But when we look at the Readings, a common theme runs through them. It is the notion of exile which in a way ties in with the Gospel where Jesus uses the parables of sowing and the mustard seed to teach about the Kingdom. The word exile sounds punitive but it is not. If we think of leaving the house, there is always a return. Exile is part of the return home and in a manner of speaking, it rhymes with the nature of life here on earth is either we are passing or we are on a pilgrimage home.
In the 1st Reading, God intends to bring the exiled Israelites from Babylon back to the land that belongs to them. God keeps His promise to the Israelites. In the 2nd Reading, St Paul carries on the theme of how to live for the Lord. Our desire should be with Christ and the longing to be with Him is a form of exile especially when we are delayed. In the Gospel, even the seed sown becomes a journey for it takes time to mature.
In all these return to the Lord, we are given an understand of that it means to make this journey. There is an element of judgement in the way St Paul frames our return to God. We walk by faith, according to him, and not by sight. Yet the faith he speaks about is not devoid of action because at the meeting with the Lord, we will be rewarded or punished for what we have done. The Protestant protest that faith alone saves is challenged here and we do not even have to refer to St James’ Catholic teaching that faith without work is dead. Indeed, walking by faith means that we will be judged by our actions.
An exile is not a curse but an invitation to faith in the Lord. The so-called mustard seed, small in its description is a good measure of faith because from such an insignificant seed, a sheltering shrub can bloom. As a shrub that towers and provides shade, it symbolises the outreach of a lively faith. Faith can never be a passive or inert. True faith, even if it remains silent, radiates a joy that is compelling and attractive.
The nature of faith, even it basically requires a personal response, is that it has social implications. A really good sign for us, as a community of believers, is the impact we have on others. Can we observe this in our RCIA programme? If as the mother church of the Diocese we attract 5 candidates for baptism, we have some soul searching to do. What is the quality of our faith? The vibrancy of faith is like a light that draws others out of darkness into the Lord’s wonderful light. If our annual number of those seeking baptism remains stagnant, it is proof that we do have a lot of miles to cover in this area.
And yet, we are filled with hope. The smallness of the seed is a reminder that no word or action of ours is ever too small. To aim big, we start small. People may not remember us for what we have done but they will remember us for how we make them feel. For example, the car wash across the road. Whenever we walk by, they will shout Assalamualaikum even though we are not Muslims. They are grateful that the Cathedral helped them out during the Pandemic. Sometimes they do lament that some of our parishioners park their cars in a way that impede their business. But otherwise, they have a positive view of the Cathedral.
Regularly, stories are amplified, rightly or wrongly, of how the Church, whether the priests or the personal have turned people away. It is a reminder to each of us that small things can have long lasting effect. An act much appreciated is how Catholics gather to pray for the deceased. Those who have lapsed have often expressed their appreciation for parishioners turning up to pray for beloved deceased. A small gesture can have an enormous effect and the smallness of the seed merely reminds that each one of us is part of the bigger picture of the Kingdom.
The Kingdom that Christ has come to establish is a mystery much like the Trinity is or the True Presence in the Eucharist is. But mysteries are not unknowable. Rather, a mystery simply denotes that God’s working is shrouded or unseen. What is known and glaring for all to see is each one of us. Like seed, we are sown by God and the best part we play is to bear fruits. Imagine how a country, a society or a community can change. Revolutions are fantastic but so too the slow and steady organic change that shapes a community.
Look at the weekly Adoration. It would be nice if we had a whole army of parishioners descending on the Cathedral each Thursday evening. We began with a humble 40 who came. Now our Thursday Adoration draws a crowd of about 100 people. This organic growth took us about two years to cultivate. Much like what we hope to achieve with our RCIA programme.
What we desire to be as a Cathedral, to be part of the Kingdom of Christ, can never be a measure of key performance indices. The pilgrimage to the Kingdom goes through Calvary because it is a path of love. Everyone knows that love is hard work but the good news is that it is not impossible. While we may not see the fruits of our labour, we can trust that God’s Kingdom will still grow because He is the Sower and the Vine-dresser and each one of us is a tender shoot He has planted on the high mountain of the new Israel, the Church.
