Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
11th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Cycle B)
Readings:
Ezekiel 17:22-24
Psalm 92:2-3, 13-16
2 Corinthians 5:6-10
Mark 4:26-34
Abbreviations: NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), RSVCE (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments; therefore, we read and relive the events of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that our Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of the Readings: The Kingdom of Jesus Christ is
the Fruit of the Tree of Hope and Life
In the First Reading, God's 6th-century-BC
prophet Ezekiel gave a cryptic message of hope to the Jews living in exile in
Babylon. He had a prophetic vision and told a parable of the day Yahweh planted
a "tender shoot" on a high mountain in Israel. God destined the shoot to become
a mighty tree of hope, bearing fruit and offering sanctuary to every kind of
bird and winged creature. Centuries later, the faithful came to recognize that the
fulfillment of Ezekiel's vision was the wooden tree of the Cross of Jesus
Christ, the tree of hope raised high on a mountain and "planted" near the
summit of Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem. The people of every nation under heaven came
to receive the gift of salvation under the shadow of the Cross, to find shelter
in Christ's New Covenant Kingdom of the Church, and to bear the fruit of
righteousness in service to the Lord.
In the Responsorial Psalm, the psalmist compares men and women who live in righteousness to healthy trees. The righteous flourish because they receive the spiritual nourishment they need as they stand in God's presence in the Liturgy of worship. Like healthy trees, the faithful bear the "fruit" of righteousness even in old age because God never fails to provide for the spiritual health of His covenant children.
In today's Second Reading, Paul's message is about the tension between the present and the future. He reminds Christians that the world is not our home, and we are like those living in exile. He tells Christians to persevere in faith courageously. The day will come when everyone will face the Lord's divine judgment. For the faithful, our hope, after a just judgment, is our reunion with the Lord Jesus when He welcomes us as citizens of His heavenly Kingdom.
In the Gospel Reading, Jesus told two parables to explain the growth of His Kingdom: the Parable of the Seed that Grows Itself (only found in Mark's Gospel) and the Parable of the Mustard Seed. From a small beginning, Jesus's Kingdom of the Universal Church grew to cover the earth, providing shelter, refuge, and comfort to people from all nations and allowing them to participate in God's Divine Plan for humanity. We realize that the Cross of Jesus Christ is the true Tree of Life prefigured by the life-giving tree in the sanctuary of the Garden of Eden. What began as a seed of hope planted by the merits of Christ Jesus on the altar of the Cross has become Jesus's sanctuary of the Kingdom of the Universal Church that offers refuge and the hope of a future beyond the earth-bound life in His heavenly Kingdom.
Concerning the part God offers faithful Christians to fulfill in His divine plan, the Church's Catechism teaches: "God is the sovereign master of his plan. But to carry it out, he also makes use of his creatures' cooperation. This use is not a sign of weakness but rather a token of almighty God's greatness and goodness. For God grants his creatures not only their existence, but also the dignity of acting on their own, of being causes and principles for each other, and thus cooperation in the accomplishment of his plan" (CCC 306).
The First Reading Ezekiel 17:22-24 ~ The Parable of the
Shoot from the Cedar Tree
22 Thus says the Lord God: 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; 23 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. 24 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.
In 2 Samuel 7:8-29, God made an unconditional and eternal covenant with His servant David. He promised David that his throne and kingdom would endure forever (also, see 2 Sam 23:5; 1 Kng 2:4; 2 Chr 13:5; Sir 45:25). But the Davidic kings became arrogant and took the promise of David's eternal covenant to mean there was no limit to their exercise of royal power. They began to think of themselves as the people's masters rather than God's servants. They forgot God's warning to David that He would chastise the Davidic heirs when they needed correction like a human father disciplines his son (2 Sam 7:14). That chastisement began after Solomon's excesses when God took ten tribes away from Solomon's Davidic heir to humble the House of David (1 Kng 11:11-13; 12:31-39). God did this to punish the line of David, but not forever (1 Kng 11:39). The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel foretold that God would restore Israel under a Messianic king from the Davidic line. The promised Davidic king would restore the withered kingdom to bloom again in righteousness (i.e., Is 9:1-6; 11:1-5; Jer 23:5-6; Ezek 34:23-24; 37:24-28). Jesus the Messiah (meaning of the Greek word Christos), son of David/Son of God, fulfilled the promise of the eternal Davidic Covenant in His Kingdom of the Universal (Catholic) Church (Mt 1:1, 16; Lk 1:31-32).
