Today's Thoughts...

Today’s Thoughts: In our Gospel today, Jesus is taking some time to prepare his disciples, and us, for the journey ahead. God's reign, God’s kingdom, Jesus explains, is not the way the disciples or we think of kingdom, reign and power.
 
It is like the farmer who sows seed, but doesn't really know how they grow, even with the right combination of sun, rain and good soil. It just grows. And, it's like a mustard seed which is not very impressive or powerful looking. The results, however, are wonderful.
 
Jesus’ teaching is not to over simplify our relationship with God by saying, "God will make everything the way we want it to be, and now." No, each of us knows moments of sadness when something did not work well in our life, or perhaps when a number of things did not work well or are not working well now. Difficult, and challenging moments, that have made it hard to have hope. Moments and experiences that tempt us to lose courage, to be discouraged, so much that we can't imagine that God is here or that God is able to bring saving grace into our situation. We don't know, can't foresee, how there can be light anywhere in this darkness, or how this loss, this death, this struggle, this difficulty can result in life.
 
However, as Paul reminds us we “walk by faith not by sight.” We are to see things through the eye, the lens, the filter of faith. Jesus’ parables or images in our Gospel today are asking us to see things differently. His images of the reign of God are asking us to be faithful companions on the journey.
 
Have a great Father's Day and a blessed Sunday everyone!