Jesus compares God’s kingdom to a mustard seed which is the smallest of all the seeds but becomes the largest of plants once sown and springs up

January 29, 2016

Friday of the Third Week of Ordinary Time

Saint of the Day: Saint Gildas the Wise, Abbot (6th Century)

Reading 1

1At the turn of the year, when kings go out on campaign, David sent out Joab along with his officers and the army of Israel, and they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. David, however, remained in Jerusalem.[1]

2One evening David rose from his siesta and strolled about on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful. 3David had inquiries made about the woman and was told, “She is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, and wife of Joab’s armor bearer Uriah the Hittite.”

4aThen David sent messengers and took her. When she came to him, he had relations with her. She then returned to her house. 5But the woman had conceived, and sent the information to David, “I am with child.”

6David therefore sent a message to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. 7When he came, David questioned him about Joab, the soldiers,

and how the war was going, and Uriah answered that all was well.

8David then said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and bathe your feet.” Uriah left the palace, and a portion was sent out after him from the king’s table. 9But Uriah slept at the entrance of the royal palace with the other officers of his lord, and did not go down to his own house.

10aDavid was told that Uriah had not gone home. On the day following, 13David summoned him, and he ate and drank with David, who made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his bed among his lord’s servants, and did not go down to his home.

14The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab which he sent by Uriah. 15In it he directed: “Place Uriah up front, where the fighting is fierce. Then pull back and leave him to be struck down dead.”

16So while Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew the defenders were strong. 17When the men of the city made a sortie against Joab,

some officers of David’s army fell, and among them Uriah the Hittite died.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms 51:3-4, 5-6a, 6bcd-7, 10-11

R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

3Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. 4Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

5For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always: 6a“Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.”

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

6bI have done such evil in your sight 6cthat you are just in your sentence,

6dblameless when you condemn. True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

10Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness; the bones you have crushed shall rejoice. 11Turn away your face from my sins, and blot out all my guilt.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Alleluia see Matthew 11:25

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;

you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mark 4:26-34

26Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land[2] 27and would sleep and rise night and day

and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.

28Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.”

30He said, “To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? 31It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. 32But 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.”[3]

33With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. 34Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

Notes on Readings:

[1] 2 Samuel 11:1 - At the turn of the year: in the spring.

[2] Mark 4:26-29 - Only Mark records the parable of the seed's growth. Sower and harvester are the same. The emphasis is on the power of the seed to grow of itself without human intervention (Mark 4:27). Mysteriously it produces blade and ear and full grain (Mark 4;28). Thus the kingdom of God initiated by Jesus in proclaiming the word develops quietly yet powerfully until it is fully established by Him at the final judgment (Mark 4;29 ; compare with Revelation 14:15.

[3] Mark 4:32 - The universality of the kingdom of God is indicated here; compare with Ezekiel 17:23; 31:6; Daniel 4:17-19.