The symbolic imagery in Ezekiel's parable:
In Ezekiel's Chapter 17 prophecy, the "cedar tree" is a symbolic image of the House of David. The cedar of Lebanon was the greatest of the trees that grew in the region, just as the House of David was the greatest of kingdoms since it possessed an eternal and unconditional covenant with Yahweh. From the "tree" of the House of David, God would take "a tender shoot" from its topmost branches, referring to the direct Davidic line (Ezek 17:22). The prophet Isaiah gave the same hopeful message when he prophesied the blossoming of a branch/shoot from the House of David: But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom (Is 11:1; Jesse was King David's father). Both prophecies refer to the promised Redeemer-Messiah from the lineage of the great King David. Jesus of Nazareth fulfills both prophecies as the Angel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation: "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the House of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom, there will be no end" (Lk 1:31-33).
For the covenant people, Ezekiel's prophecy proved that God had not forgotten His eternal covenant with the House of David. Jesus, the Davidic Messiah, is the "tender shoot" "planted" on the "high and lofty mountain" of Moriah in the city of Jerusalem, where the wood of the Cross became a "tree of hope." The Cross of Jesus Christ is not a sign of death but life that "puts forth branches and bears fruit." The "fruit" the Cross bears is the gift of salvation for all peoples of the earth who, like "birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it, every winged thing in the shade of its boughs" (Ezek 17:23).
In verse 23, the imagery turns from the wood of a tree, a symbol of Jesus's Cross, to the Kingdom of the Church that will become a refuge and sanctuary for people from every nation on earth. The reference to a shelter for "all the birds of the air" recalls:
Ezekiel's prophecy is that the Kingdom of the Messiah will be a new creation and a greater kingdom than the empire ruled by the Babylonian king (Rev 21:1-5).
The prophet Daniel had a vision of the final 5th and everlasting kingdom. He prophesied: the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed or delivered up to another people; rather, it shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and put an end to them, and it shall stand forever (Dan 2:44). The kingdom won by the "tree" of the Cross is the 5th kingdom of Daniel's vision. It is the everlasting Davidic Kingdom founded by Jesus Christ. His Kingdom of the Church has sovereignty and dominion over the entire earth (Dan 7:14). And Jesus invites the people from every nation to seek shelter within the arms of His Bride, the Church. All who thrive within the "branches" of her faith communities will bear the "fruits" of righteousness in service to the Davidic Messiah. Jesus is the Son of David and the Son of God, as the angel told Mary at the Annunciation: He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and e will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end (Lk 1:32-33).
Responsorial Psalm 92:2-3, 13-16 ~ Give Thanks to the Lord
The response is: "Lord, it is good to give thanks to
you."
2 It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praise
to your name, Most High, 3 to proclaim your kindness at dawn and your
faithfulness throughout the night.
Response:
13 The just one shall flourish like the palm tree, like a
cedar of Lebanon shall he grow. 14 They that are planted in the house of the
LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.
Response:
15 They shall bear fruit even in old age; vigorous and
sturdy shall they be, 16 declaring how just is the LORD, my rock, in whom there
is no wrong.
Response:
According to the title in verse 1, "A Psalm: a song for the Sabbath," Psalm 92 is a thanksgiving psalm to be recited or sung at the liturgical worship service on the Jewish Sabbath. Certain psalms were recited or sung each day of the week by the Levitical choir during the Temple liturgy, and this psalm was part of the Sabbath liturgy (Mishnah: Tamid, 7.4). Psalm 92 contains seven repetitions of the Divine Name, Yahweh. Therefore, the seven-time repetition of the Divine Name suggests a link with the seventh day of creation (Gen 2:1-3) and its appropriate use on the Jewish Sabbath in recounting the joy of the righteous worshipping in the Temple of the Lord (verse 13).
