Explaining to a Child

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

17 June 2018

First reading                                                                      Ezekiel 17:22-24
Thus says the Lord God: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost of its young twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. Under it every kind of bird will live; in the shade of its branches will nest winged creatures of every kind. All the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord. I bring low the high tree, I make high the low tree; I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I the Lord have spoken; I will accomplish it.

Second reading                                                     2 Corinthians 5:6-10

[Beloved brethren] we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord– for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.

Gospel                                                                     Mark 4:26-34

Jesus said to the crowd, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.” He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

Reflection

By Bernard M. Borja

We know how an adult struggles to explain things to a child in a way that it can be understood. How much more when it comes to handling the ways of the children? Sometimes, I think parents can only pray during such moments with their children:

● When they keep on doing their mischievous deeds and really enjoying it: "Father, forgive them. For they do not know what they are doing." 
● When they throw tantrums and insist on something they really want: "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani?" 
● When they are behave and obedient: "I promise you that today, you will be with me in Paradise." 
● When they run around a public place and needed to be chased: "I thirst." 
● When the father cannot handle them anymore: "Behold thy mother." 
● When both parents cannot handle them anymore: "Father into Your hands, I commit my spirit." 
● Every end of the day when the children goes to sleep: "It is finished." 

And these prayers will be repeated for the next days and for the succeeding years as their children grow up. 

A child also seems to never run out of questions. I've seen children asked a lot of questions, simple but wonderful as they are, but never satisfied of the answers given to them and usually springs out another question. I can imagine how my father handled my questions about anything I can think of during my childhood. Maybe it's like the most difficult exam he took next to his engineering license qualification exams. I can imagine him praying and struggling in thoughts on how to handle questions of a child but the answers are for a man. 

My father did everything for us to have a good life. To experience wonderful things which my brothers and I can only enjoy without understanding how he worked hard and prepared everything he can. But he also did his best to explain these wonderful things that he does for us even if we don't really understand how and why. As we grow up, we just realized and understood these things when we experience hardships and challenges that we did not need to handle during childhood. 

Jesus explained the Kingdom of God in a way that the people can easily understand. He did it in a parable, comparing the Kingdom to the smallest of all seeds that springs up becoming the largest of plants. Fathers are God's gift to us. They give their children a glimpse of the Kingdom of God in ways we could never have imagined. A father builds the Kingdom first in the family and strengthens it with his perseverance and faith. Then his family grows stronger, with the mother's guidance, to handle challenges and hardships in life. Now I believe why fathers are called "Haligi ng Tahanan (pillar of the home)." 

This Father's Day, we give honor to the one who has always been there to work hard and prepare the good things for us. In times when we seek solutions to problems and do not know what to do, he is there for us to share in our burden and strengthen our faith that we can succeed. In times when we insist our own ways, he is there behind to catch us when we fall. In times when we choose the right ways, he is there to affirm us of the wonderful things to happen. When we go out and lose our way, he is there waiting for us, preparing a feast for the family to enjoy. To the one who spends all his life to sow seeds for his children to harvest, Happy Father's Day!

Prayer

Almighty Father, we thank You for giving us our earthly fathers. May You continue to bless them as they build Your Kingdom starting with their family. Give them strength as they have dedicated their lives joyfully sharing in their children's hardships and wonderful things. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.