PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED
         In the gospel today, Jesus makes use of ordinary things, like the mustard seed, to teach the extraordinary ways of the faith.
         Like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds, the seed of faith begins in us in small ways. Think about the faith that was handed to us when we were baptized, especially for those of us baptized as a baby. That faith was “small” and fragile. But, through the guidance and Christian witnessing of other people, especially learning from our parents the ways of faith, we nurtured the seed of faith and it kept on growing. We have watered the seed of faith through the sacraments, prayer life, acts of charity and growing in virtues and gospel values. These are just some of the “fertilizers” that are necessary to keep the tree of faith alive and strong.
     The gospel mentions that once the mustard seed becomes a full grown tree the birds of the air take refuge in it. Same thing happens with our tree of faith. We grow in faith not just for our own salvation, but for other people to find “refuge” in us, for us to become a conduit of the Gospel in bringing other people to a deeper and profounder relationship with God. The bigger the tree is, the more “birds” it can accommodate. I have met people, sometimes younger than I, whose tree of faith is bigger than my own tree. It doesn’t always follow that the longer we have been baptized the bigger our tree of faith is. Some trees are stunted in their growth and, much worse, some trees could be toxic to other people. I hope we aren’t that kind of tree. The kind of tree we are depends on how serious, diligent and persevering we are in taking care of our tree of faith. How is your tree of faith growing? Can it accommodate a large number of people to take refuge in it? – Fr. Cary