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Commentary on the Gospel for October 29, 2024
“We are nobody,” we sometimes say. We often say it when we feel helpless in the face of life’s situations or in the face of physical death itself. And it is certainly true. The mustard seed is tiny. And so, alone, truly, it is nothing. The flour dough, three or twenty measures, does not rise without the yeast and the patient and hard kneading.
The seed must be planted to become a leafy bush where even the birds can nest. The dough must be kneaded. We can put ourselves in the role of the sower or the kneader, or in the role of the seed itself and the dough. In both cases, it is laborious and very sacrificial, but the result is surprisingly voluminous. And in both cases, we are not the ones who plant or knead, nor the ones who are the seed or the dough… The comparison is made in terms of the kingdom. It is the “reigning one”, the King, who sows and who kneads. The thing is to let oneself be sown or kneaded. And this is the most difficult thing. To be sown sometimes means to disappear, to renounce many comforts and to accept many sacrifices. To allow oneself to be kneaded is to accept the blows of life, to continue to form and mold oneself, often at the expense of one’s own inclinations and tastes.
Sowing the seed requires absolute confidence that the efforts and sacrifices will bear fruit if we allow the “reigning one” to reign. Even if we do not see it. To knead is to have the patience and perseverance to continue working tirelessly, even if we have to wait a long time for the dough to rise.
Often when we speak of “building the kingdom,” we immediately think of fighting for justice. That too, of course. We must seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness. But it is not simply a struggle of activists against poverty, injustice or human rights in this world. It is not just another NGO. To “build the kingdom” or rather to let God reign is always to be a “nobody”; to be a seed and a docile mass. To be a trusting sower and a patient kneader. It is not easy. To go through daily sacrifice and death with unwavering trust. The King will do what he has to do with this insignificance.