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Gospel Reflection for Friday, January 31, 2025
The evangelist Mark helps us understand that the arrival of the Kingdom does not happen in a miraculous way that instantly eliminates all injustices and inequalities. That’s not how Jesus sees it. The coming of the Kingdom is a free, gracious act of God.
Jesus uses two simple parables, easily understood in the agrarian culture of Galilee. Today, we might call them “parables for times of crisis,” especially in the challenging times we face.
The first parable explains that the Kingdom of God grows with a vitality and energy of its own. It has an inherent power that not only sustains it but causes it to grow steadily—even when we are unaware of it, as we go about our daily lives.
The parable of the Kingdom as a mustard seed offers a sharp critique of the ambitions for greatness that often accompany individuals and institutions. The Kingdom of God is, and will always be, something small and seemingly insignificant—something that goes unnoticed. And it is precisely from this smallness that the realization of the Kingdom springs forth and grows.
We must learn to build a better world by sowing small gestures of goodness, compassion, and solidarity. Discouragement is not an option. Instead, we must remain firm, embracing the humility of the “small ones,” those who seem to count for nothing—the children, the last, the overlooked. These are the ones Jesus taught us to value.
With gratitude,