SPEAKER_00: In the name del Padre, del Hijo y del Espiritu Santo.
SPEAKER_00: We have gone to the last few Sundays listening to gospel readings in which Jesus speaks in parables.
SPEAKER_00: On Sunday the 12th, we went over the parable of the sour.
SPEAKER_00: Last Sunday, we went over the parable of the wheat and the tails.
SPEAKER_00: Today we are going to cover the parable of the most star seed.
SPEAKER_00: This approach of teaching that Jesus sometimes employs has always captured my attention.
SPEAKER_00: Seeing how Jesus used simple stories to explain the kingdom of heaven in a way that his disciples can comprehend is a lesson in itself that teaches how to share God's word so that others who listen to us understand the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you are wondering what is a parable.
SPEAKER_00: A parable demonstrates a moral understanding or a spiritual truth using a brief, symbolic story from every life with human characters.
SPEAKER_00: Despite the fact that Jesus used parables to teach, there were those who did not understand, usually those with hard with hardened hearts, like the Pharisees, and sometimes even the general public.
SPEAKER_00: Even his own disciples frequently needed extra explanations.
SPEAKER_00: In today's parable, Jesus used the story of the Mostar Seed to show how the kingdom of God had a small unnoticed beginning, but also contained incredible growth potential.
SPEAKER_00: This means that the message of the kingdom of God will eventually reach people everywhere, starting with a small number of followers.
SPEAKER_00: I find it interesting that Jesus uses mortar seed as an example in this specific parable regarding the sowing.
SPEAKER_00: If you ever see a mortar seed, you know it's approximately the size of a pinhead and it's black.
SPEAKER_00: During the time of Jesus, it was frequently used to describe the tiniest item that could possibly exist.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, the phrase as small as a mortar seed was considered a proverb when referring to his disciples' faith.
SPEAKER_00: For instance, Jesus said, If you have faith as small as a mustard seed as you can find in Matthew 17, 20, even though the seed is so small, the most of plant can grow to be nearly nearly four meters tall, which are seem as thick as a person's arm.
SPEAKER_00: It's crucial to under to recognize that even simply insignificant things can grow into significant ones science.
SPEAKER_00: Christians occasionally struggle with their faith.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we question our faith, especially during difficult times.
SPEAKER_00: Here Jesus reminds us that even a little faith is enough.
SPEAKER_00: So what God desires from us is little faith.
SPEAKER_00: A little faith that will lead to big things.
SPEAKER_00: It is really about the kingdom's present and future, between the little starting point and the eventual glorious outcome.
SPEAKER_00: The kingdom seed that Jesus saw in the world eventually grows so much because it is own inner vitality, despite his humble beginning.
SPEAKER_00: So what humble beginning was the Lord Jesus referring to?
SPEAKER_00: Surely, it had to do with his own public ministry.
SPEAKER_00: He has an unknown rabbi in a Roman corner of Palestine, surrounded by a small group of unknown disciples, and was eventually rejected by the people, without supporting from religious leaders and without political influence.
SPEAKER_00: What could possibly result from that humble origin from the standpoint of that time?
SPEAKER_00: This idea that Jesus takes ordinary people who are unknown and overlooked to spread the kingdom message is still unfolding today.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus continues to use this method to spread the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: We can see this in our own experience as a community.
SPEAKER_00: God has used all of you.
SPEAKER_00: People who might not be well known, but who have testified from our own spaces what God has done in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: When I arrived here at the cathedral three years ago, yesterday, I personally experienced this.
SPEAKER_00: I recall hearing several questions about some parishioners who wanted to know who is this priest?
SPEAKER_00: From where he comes from.
SPEAKER_00: We didn't even know about his him in the diocese.
SPEAKER_00: But here I am, and here I was, a Puerto Rican priest with an accent and a burning desire to be a blessing and spread God's word.
SPEAKER_00: To the same experience, I began to encounter people who were unknown to me, but had a share, have to share a seed with me as well.
SPEAKER_00: You all bless me.
SPEAKER_00: I explained how the cathedral is a place full of souls that are a blessing not only among ourselves, but also for the community as a whole.
SPEAKER_00: Have we also had the experience of our own seeds falling by the wayside and being eaten by the birds?
SPEAKER_00: We have also had the experience of having the seeds fall on rocky grounds with a little soil and they sprout fast because the soil was shallow.
SPEAKER_00: We have undoubled encounter of these here.
SPEAKER_00: Yet this hasn't stopped us from spreading the seed of Jesus' gospel.
SPEAKER_00: Throughout my ministry, I have also experienced similar things.
SPEAKER_00: I have sown places where birds ate the seed or didn't bear fruit.
SPEAKER_00: I have felt the same disappointment.
SPEAKER_00: But God has also comforted me.
SPEAKER_00: And I have a witness how God's seeds planted in fertile soil have grown.
SPEAKER_00: It excites me to see people progress personally, spiritually, and even in ministry among us.
SPEAKER_00: Witnessing people who were previously shy to engage, but now they are very involved.
SPEAKER_00: Witnessing how those who did not feel they possess us a skill discover it and then put it into practice.
SPEAKER_00: This is where I have seen the growth among us.
SPEAKER_00: Where I see this own and is part of creating the glorious that Jesus speaks of.
SPEAKER_00: At the end of today's gospel, Jesus gives the call.
SPEAKER_00: Whoever hear, whoever has an ear to hear, lend them hear.
SPEAKER_00: We are asked to focus on the parable, but all the why should we reflect?
SPEAKER_00: Who is the sour?
SPEAKER_00: The seed?
SPEAKER_00: What are the type of soil?
SPEAKER_00: In many cases Christians have focused on the type of soil where the seeds fall in order to assess our attitudes towards giving the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: However, it's equality important to pay attention to the sour and how they sow.
SPEAKER_00: This can be seen in how the story begins.
SPEAKER_00: The sour went out to sow.
SPEAKER_00: He does this with great confidence.
SPEAKER_00: He sows abundantly.
SPEAKER_00: The seeds fall everywhere, including places where it seems unlikely to grow.
SPEAKER_00: That is how the Galilean farmers used to do it.
SPEAKER_00: They would see it along the roadside, even in rocky aisles.
SPEAKER_00: The sour was easy for everyone to identify.
SPEAKER_00: That's how Jesus spread his word.
SPEAKER_00: People witnessing his sharing the good news of God every morning.
SPEAKER_00: He spread his message to the common people who embrace him, as well as the scribes and Pharisees who reject him.
SPEAKER_00: His heart never fails him.
SPEAKER_00: He will not have waste his seed.
SPEAKER_00: And so too, we will continue to sow our seeds, knowing that all that is planted is never in vain.
SPEAKER_00: For example, if you look to the altar, you will see the seeds that you have planted by giving the backpack to the children of Godfield School, elementary school.
SPEAKER_00: You have been sowing these seeds for years and seeing the fruits.
SPEAKER_00: We have been passionate sowers for God's love, and we will keep sowing these wonderful seeds and witnessing their growth.
SPEAKER_00: I am grateful to have been part of that growth.
SPEAKER_00: But there is still more to sow for you and for me.
SPEAKER_00: You are great sowers.
SPEAKER_00: Trinity, don't stop sowing.
SPEAKER_00: Just as you have sowing me and have sowing you.
SPEAKER_00: Continue to sow the good news in others who will see the growth too for the sake of the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.