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Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

     B To 11                                                                     

UNA SEMILLA DE ESPERANZA

Es muy probable que Jesús haya contado las parábolas del grano de mostaza, la de la semilla que crece silenciosamente por la noche y la parábola del sembrador, cuando el grupo de sus seguidores era pequeño y los frutos de la predicación escasos. Era el momento oportuno para sembrar esperanzas en el corazón de sus discípulos.

Hermanas y hermanos, Jesús nos invita hoy también a nosotros a sacar tres lecciones de este evangelio: Que seamos realistas, que seamos pacientes y que esperemos en sus promesas:

1.  La palabra de Dios no da fruto automáticamente. En la vida cosechamos lo que sembramos. Pasar la vida esperando un golpe de suerte es llamarada que pronto se extingue. Lo que permanece es lo que con esfuerzo se va construyendo. Es necesario cumplir las condiciones para que la semilla germine y para que se desarrolle hasta alcanzar su plenitud. Las cosas que valen la pena, no se producen gratuitamente, sino que se construyen poco a poco.

La esperanza es una virtud teologal, que toma en cuenta responsablemente el  presente, lo valora y lo enfrenta con realismo, nuestra vida es trascendente, y sabemos que  el drama humano sí será superado.

2.  La palabra de Dios dará fruto a su tiempo. Y no siempre los tiempos de Dios coinciden con los nuestros. Hay que empezar cada día con nuevos propósitos como si fuera el primero, el único y el último de nuestra vida. Nunca debemos desalentarnos. Hay que conquistar siempre nuevas metas cueste lo que cueste. Gracias a la esperanza nunca nos quedamos cruzados de brazos, siempre hay una segunda oportunidad.

3.  La palabra de Dios tiene comienzos humildes y finales ciertos. Un campesino es un hombre de esperanza porque cada año comienza a preparar sus tierras con la confianza de que ese año será mejor que los pasados. Nosotros albergamos los mismos sentimientos que aquel agricultor, porque siempre se puede ser mejor, siempre esperamos tiempos mejores. Dejemos que las cosas se desarrollen gradualmente. Los comienzos humildes e insignificantes se convertirán en obras de Dios que cambien al hombre y a la sociedad de nuestro tiempo.

Nosotros somos en la Iglesia la pequeña semilla que Cristo ha querido sembrar; y a través de nosotros tendrá que llegar la gracia de la salvación a todos los hombres y mujeres que viven a nuestro lado. Decía la madre Teresa de Calcuta: "No intentes acciones espectaculares. Lo que importa es la entrega diaria de ti mismo".

Pidamos a Dios que no perdamos ánimo en los momentos de crisis, aunque no veamos los frutos; que no nos dejemos seducir por los resultados puramente materiales; que en todo momento sintamos la cercanía y la solidaridad de la Iglesia, presente en todos los rincones de la tierra; y sobre todo, que sepamos descubrir aún en las pequeñas acciones de nuestra vida, la mano de Dios. Que así sea.

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)              

A SEED OF HOPE
 

It is quite likely that Jesus told the parables of the mustard seed and the parable of the seed that grows silently in the night and the parable of the sower, when the group of his followers was small and the fruits of his preaching were few and far between. It was the opportune moment for sowing hope in the hearts of his disciples.

Sisters and brothers:

Jesus also invites us today to draw three lessons from this Gospel: that we be realists, that we be patient, and that we hope in his promises:

1. The word of God does not bear fruit automatically. In life we reap what we sow. Going through life waiting for a stroke of luck is similar to that flame that quickly dies out. What remains is that which one toiling builds up. It is necessary that we create the conditions needed so that the seed takes root and grows until it reaches its fullness. Things that are worthwhile don't come about just like that; rather they are built little by little.

Hope is a theological virtue, which responsibly takes the present into account and it values it and faces it with realism. Our life is transcendent and we know that our human drama will certainly be overcome.

2. The word of God will bear fruit at its proper time. And God's timing does not always coincide with ours. We have to begin each day with new goals as if each were the first, the only, and the last day of our lives. We should never be downhearted. We always have to conquer new goals no matter what it may cost us. Thanks to our hope we never remain fixed in a spot with our arms crossed; there is always a second chance.

3. The word of God has humble beginnings and sure ends. A farmer is a man of hope because year after year he begins preparing his land confident that this year will be better than the previous ones. We have the same sentiments as that farmer, because we can always be better, we always hope for better times. Let us allow things to develop gradually. Humble and insignificant beginnings will turn into works of God which change people and our contemporary society.

In the Church we are that small seed that Christ wanted to sow; through us grace and salvation will have to reach all those men and women who live around us. Mother Teresa of Calcutta used to say: "Don't try to do spectacular things. What is most important is your daily gift of self."

Let us ask God not to become disheartened in moments of crisis, even though we do not see the fruits; let us not allow ourselves to become seduced by purely material results; may we always feel the nearness and the solidarity of the Church, present in every corner of the earth; and above all, may we learn to discover the hand of God, even in the small actions of our lives. Amen.

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