Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
(25th Sunday after Pentecost)
15 November 2015
(Epistle & Gospel, of 6th
Sunday after Epiphany)
“I will
open my mouth in parables; things hidden since the world was made I will
announce.”
Mt. 13:35
In today’s readings, we have the fulfilment of the gospel
parables, The Mustard Seed and The Leaven, found in the Epistle
of St. Paul to the Thessalonians (1:2-10).
St. Paul praises the faith of the Thessalonians:“And
you became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in great
tribulation with joy in the Holy Spirit, so that you became a pattern for all
believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. I Thess. 1:6-7 In the Gospel (Mt,13:31-35), Jesus speaks
of The
Parable of the Mustard Seed which “is the smallest of all the seeds; but when
it grows up it is larger than any herb and becomes a tree, so that the birds of
the air come and dwell in its branches.” Mt. 13:32. Jesus also speaks of The Parable of the Leaven
“which
a woman took and buried in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”
Mt. 13:33. Both parables speak
of the Kingdom of God, the Church upon earth, and how it will grow from the
Twelve Apostles throughout the whole world and will influence all peoples with
the gospel message. This fruitful growth of the Church among the
pagan people through the preaching of St. Paul is evident in the Epistle
to the Thessalonians. For their faithfulness, sacrifice, and good
example the Thessalonians became an example to all the other Churches in
Greece: “We thank God always for all of
you when we make mention of you in our prayers for we unceasingly remember your
active faith, your energetic charity and your unwavering hope in our Lord Jesus
Christ before the face of God, our Father.”
I Thess. 1:2-3.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
Although it is the smallest of seeds the mustard
seed grows into a tree so large that the birds of the air dwell in its
branches. So, too, the Church Jesus
founded upon the Twelve Apostles would grow until it encompassed almost all of
the known world at that time. Similarly,
within three centuries the Church would be established throughout the entire
Roman Empire. St. Augustine comments on the spiritual significance of the
mustard seed: “At first glance it seems
small, worthless, despised, not marked by any flavour, not surrounded by
any odour, nor giving any sign of
sweetness; but once it is bruised, it
sheds abroad its odour, displays its
sharpness and exhales nourishment of a
fiery taste. ...Thus, too, the Christian Faith, at first sight, appears small,
worthless and frail, not manifesting its power, nor carrying any semblance of
pride, nor conferring grace. But as soon as it begins to be bruised by divers
temptations, immediately it manifests its vigour, indicates its sharpness, breathes
the warmth of belief in the Lord, and is possessed with so great ardour of divine fire, that both itself is hot and
it compels those who participate to be fervent also. As the two disciples said
in the holy gospel, when the Lord spoke with them after His passion, ‘Did not
our hearts burn within us by the way, while the Lord Jesus opened to us the
Scriptures.’ (Lk. 24:32) A grain of mustard, then, warms the inward members of
our bodies, but the power of faith burns
up the sins of our hearts. The one indeed takes away piercing cold; the other
expels the devil’s frost of transgressions. A grain of mustard, I say, purges
away corporeal humours, but faith puts an end to the flux of lusts. By the one,
medicine is gained for the head; but by faith our spiritual Head, Christ the
Lord, is often refreshed. Moreover, we enjoy the sacred odour of faith,
according to the analogy of mustard seed, as the blessed Apostle saith, ‘We are
a sweet savour of Christ unto God.’’’ (II Cor. 2:15) A Lapide, Commentary
on St. Matthew’s Gospel, p. 27
The Parable of the Leaven
The Parable of the Leaven flows naturally from The Parable of the Mustard Seed
because as the Church grows, so will it influence the whole world just as the
leaven (yeast) permeates all the dough.
Interestingly, the three measures of bread is quite large and will feed
eighteen people for five days. Jesus
makes it so large to emphasize that the Church will influence the whole world.
St. Ambrose also applies this to Christ in a spiritual meaning of the leaven: “Therefore,
if the Lord is wheat (as He Himself says in John 12:24), the Lord is the
leaven, too, since leaven is usually made only of wheaten flour. Therefore, the
Lord is rightly compared to leaven for when He was in the form of man, made
small by humility and despised for His weakness, He contained within Himself
such power of wisdom that the world itself could scarcely contain His doctrine.
When He began to diffuse Himself throughout the world by virtue of His
divinity, He immediately drew the entire human race into His substance by His
power so that He might place the yoke of His Holy Spirit upon all of them, that
is, make all Christians to be what Christ is....so Christ (like leaven) is
broken up and dissolved by His various sufferings, and His moisture, that is,
His precious blood, was poured out for our salvation, that it might by
mingling itself with the whole human
race, consolidate that race, which lay scattered abroad.” A Lapide, p. 29-30
The Growth of the Church at Thessalonica
After St. Paul was expelled by the Jewish leaders at
Philippi, he went to the port city of Thessalonica where he found the
inhabitants of that city open to the message of the gospel. At first, St. Paul went to the Jewish residents
of the city, but after a few weeks with little success, he turned to the
Gentiles. There he met with so much success that the Jewish leaders brought
charges of treason (preaching about another king) against the Christian missionaries, and St. Paul and his
companions had to flee. While at Athens,
St. Paul sent Timothy to learn how the Church at Thessalonica fared during the
persecution. Timothy reported later,
when Paul was at Corinth, that the converts were heroic in the practice of the
faith: “And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in
great tribulation with joy in the Holy Spirit, so that you became a pattern for
all believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. From you the word of the Lord has
been spread abroad not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your
faith in God has gone forth, so that we need say nothing further.” I Thess. 1:6-8. The Thessalonians are a joy to the heart of
Paul, as they not only embraced the faith from their pagan ways, but they have
even imitated Paul and his companions, Silvanus and Timothy, and spread the
faith by their good example throughout the land and the other seaports.
Early Christians a reproach
to us today
Dom Gueranger in his book, The Liturgical Life, Vol. 4,
tells us how the early Christians are a strong reproach to us to imitate them
in their lives: “The praise which the apostle here gives to the Thessalonians for their fervour in the
faith they had embraced, conveys a reproach to the Christians of our times.
These neophytes of Thessalonica, who, a short time before, were worshippers of
idols, had become so earnest in the practice of the Christian religion, that
even the apostle is filled with admiration. We are the descendants of the
countless Christian ancestors; we received our regeneration by Baptism at our
first coming into the world; we were taught the doctrine of Jesus Christ from
our earliest childhood: yet, our faith is not so strong, nor our lives so holy,
as were those of the early Christian.
Their main occupation was serving the living and true God, and waiting
for the coming of their Saviour. Our
hope is precisely the same as that which made their hearts so fervent; how
comes it that our faith is not like theirs in its generosity? We love this present life, as though we had
no firm conviction that it is to pass away.” Gueranger, p. 102
Good Example
The power of good example is the reason why the
Thessalonians followed Paul and his companions and why other Greeks followed
the example of the Thessalonians.
Despite persecution, they kept the faith and awaited the coming of the
Lord. So, too, should we, as the
parables in today’s gospel suggest, try to build up the kingdom of God by our
good example and permeate all of society.
This is what Our Lady requested at Fatima when she asked us to pray and
sacrifice for the souls of so many in our time who are in danger of being lost
for all eternity unless they get a miracle of God’s grace: “Pray and sacrifice for many souls will go
to hell, unless someone prays and sacrifices for them.” (Fatima, 1917)
November:Remember
the Poor Souls in Purgatory
Let us remember all those who have
given their lives during the Two World Wars by recalling the words of this
lovely poem.
“In
Flanders Fields”
by John McCrae, May 1915
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep,
though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.”
