Well, we’re back to “Ordinary Time.”
Vestment colours have changed to green and the first Gospel we hear is Mark’s account
of Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed. We might find ourselves saying, “I’ve heard it before just like I’ve heard other stories in
the Gospels over and over. What’s the point?” Good stories bear repeating. How often have we read the same bedtime story
to our children or grandchildren? How often have we seen the Wizard of Oz? The Gospel stories, however, are not meant to
entertain but to CHALLENGE us!
So, we’ve heard the story before, we say. Does it mean the same as the last time we heard it? If so, perhaps we haven’t grown
in our faith. Growing means moving forward. To move forward, just like the mustard seed needs water and sunshine and good
soil, we need something for our faith to grow. Last Sunday we heard what that was—the Eucharist. But we also heard Eucharist
is a way of life—not just something we receive on Sunday and forget about. If that’s the extent of our faith-life: coming to Mass
on Sunday, listening to the readings, and going home, then just like the mustard seed would die, so would our faith. We have to
change. We need to be UPGRADED.
Think about the evolution of cellphones from the 5-pound monstrosity we saw in the 1980’s to today’s iPhone 6. Now that’s
an UPGRADE! Every other week it seems we’re asked to download the latest upgrade—software designed to make it better.
Let’s focus on our faith like we focus on our phones. There’s a text message waiting for you: “It’s time for an UPGRADE.
It’s time to UPGRADE our FAITH”
Let’s discuss this as a family:
•Describe the last time or the incident where your faith was UPGRADED.
•Did you keep the latest UPGRADE or did you revert back to an older version? Why?