The Mass readings lately have focused on “the kingdom of God is like [fill in the blank], and more than ever we need to be calling to mind images of the kingdom of heaven.
We need the relief and the consolation, seeing heaven not as some unattainable utopia but as something we are able to quietly work toward.
The parable of the mustard seed is especially edifying. The smallest of seeds will yield a plant so mighty that birds of the air will make their homes in its branches.
That is to say, if our heart-compass is set on the things of heaven and we do little things well, on repeat, we will see a fruitful yield. Our lives will become heavenly. Everyone will want to set up camp where we are.
Do people want to be close to you? Do you exude a meekness that comes from your conviction that in the end truth will prevail? Meekness is not popular right now. In fact, it is ridiculed as weakness. But elective meekness has always been power.
Consider what the kingdom of God must be like, and then reflect upon the holiest people you know. They are people who listen and who typically speak with moderation. When they do speak, it is with an intensely attractive conviction. Their attentiveness to small details betrays their magnanimity. They are always looking out for the vulnerable. They aren’t issue-people, they are people-people.
Small things, whether they’re good or evil, really do matter. The tiniest seed will yield its fruit and then all will know the truth about the identity and motive behind the seemingly insignificant seed. “Therefore, whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and whatever you have whispered in the rooms deep inside the house will be announced from the rooftops.” (Lk 12:3)
Small things can seem innocuous and inconsequential, but everything big started small. Small good things really matter. But small evil things also matter.
It is easy to make a small, poor decision, to post a quick, sarcastic comment online, to withhold a small act of charity, to destroy a small human being. After all, they’re small, so they’re hardly worth mentioning, right?
Except any parent knows how powerful small actions and small conversations with children can be. How often do we hear our sarcastic expressions come out of their little mouths? On the other hand, how often do we see our good qualities come out in our children?
This is the power of little seeds. We sow them all day long, and one day we will see and recognize the greatness (or poverty) of our life’s work – the magnitude of our influence and the profound effects of our choices.
We may choose to delude ourselves now, but one day we will see that the greatest among us are not the same ones that our culture exalts as great.
The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. If you can’t see that small things are really big things, then great is your folly.
