by Fr. Tommy Lane
God will go gardening! That is what God says through the prophet Ezekiel in our first reading today (Ezek 17:22-24) God will take a twig from the top of a cedar tree and plant it on a high mountain where it will become a tall tree, and all kinds of animals will live under it, and all kinds of birds will nest in it. Of course, God is talking in a parable through the prophet Ezekiel. There will be a tree that will give shelter to all. What might that be? We find the answer in the second parable in the Gospel today (Mark 4:30-32). Jesus asked what the kingdom of God is like. It is like the small mustard seed which is sown and becomes a large plant where birds can take shade in its branches. Jesus is talking about the kingdom of God. So, the twig that God promised through Ezekiel to plant in the future, is the kingdom of God preached by Jesus, and planted by Jesus during his public ministry, and since then has been growing and growing. The mustard seed is such a tiny seed, but it has the ability to grow into a huge plant very quickly. The kingdom of God might seem fragile when looking at the reaction of people to Jesus and the many who did not accept him, but from its small beginnings in Jesus’ ministry, his kingdom will grow and grow.
There is a place for everyone in Jesus’ kingdom. In the first reading, all kinds of animals were sheltering under the cedar tree and every bird in the shade of its branches, and in the Gospel, birds were dwelling in the branches in the shade of the mustard tree. There is a place for everyone in Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus does not want anyone outside of his kingdom. Jesus does not want any sheep outside the sheepfold. There is a beautiful but sad saying of Jesus which we never hear in a Sunday Gospel, “Jerusalem…how many times have I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling.” (Matt 23:37; Luke 13:34) Either in real life or in nature documentaries, we have seen mother birds gathering their chicks together under their wings. Jesus wanted Jerusalem under his wing, so to speak; he wanted Jerusalem safely, warmly and snug in his kingdom. We know what happened. They chose Barabbas instead of Jesus. Jesus wants everyone now safely in his kingdom. He “yearns” for this, to quote him. “Name of town, how many times I have yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.” The Lord is always waiting for us. The branches of his tree are always wide enough to give us shade.
Another way to say this is that Jesus wants to hold everyone in his love, under the branches of his love, under the wings of his love. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, prays that everyone come to know the love of Christ. This is how his prayer goes:
I kneel before the Father…[to ask] that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you…may have strength to comprehend…what is the width and length and height and depth…to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph 3:14-19)
Paul prayed that his listeners and readers would come to know the width and length and height and depth of Christ’s love for us. It is like a tree with very large branches with room to shelter everyone. We are all under the width and length and height and depth of Christ’s love, without exception. Regardless of skin color, or race, or social background, or family background, we are all under the width and length and height and depth of Christ’s love. Divisions are created by us, not by God. Prejudice and bias show that we do not understand that we are all under God’s love, or show that we are too stubborn to admit it. Prejudice and bias show that we do not understand or want to admit that ultimately we all come from common parents. Prejudice and bias is human thinking, not understanding or admitting that we are all nesting in the same tree created by God.
Not only does Jesus yearn to have us all in his kingdom of love, but Our Lady yearns to have us all under her mantle. There is a hymn to Our Lady, often sung at the end of Mass in Germany, expressing our desire to be under her mantle.
Mary, spread out your
mantle,
Make it an umbrella and shield for us;
Allow us to
stand under it safely,
Until all storms have passed by.
Patroness full of kindness,
Watch over us always.
Your mantle is very
broad and wide,
It covers all Christianity,
It covers the
wide, wide world,
And is a refuge and shelter for all.
Patroness full of kindness,
Watch over us always. (Gotteslob 534, my translation)
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2021
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.