The psalmist praises God in the Liturgy of the Temple's morning and evening (our afternoon) Tamid worship services (Ex 29:38-42). To understand the significance of the perpetual, twice-daily Tamid sacrifice, see "Jesus and the Mystery of the Tamid Sacrifice" at agapebiblestudy.com or www.amazon.com). The sacrifices of the morning service burned continually on the altar during the day, and the sacrifices of the evening/afternoon liturgical service burned on the sacrificial altar throughout the night (verse 3). Comparing the righteous to healthy trees, the psalmist says because they worship in the Temple of Yahweh, they flourish, receiving the spiritual nourishment they need from standing in the presence of God (in Temple worship, the people stood to pray).
The cedars of Lebanon in verse 13 were known for their beauty and strength. The builders of the Jerusalem Temple and Solomon's palace used cedars in their construction (1 Kng 6:9-7, 15-18; 7:1-2). Mentioning cedars in verse 13 provides a segway into the next verse, expressing the desire of the psalmist to remain in the Temple, staying near God. Like healthy trees, the righteous bear the "fruit" of righteousness even in old age because God never fails the upright (verses 15-16).
This psalm recalls the prophet Simeon, an elderly, righteous man devoted to the Temple Liturgy of worship: It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord (Lk 2:26). God rewarded Simeon's devotion when the Holy Spirit sent him to the Temple on the day Joseph and Mary brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, referring to His dedication as a "firstborn" son (Lk 2:27; Ex 13:2, 12). Simeon took baby Jesus in his arms, blessed God, and said: for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel" (Lk 2:30-32).
The Second Reading 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 ~ Have Courage as
you Prepare to Join the Lord
6 We are always courageous, although we know that while
we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith,
not by sight. 8 Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and
go home to the Lord. 9 Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at
home or away. 10 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.
St. Paul reminds Christians that the world is not our home, and our bodies are only temporal vessels since our destiny is to be united with Jesus in Heaven. And yet, while we are still part of this earthly existence, we must strive to please Christ in our words and deeds. The day will come when Jesus judges our actions for good or evil (Mt 25:31-46).
Vatican II advises us to consider our obligations to the earthly Jerusalem of the Church, which will lead to our citizenship in the heavenly Jerusalem, our future home. In Gaudium et spes, the Council urged: "Christians, as citizens of both cities, to perform their duties faithfully in the spirit of the Gospel. It is a mistake to think that, because we have here no lasting city, but seek the city which is to come (cf. Heb 13:14), we are entitled to shirk our responsibilities; this is to forget that, by our faith, we are bound all the more to fulfill these responsibilities according to the vocation of each one (cf. 2 Thess 3:6-13; Eph 4:28). [...]. The Christian who shirks his temporal duties shirks his duties toward his neighbor, neglects God himself and endangers his eternal salvation" (Gaudium et spes, 43).
In verse 7, Paul referred to the faith that guides us and keeps us on the right path as we progress toward eternal life. Verse 10 addresses the reward or punishment given at the Particular/Individual Judgment and ratified at the Final or Last Judgment at the end of time (CCC 1021-22 and 1030-32). Judgment will be based on the person's merits gained during their life on earth, as Jesus described His description of the Last Judgment in Matthew 25:31-46. St. Paul encourages us to do everything we can in this life to please the Lord God, preparing for our meeting with Him in the next.
The Gospel of Mark 4:26-34 ~ The Parables of the Seed
that Grows Itself and the Mustard Seed
Introduction to the parables: 26 He (Jesus) said, "This
is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on
the land 27 and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed
would sprout and grow, he knows not how. 28 Of its own accord, the land yields
fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 And
when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has
come." 30 He said, "To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what
parable can we use for it? 31 It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown
in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. 32 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." 33 With many
such parables, he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. 34
Without parables, he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples, he
explained everything in private.
The Parable of the Seed that Grows Itself in verses 26-29, is one of Jesus's "Kingdom Parables" that describe His Kingdom of the Church. There are seven "Kingdom Parables" in Matthew Chapter 13:
See the commentary on these parables in the Agape Bible study on the Gospel of Matthew, Lesson 16.
The "Kingdom Parable" of the "Seed that Grows Itself" only appears in Mark's Gospel, but St. James may refer to it in James 5:7-9. The parable's focus is the seed's power to sprout and grow "of its own accord" after the sower has liberally scattered it across his field. It is a mystery to the farmer how this happens. He knows that he cannot control the growing process. In this modern age, scientists can provide chemicals to increase the yield and describe what happens in seed germination and growth, but the cause of germination and growth remains a mystery even today.
