Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ordinary Time  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
0 ratings
· 13 views

Jesus chose the insignificant to sprout into his world-ruling kingdom, while the vast structures of the world collapsed. So we walk by faith sowing Jesus' seed with eyes on Jesus and trusting him for the results.

Notes
Transcript

Title

Living by Faith in the Son of God

Outline

The follower of Jesus lives by trust or faith, not by outward greatness

This is the opposite of the world of the growing megachurch and the great cathedral
Perhaps that is why the megachurches are struggling as their people become “nones” and many great cathedrals are mostly tourist attractions or ruined hulks
But that does not mean that the kingdom of God is in problems, just that we are looking with the wrong eyes in the wrong place

As in Ezekiel Jesus plucked a sprig from a far off cedar to plant on his holy mountain

The leaders of Jesus’ community were not tall cedars, but sprigs from the top of one, unpromising cedar
The seeds that were sown seemingly disappeared in the earth and even when they sprouted no one thought of them as the kingdom
The sprig sprouted on Mount Zion and was far overshadowed by the glorious Temple and the political discussions taking place within it
But the seed, the sprig took root, the mustard seed sprouted, and the nations gathered to it, starting with Pentecost but especially with Cornelius and the mission to the Gentiles - the birds were all there in its shadow and perched on its branches
The Temple devoted to God but run by people who had missed God among them was destroyed, never to be rebuilt
Or, rather, it was being rebuilt, person by person, into the new Jerusalem that is itself a holy of holies

That is the story of the Christian life: we live with eyes of love directed towards the unseen Jesus

Even in the Blessed Sacrament Jesus can only be seen by eyes of faith
We live in pilgrimage to the new Jerusalem, sensing the physical absence of God
We live knowing that “while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.”
Yet at the same time “we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away,” for we know that every little act is part of his building the yet-unseen new Jerusalem, that every seed we sow is part of his sowing the kingdom in the field of the world
That rather cocky and boastful boy in your class may become St Francis bearing much fruit for the kingdom
That vain girl may become St Teresa, humbly renewing a who monastic tradition
That is the reality of the life of followers of Jesus: there is often little to show outwardly but by our simple trust in our Lord we are contributing to the kingdom that will take over the world while the impressive structures of the world crumble around us
Our real structures, however, are not seen with our eyes but with our inner eyes trained on our great spouse and king.
Jesus, king of love, I put my trust in Thy merciful goodness

Readings

Catholic Daily Readings 6-13-2021: Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

FIRST READING

Ezekiel 17:22–24

22 Thus says the Lord GOD:

I, too, will pluck from the crest of the cedar

the highest branch.

From the top a tender shoot

I will break off and transplant

on a high, lofty mountain.

23 On the mountain height of Israel

I will plant it.

It shall put forth branches and bear fruit,

and become a majestic cedar.

Every small bird will nest under it,

all kinds of winged birds will dwell

in the shade of its branches.

24 Every tree of the field will know

that I am the LORD.

I bring low the high tree,

lift high the lowly tree,

Wither up the green tree,

and make the dry tree bloom.

As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do!

Catholic Daily Readings 6-13-2021: Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

RESPONSE

Psalm 92:2a

2 It is good to give thanks to the LORD,

to sing praise to your name, Most High,

PSALM

Psalm 92:2–3, 13–16

2 It is good to give thanks to the LORD,

to sing praise to your name, Most High,

3 To proclaim your love at daybreak,

your faithfulness in the night,

13 The just shall flourish like the palm tree,

shall grow like a cedar of Lebanon.

14 Planted in the house of the LORD,

they shall flourish in the courts of our God.

15 They shall bear fruit even in old age,

they will stay fresh and green,

16 To proclaim: “The LORD is just;

my rock, in whom there is no wrong.”

Catholic Daily Readings 6-13-2021: Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

SECOND READING

2 Corinthians 5:6–10

6 So we are always courageous, although we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord. 9 Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.

Catholic Daily Readings 6-13-2021: Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Text

GOSPEL

Mark 4:26–34

26 He said, “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land 27 and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. 28 Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.”

30 He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? 31 It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. 32 But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” 33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. 34 Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

Notes

Catholic Daily Readings 6-13-2021: Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

SUNDAY, JUNE 13, 2021 | ORDINARY TIME

ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

YEAR B | ROMAN MISSAL | LECTIONARY

First Reading Ezekiel 17:22–24

Response Psalm 92:2a

Psalm Psalm 92:2–3, 13–16

Second Reading 2 Corinthians 5:6–10

Gospel Acclamation Text

Gospel Mark 4:26–34

GREEN
Related Media
See more
Related Sermons
See more