We Are the True Seed of God’s Kingdom
Introduction
A man of faith, David wants to build a house for God, to house the Ark of the Covenant, as the Ark was the sign of God’s presence and union with his people. But David’s loyalty to the covenant is enough for God. Instead, God will build a house for David: his royal house will be the origin of the coming Saviour; through this Saviour God will dwell with his people for ever. In this Eucharist, we celebrate the joy of having God present among his people.
Why has the kingdom of God not taken deeper roots among us? Why does it grow so slowly? In today’s Gospel, Mark states that this is a mystery of God’s efforts and people’s lack of depth and understanding. The kingdom is here among us, but it meets the slowing down resistance of people. It is hard to respond to the demands of the Gospel, to be converted to God’s plan with us, to form a community that lives according to God’s norms and witnesses to God’s presence. Are we willing to be that community which promotes the growth of God’s kingdom and yields a hundredfold harvest?
1 Reading: 2 Samuel 7:4-17
That night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said: “Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: Should you build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day on which I led the children of Israel out of Egypt to the present, but I have been going about in a tent under cloth. In all my wanderings everywhere among the children of Israel, did I ever utter a word to any one of the judges whom I charged to tend my people Israel, to ask: Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’ “Now then, speak thus to my servant David, ‘The LORD of hosts has this to say: It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be commander of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you went, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth. I will fix a place for my people Israel; I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place without further disturbance. Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old, since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you. And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his Kingdom firm. It is he who shall build a house for my name. And I will make his royal throne firm forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. And if he does wrong, I will correct him with the rod of men and with human chastisements; but I will not withdraw my favour from him as I withdrew it from your predecessor Saul, whom I removed from my presence. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.'” Nathan reported all these words and this entire vision to David.
Responsorial Psalm PS 89:4-5, 27-28, 29-30
R. (29a) For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
I will make your dynasty stand forever
and establish your throne through all ages.” R.
“He shall cry to me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock that brings me victory!’
I myself make him firstborn,
Most High over the kings of the earth.” R.
“Forever I will maintain my love for him;
my covenant with him stands firm.
I will establish his dynasty forever,
his throne as the days of the heavens.” R.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mark 4:1-20
On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, “Hear this! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.” Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
Commentary
Chapter 7 of the Second Book of Samuel represents a watershed in Old Testament thought. It marks the beginning of the messianic hope in Israel. Nathan approaches David with a message from the Lord that will shape Israelite thought for centuries to come. David is to be the father of a lasting dynasty, kings who will preside over a nation that is blessed and peaceful.
The desire of David to build a house for the Lord in Jerusalem will not be realized. It will belong to his son, Solomon, to realize that dream. Even though subsequent heirs to David’s throne may disappoint, punishment will follow but not rejection of the promise. The line of David will be perpetual.
Later prophets expounded on this Davidic theme. It explains why the evangelists were at pains to present Jesus as the son of David. The line of David continues in the person of Jesus.
Each year we celebrate the kingship of Jesus, even as we recognize that his kingdom is like no other. He rules by persuasion. To belong to him is entirely a matter of choice. To make his kingdom our own is to become that fertile soil of today’s Gospel wherein the seed grows thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. We are all part of God’s special design, and we pray that we shall never disappoint.
The reign of God is sometimes referred to as “the sweet empire of God’s love.” It is a great blessing to be citizens of that empire.
Blessing
And God sows. He sends the rain and the sunshine to make the seed bloom and grow and bear fruit. But do we let the seed mature and grow? Go and bear fruit, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!