When I finished reading today’s Scriptures passages, the song “If we had faith like a mustard seed…” came to mind. A mustard seed is between one and 2.5 millimeters, almost the size of a grain of sand. It is extremely small and to those of us who are nearsighted, almost invisible.
Today’s Gospel gives us an overview of some parables, such as the parable of the mustard seed and the Kingdom of Heaven. I started thinking about how often we stop believing or set our faith aside, thinking we can solve everything ourselves, mistakenly falling into pride.
The first reading tells us that if we don’t follow God’s teachings, we will end up like a rotten belt. That is, pride will cause our soul to rot with ideas of superiority over others, even over God himself. It reminds me of the saying, “I can do anything.” We fall into sin and forget the teachings of Jesus. Although they were spoken and written more than two thousand years ago, they continue to endure because God is infinite; He has no beginning and no end.
The opposite of pride is humility. Jesus came into this world with great humility to save us from sin and teach us the right path to heaven. It gives us hope to hear that even if our faith is as small as a mustard seed, it will grow and develop into love for God. We simply have to ask Him.
God does not want us to end up like Judah and Jerusalem. He warns us how we will end up if we do not acknowledge our sins. He never abandons us; rather, it is humankind that turns away from God. I invite you to cast aside your pride, for God is always waiting for you with open arms at your nearest church.
Cuando terminé de leer las escrituras de hoy, se me vino a la mente la canción “Si tuviéramos fe como un granito de mostaza…” lo cual está entre uno y 2.5 milímetros, casi del tamaño de un granito de arena. Es sumamente pequeño y casi invisible se puede decir para los que somos cortos de vista.
El Evangelio de hoy nos da una reseña de algunas parábolas como la de granito de mostaza, y los Reinos de los Cielos. Me puse a pensar cuántas veces dejamos de creer o dejamos nuestra fe a un costado, pensando que podemos solucionar todo, erróneamente cayendo en la soberbia.
La primera lectura nos habla de que si no seguimos las enseñanzas de Dios, terminaremos como el cinturón podrido. Es decir, la soberbia hace que nuestra alma se pudra con ideas de superioridad ante los demás, hasta de Dios mismo. Me hace acordar del dicho “Yo aqui, yo alla, yo puedo todo”. Caemos en pecado y nos olvidemos de las enseñanzas de Jesus. Aunque fueron dichas y escritas hace más de dos mil años, siguen perdurando en el tiempo porque Dios es infinito; no tiene inicio ni fin.
El opuesto de la soberbia es la humildad. Jesus vino a este mundo con una gran humildad para salvarnos del pecado y enseñarnos el camino correcto para llegar al cielo. Nos da esperanza escuchar que aunque tengamos fe como un granito de mostaza luego irá creciendo o fermentando en el amor por Dios. Solo hay que pedírselo.
Dios no quiere que terminemos como Judá y Jerusalén. Nos advierte cómo terminaremos si no reconocemos nuestros pecados. Nunca nos abandona, más bien el ser humano es el que se aleja de Dios. Deja de lado la soberbia, que Dios te está esperando siempre con los brazos abiertos en tu iglesia más cercana.
Felix Urcia was born in Lima, Peru. He moved the U.S. to complete his college degree in Computer Science at Northern Kentucky University. He is passionate about his faith, his family, education and soccer. When he is not homeschooling and caring for his young children he enjoys personal programing projects and sports analysis. He and wife live in a small town in Western Michigan where they enjoy spending time with their five children.
Feature Image Credit: Stock Image, art.diocesan.com/stock-photo/increase-our-faith-bilingual–full-page-26582/
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