Scripture:
Ephesians 5:21-33
Luke 13:18-21
Reflection:
Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like?”
The first reading today contains a beautiful description of how Christ is the perfect spouse of the Church and how this relationship is embodied in the Sacrament of Marriage. In His relationship with the Church, Christ the Bridegroom takes care of the Church and protects it as a spouse would protect and care for his wife. The Church then becomes a vessel through which we are made holy and presentable before God. This is all made possible through Christ’s Passion, death, Resurrection and Ascension. The Paschal Mystery makes the Church and the People of God holy.
In the Gospel reading, Christ is sharing two parables that describe what the Kingdom of God is like. Both of these stories relate something small like a mustard seed or yeast can yield something much larger. In its early days the Church was like a mustard seed or the yeast. The early Church started with a very small group of twelve men and a handful of women growing to 1.39 billion baptized Catholics making up almost 18% of the world’s population. (Vatican News April 2024)
Our relationship with the Church is not limited to the Sacraments and getting into heaven. It is about growing what Christ established over two thousand years ago. What is so awesome to me is that we are in communion with all Christians throughout the ages in building the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is a community of believers, not individuals, that have been made holy in the Blood of Christ. The Kingdom of God on earth is a reflection of the Kingdom of God in Heaven. We pray for those who have gone before us. We pray to the Saints to assist us. And they pray for us in turn. It is a Kingdom without limit, where Christ cares for us all.
Linda Schork is a theology teacher at Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky.