The tiny mustard seed can be compared to the Church at her very conception.  Eleven men  (down from the original twelve because one of them betrayed their master and committed suicide), fearful and weak, their small number of followers scattering after the death of their leader.  Hardly the start of a great movement, by our human standards.  But with the help of the Holy Spirit, that tiniest of seeds has grown into the largest of plants.  At Pentecost (the feast we celebrated just a few short weeks ago), Peter preached and three thousand were converted.  The story of the Church from that day till this has been success after success.  Oh yes, there have been failings and set-backs, but looked at overall, the Church has produced so much growth, and so many fruits.  By the end of the Acts of the Apostles the faith had spread from Judea all the way to Rome, preached by Peter and Paul.  Meanwhile the Apostle Thomas was bringing the faith to far away India.  

Today, the Church has spread the Gospel to all corners of the globe.  Over a billion people today identify themselves as Catholic, and the number keeps growing.  The Church created the first hospitals, the first universities, inspired the sciences, reigned in unjust rulers and created law, order, justice and charity in so many lands.  Who would have believed all this possible, looking only at the small seed that Christ planted 2000 years ago?

But the parable of the mustard seed applies not only to the Church at large, but to each individual Christian.  We never know what can grow from our acts of faith.  A little prayer said in earnest, five minutes devoted to reading the Scriptures, or the decision to get up, get dressed, and head to Mass today, instead of sleeping in or watching tv — these small seeds can grow and blossom and become the roots of great faith in our lives.  Furthermore we never know the effects that the seeds we plant will have on others.  I see this clearly as a campus minister — it is one of the best aspects of this job.  Students will come up to me and mention some little thing I said to them years ago, something which I don't even recall saying, that had a great impact on their faith.  I had planted a seed, without even realizing it.  But it found good soil in the heart of that person, the Holy Spirit cultivated it, and it grew into something beautiful.  How many seeds do we plant without even being aware of what we do?

This is why it is important to be faithful in all things, great and small.  Because, where our faith is concerned, there really is no such thing as a "small thing."  There are only seeds, waiting to grow.

God bless!

Matt

Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister

  

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