ones grow,
who withers green trees and makes the withered green.
I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.’

Psalm                                               Psalm 91:2-3,13-16

Second reading                               2 Corinthians 5:6-10 

We are always full of confidence when we remember that to live in the body means to be exiled from the Lord, going as we do by faith and not by sight – we are full of confidence, I say, and actually want to be exiled from the body and make our home with the Lord. Whether we are living in the body or exiled from it, we are intent on pleasing him. For all the truth about us will be brought out in the law court of Christ, and each of us will get what he deserves for the things he did in the body, good or bad.

Gospel                                               Mark 4:26-34

Jesus said to the crowds, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man throws seed on the land. Night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he does not know. Of its own accord the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the crop is ready, he loses no time: he starts to reap because the harvest has come.’

  He also said, ‘What can we say the kingdom of God is like? What parable can we find for it? It is like a mustard seed which at the time of its sowing in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.’

  Using many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, so far as they were capable of understanding it. He would not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything to his disciples when they were alone.

Reflection

By Fely C Santiago

“For we walk by faith, not by sight”

Every morning I listen to Joel Osteen. I always hear him say “stay in faith”. When we read the Bible, we always see the words “do not be afraid”, “peace be with you”.

Come to think of it, to honor God is really just simple -- just trust and obey Him. But why do we make it so hard? Just like in the old times, it took the Israelites 40 years to reach the Promised Land what would have taken only two weeks because of lack of faith and disobedience.

Today we worry a lot. We get so scared a lot. Because we see all the negative things around us.

Faith teaches us to persevere, to be patient, not to give up. We must hold on to God. Very few people do not realize what God would make of them if they abandoned themselves in His hands and let God transform them by His grace. Let us ask for the grace to trust totally to God’s love and surrender to Him everything. I like the lyrics of this song “Take and Receive” –

Take and receive, O Lord, my liberty
Take all my will, my mind, my memory
All things I hold and all I own are Thine
Thine was the gift, to Thee I all resign

Do Thou direct and govern all and sway
Do what Thou wilt, command, and I obey
Only Thy grace, Thy love on me bestow
These make me rich, all else will I forego.

We all know that God’s plans are the best plans. Stay in faith. Surrender to God. Whatever season we are right now – suffering from illness, challenges in relationships, stress in our careers, difficulties in our finances – stay in faith and hold on to God’s promise that He came that we may have life and have it abundantly (cf. John 10:10) and  “for I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Stay in faith so that our joy will be complete. The BEST is yet to come!

Prayer

Father we surrender everything to You. We are nothing. You are everything. Increase our faith and trust in You. We surrender to Your Will. We know you have the best plan for our lives.  Give us the grace to stay in faith. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.