Jesus lists three stages of growth in the parable:
When the grain is fully developed, it is time for the harvest, and the farmer is ready with his sickle to reap the crop. In the Bible, "the harvest" is a symbolic image for judgment, especially concerning the Last or Final Judgment (see Joel 4:13; Mt 13:39-43; Rev 14:14-15). All human beings of every age of humanity will face two judgments in the eschatological "harvest" of souls. When one dies, there is an Individual or Particular Judgment where everyone is judged according to their works and faith (Mt 16:26; Lk 16:22; 2 Cor 5:8; Phil 1:23; Heb 9:27; 12:23; CCC 1021-22). However, there is also a Last or Final Judgment that all humanity will receive at the end of time when Christ will return in glory "to judge the living and the dead" (Apostles' Creed and Nicene Creed; Mt 25:31-46; Jn 5:28-29; Acts 12:15; 1 Thes 4:16; 2 Thes 1:8-10; CCC 681, 1038-41).
| Symbolism in the Parable of the Seed that Grows Itself | |
| The land | The Kingdom of God (the Church). |
| The seed | The word of God "planted" in the fertile hearts of the children of the Kingdom. |
| The fruit of the seed | The good works of Christians that will develop and bear "fruit" through the process of spiritual growth and maturity. |
| The harvest | The gathering of souls into God's "storehouse" of Heaven after applying the "sickle" of divine judgment. |
| Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2014 | |
The growth of the Kingdom of God is a divine act that defies human understanding. St. Paul will refer to this supernatural phenomenon when he writes about his work and the work of a fellow laborer for the Gospel: I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth (1 Cor 3:6-7).
The allusion in the parable to the Kingdom of God (verses 30-34) becoming so large that birds of the sky come to dwell in the shade of its branches is probably a reference to the prophet Ezekiel's Parable of the Cedar Tree in the First Reading (Ezek 17:23). The imagery also recalls the birds of the sky who sought salvation in Noah's Ark (Gen 7:13-14) and King Nebuchadnezzar's dream in which he saw a huge tree that sheltered "the birds of the sky" and other animals (Dan 4:7-9). In Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Daniel interpreted the tree and the animals to represent Nebuchadnezzar's vast kingdom and the many different peoples over whom he ruled (Dan 2:17-19). The comparison is to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ that will offer the salvation of a new creation and become a greater kingdom than the Babylonians (see Dan 9:17-19).
| Symbolism in the Parable of the Mustard Seed | |
| The tiny mustard seed | The small beginnings of the Kingdom (Church) of Jesus Christ. |
| The mustard seed planted in the earth | Jesus plants the seed of the Gospel in the hearts of all who accept His message. |
| The amazing growth of the mustard plant | The tremendous growth of the Kingdom of the Church nurtured by the Holy Spirit. |
| The large branches and the creatures that dwell in its shade | The spread of the Church across the face of the earth, forming many communities (branches) and calling all men and women of every ethnicity to salvation in Christ Jesus. |
| Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2014 | |
Jesus's Kingdom is the universal (meaning of the word "Catholic) Church that gives refuge and comfort to the people of all the earth's nations who seek Jesus's promise of salvation. Through the Kingdom of the Church, Jesus brought about God's Divine Plan of salvation for humanity. For all people who seek His gift of liberation from sin and death, Jesus offers His sacrifice on the "tree" of the altar of the Cross. The Cross is the true "Tree of Life" and the "Tree of Hope" for all people. We thrive when we live within the fullness of faith in the shadow of the Cross in the sheltering "branches" of the Church's faith communities. We live in the Spirit of Truth and bear the fruit of righteousness that is pleasing to God in our unselfish love of God and neighbor. We must remember what St. Paul taught: The message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor 1:18). Do not miss the significant present tense in St. Paul's message, "being saved." Never forget that salvation is an ongoing process!
Catechism References (* indicates Scripture quoted or
paraphrased in the citation):
2 Corinthians 5:6 (CCC 769*);
5:7 (CCC 164);
5:8 (CCC 1005, 1021*, 1681)
Announcing the Kingdom of God (CCC 543*, 544*, 545*, *546)
The Kingdom grows by hearing the Word (CCC 2653*, 2654*, 2660*, 2716)
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2015; revised 2024 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.