June 13, 2021, Sunday
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Green)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
Lectionary: 92
Reading I
Ez 17:22-24
I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar,
from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot,
and plant it on a high and lofty mountain;
on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it.
It shall put forth branches and bear fruit,
and become a majestic cedar.
Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it,
every winged thing in the shade of its boughs.
And all the trees of the field shall know
that I, the LORD,
bring low the high tree,
lift high the lowly tree,
wither up the green tree,
and make the withered tree bloom.
As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do.
Responsorial Psalm
92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16
R. (cf. 2a) Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
to sing praise to your name, Most High,
To proclaim your kindness at dawn
and your faithfulness throughout the night.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow.
They that are planted in the house of the LORD
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
vigorous and sturdy shall they be,
Declaring how just is the LORD,
my rock, in whom there is no wrong.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
Reading II
2 Cor 5:6-10
We are always courageous,
although we know that while we are at home in the body
we are away from the Lord,
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Yet we are courageous,
and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.
Therefore, we aspire to please him,
whether we are at home or away.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each may receive recompense,
according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.
Alleluia
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower.
All who come to him will live forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
Mk 4:26-34
“This is how it is with the kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and through it all the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”
He said,
“To what shall we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
REFLECTION:
Much of life's biggest lessons and learnings come with patience. Faith, too, grows in the ebbs and flows of the lives of each of us. God is not impatient with our growth. God is the one who creates us from nothing and creates us each day of our lives. God grows love in us, so that adult love can shelter and comfort many others.
PRAYER:
Lord, your images of the kingdom are alive and organic. It has its own pattern of growth, a tiny plant that grows into a massive tree with room for every creature. Let me never imagine that I am the architect or builder of your kingdom. Enough for me to be patient, a seed growing slowly, animated by your spirit.
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