Wis. 12:13, 16-19; Rom. 8:26-27; Mt. 13:24-43
The Battle of Gaugamela took
place in 331 BC between Alexander the Great and Darius 111 of Persia.
According to historians
1,000,000 troops of Darius and 40,000 troops of Alexander met in the
Battle of Gaugamela. In the battle thousands of men lost their lives. But, the
empire that was built at the cost of thousands of lives did not last long. It
too sank into oblivion in a short span of time.
In modern times too we have
examples of many wars fought at great expense, to retain integrity of the
nation or under the pretest of establishing peace. The last Gulf war is a great
example for this. The Persian Gulf War started
with an extensive aerial bombing campaign on 17 January 1991. The coalition
flew over 100,000 sorties, dropping 88,500 tons of bombs. According to the
media the Iraqi troops numbered approximately 545,000 to 600,000 and the
Coalition committed 540,000 troops. The Cost The cost of the war was calculated
by the United States Congress to be $61.1 billion.
Today’s gospel gives a great
message that anything that should have a lasting impact should start from
within, and it should be founded on righteousness. All the readings of today provided us with a very powerful message. The First Reading
from the Book of Wisdom spoke of God's righteousness. The Second Reading from
the Letter to the Romans speaks of the intercession of the Holy Spirit on
behalf of the children of God. The last Reading from Gospel of Matthew
announces the establishment and growth of the Kingdom of God.
The phrase “as small as the
mustard seed” was common among the Jews. Jesus himself used this phrase when
he spoke of the establishment of the Kingdom of God. Inn Palestine the little grain
mustard seed did grow into a tree of 12 – 15 feet high tree. Further,
it was a common sight that such mustard trees were surrounded with a cloud
of birds, for the birds love the little black seeds of the tree, and settle on
the trees to eat them.
Jesus said that the kingdom
was like the mustard seed and its growth into a tree. The Kingdom of Heaven
starts with from the smallest beginnings, but no man knows where it will
end. In eastern language and in the Old Testament one of the commonest pictures
of a great empire is the picture of a tree, with the subject nations depicted
as birds finding rest and shelter within its branches.
It is the fact of history that
the greatest things must always begin with the smallest beginnings.
An idea which may change
the civilization begins with one man. Gandhiji was very much distressed over
the way human beings were treated by the colonial rulers, at the same time he
could not imagine a bloody battle that will cause misery for all. So his
thoughts made him settle at the idea of non-violent resistance. With this
powerful concept he was able to bring together 500 warring states, with
different customs and traditions to stand behind him to demand freedom for
India.
Ideas that revolutionize
the world begin with one man. During
the 18th and 19th centuries, scientists and the public all believed that it was
not only impossible to fly using an artificial wing, but an act of folly to
suggest that you could. This did not discourage the English gentleman scientist
George Cayley, even though his contemporaries - including his own son - were
embarrassed by his efforts. George Cayley knew how to make a plane a century
before the Wright brothers took off. But this small thought made
possible planes that super-seed even sound.
A reformation begins with
one person. One of the great stories of Christian Church is the story of
Telemachus. He was a hermit of the desert. But something told him that he
must go to Rome. He went. There was a gladiatorial game in which men fought with
each other, and crowds roared with the lust for blood. Telemachus found his way
to the games. Eighty thousand people were there to spectate men slaughtering
each other. Telemachus leaped from his seat, right into the arena, and stood
between the gladiators. He was tossed aside. He came back. The crowd was angry;
they began to stone him. Still he struggled back between the gladiators. The
prefect’s command rang out; a sword flashed and Telemachus was dead. There was
a hush and the crowd realized what had happened; a holy man lay dead.
Something happened that day to Rome, for there was never again any gladiatorial
games. By his death one man had let loose something that cleansed an empire.
Someone must begin a reformation; he need not begin it in a nation; he may
begin it in his home or where he works. If he begins it no man knows where it
will end.
Jesus had a small group of
twelve men with him. Sometimes they must have despaired. Their little band
was so small and the world was so wide. How could they ever win and change it!
Yet, with Jesus an invincible force entered the world. HG Wells wrote, “I am an
historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this
penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very centre of history.
Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.”
In this parable Jesus is
saying to his disciples that there must be no discouragement, that they must
serve and witness each in his place, that each one must be the small beginning
from which the Kingdom grows until the kingdoms of the earth finally
become the Kingdom of God.
“Though few and small and
weak your bands,
Strong in your Captain’s
strength,
Go to the conquest of all
the lands;
All must be His at length.”
The church invites us to
make our small beginnings, and to continue to build. Our work will
bear fruit.
Satish