"He also said, “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.” Mark 4:26-29
There is something rather hidden about a seed. It looks rather ordinary and very tiny. There may be misconceptions that it could amount to anything much less a plant or bush not to mention a tree. However, there is a trust that comes from the gardener to nourish the soil and then place the seed in its own space. Then the gardener will carefully attend to the spot of earth that looks rather barren for he has no idea if it really is growing. He keeps tending to this tiny seed only with a certainty of faith. He does not need to uncover the mystery to know that something is beginning and he waits expectedly to see the wonder and awe of a mystery. That seed is growing in the hiddenness of the earth. The growth begins from within so even if one were to plant the seed in a clear jar in water (as some of the fourth graders experimented with this year), you only see the fruit of the mystery.
As the plant grows, it stretches and grows to become what God had always intended it to be. It needs to preserve to push itself out of the confines of the seed. The plant is transformed from the tiny seed and desires the sun to refresh and nourish itself. There is a push out of the soil and into the light. This is a gradual process and then it may take years for a tiny seed to become its greatest potential whether it be a bush or tree. There is a lot of patience and faith that is needed.
The seed reminds me of each one of us. We are given many hidden opportunities to grow whether in prayer, in sacrifice, or daily events. God the Father has planted us here with love and careful attention in every detail even the seemingly insignificant ones. He gave us His own Son as nourishment for us. I think of how the gardener continuously waters his plants with such hope. Christ pours Himself out for us on the cross so we can receive His nourishment in the Eucharist every day. When we enter into the mystery of the hiddenness of meeting with Christ, then we experience the growth. It is quiet movement towards Christ in the deepest parts of our hearts.
- Sister Maria Christi, FSGM
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