Ez 17:22-24; 2Cor
5:6-10; Mk 4:26-34
The nature is full
of mysteries, and man stands helpless before them.
The 'Taos Hum' is
a low-pitched sound heard in numerous places worldwide, especially in the USA,
UK, and Northern Europe. It is usually heard only in quiet environments, and is
often described as sounding like a distant diesel engine. Since it has proven
indetectable by
microphones or VLF antennae, its source and nature is still a mystery.
microphones or VLF antennae, its source and nature is still a mystery.
In 1997 Congress
directed scientists and observers from some of the most prestigious research
institutes in the nation to look into a strange low frequency noise heard by
residents in and around the small town of Taos, New Mexico. For years those who
had heard the noise, often described by them as a "hum", had been
looking for answers. To this day no one knows the cause of the hum.
The sailing stones
are a geological phenomenon found in the Racetrack Playa (a seasonally dry lake
located in the northern part of the Panamint Mountains in Death Valley National
Park, California, U.S.A.). The stones slowly move across the surface of the
playa, leaving a track as they go, without human or animal intervention. They
have never been seen or filmed in motion and are not unique to The Racetrack.
Similar rock travel patterns have been recorded in several other playas in the
region but the number and length of travel grooves on The Racetrack are
notable. Racetrack stones only move once every two or three years and most
tracks last for just three or four years. Stones with rough bottoms leave
straight striated tracks while those with smooth bottoms wander. Stones
sometimes turn over, exposing another edge to the ground and leaving a
different-sized track in the stone's wake.
The unusual insects, beetles
of the family Lampyridae, have long fascinated scientists.
In today's Gospel
Mark narrates one of such mysteries of nature in the parable of the seed that
grows by itself. This is the only parable that Mark alone relates to us. The
kingdom of God is like a seed that is cast upon the earth by a man. It sprouts
and grows by itself. This parable is short, but it is filled with unmistakable
truths.
First of all it
tells the helplessness of man. Man always stands helpless before nature. The
farmer does not make the seed grow. He does not even understands how it grows.
It has the secret of life and growth. No man has ever created anything in the
full sense of the term. Man can discover things; he can rearrange things;
he can develop them. Still he always stands helpless before nature.
Commenting on the
earthquakes in Chile and Haiti and the Atlantic storm Xynthia currently
battering Western Europe, the daily Correio da Manhã reminds us that mankind is
often helpless against the forces of nature: "Earthquakes and tsunamis. Thunderstorms
and storms. Researchers are looking for scientific explanations for all types
of natural disasters, and these explanations no doubt exist. Modern man has
grown used to a controlled and benign nature; natural disasters are perceived
as exceptions in a more or less perfect and harmonious world. But this is not
reality. Our relationship with nature is tragic and hostile. In the past we
accepted this tragic and brutal dialogue as part of our fate - storms and
floods were common and passed mostly without comment. ... We thought that Earth
was a peaceful place. But our experience is that the Earth is rising up
in protest; it threatens and torments us. It takes the unwary by
surprise." Behind all the happenings of the Earth there is the power
and hands of God. Once we are able to recognize it, we will be able to
strike harmony with nature and all that exist in nature.
Secondly, the
parable tells us about the kingdom of God. Jesus so often uses Illustrations from the growth of
nature to describe the coming of the Kingdom of God. Nature's growth is
imperceptible. Even if we watch we cannot see the daily growth of the plants.
But we notice them slowly over a period of time. The spread of God's kingdom
takes place in the same way.
In the spring of 1961, a small group
of civil rights activists began the difficult, dangerous and sometimes deadly
journey toward breaking down the racial segregation laws in the United States.
At the beginning of these peaceful
protests the size, intensity and ferocity of opposition against them suggested
it was pure futility in the attempt of creating any real or lasting change.
History shows us that this small
beginning was in fact the catalyst for the larger major civil rights movement
that lead to the 1964 and 1965 Civil and Voting Rights Act respectively.
These humble beginnings become the
foundations of inspiration for additional legislation, used by Dr. Martin
Luther King and others to help turned the country toward a more positive path.
In the end it caused the dismantling
of blatant racism and systemic discrimination. It lead to the mechanism of hope
and change that eventually gave way to people largely not being treated and
judged by the color of their skin but rather the content of their character.
The parable also reminds us that
the nature's growth is constant and inevitable. Night and day,
while man sleeps, growth goes on. There is nothing spasmodic about God.
The great trouble about human effort is that we are never
constant. One day we take one step forward; the next day we take two
steps back. But the work of God goes on quietly; unceasingly God
unfolds his plan. We are constantly reminded to participate in the plan of God.
Thirdly, the parable tells that there
is a consummation. There is a day when the harvest comes. Harvest and judgment
go hand in hand. When we thing of this coming day three things are laid upon
us. It is a summons to patience. It is a summons to hope, and it is a summons
to preparedness.
The greatest fear of the modern man
is fear of death. We know that death is inevitable, and it comes to us at
the appointed time. But we are not ready to welcome it, rather we
shudder at the thought of it. "The only certainty life contains is
death." Wrote Patricia Briggs. A plane flies over South Beach
with a banner that reads: "Death is the only certainty in life". The
only way to be prepared is to take our daily duties seriously, nothing more;
nothing less.
If we live in patience which
cannot be defeated, in hope which cannot despair, and in preparation
which ever sees life in the light of eternity, we will always be ready
for his consummation when it comes.
Satish