Gospel: Mark 4: 26-34
The similes Jesus provides in describing the kingdom of God should dispel any equating the kingdom with the Church. The first simile in today's Gospel portion highlights the fact that the kingdom is the entire earth itself - that God has planted the seeds of the word in all of creation - and that the growth of this seed in all parts of the earth is a great mystery of divine indwelling.
But if we are to see the Church as some part of the kingdom, then the mustard tree should be this metaphor. The tiny seed of faith grows into a large tree that is open to all and large enough to provide for many. Are our communities large enough in heart to welcome all, to provide a place of shelter and nourishment for all? Or are they instead exclusive clubs and cliques designed only for a few?
In our mistake to equate the kingdom of God with the Church we make a second mistake in using the metrics of worldly kingdoms in looking at the kingdom of God: population and attendance numbers, vocation numbers, sacramental participation, and the all-important income line. In none of Jesus' similes on the kingdom are such metrics part of his equation. The Church Jesus established is not a bureaucratic institution but a movement of mercy, healing, and loving deeds in the world, for that is the work of God in the world.
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