What do we do with all the turmoil occurring all over the world? The fighting, the wars, the shootings, the issues over climate, tension in politics? Well, there’s a TV commercial that has an answer. It's from a bank called PNC (Provident National Bank) and basically tells us that they are proud of being “boring.”
The ad’s spokesperson explains: “You know what’s brilliant? Boring. Boring makes vacations happen, early retirements possible, and startups start up . . . because it’s smart, dependable, and steady, all words you want from your bank. Taking chances is for skateboarding and gas station sushi, not banking. PNC strives to be boring with your money — the pragmatic, calculated kind of boring, so that you can be happily fulfilled with your life, Thank you, boring!”
Wow, boring. Can you think of the last time you were bored? (Or maybe you are right now.) The images in the gospel are basically boring, mundane, and insignificant: planting seeds, watering, fertilizing, and weeding for what seems like an eternity before something happens.
But it’s all that “boring work” that makes a harvest possible. It’s a metaphor for faith, that all that dedicated “boring”
stuff we do is worth the investment of time and resources.
Sometimes prayer doesn’t seem productive, but we do it (hopefully regularly to remind us to be thankful and that God is
in charge)
Sometimes Mass seems boring (but you are here to receive Christ, not to become entertained)
Sometimes the boring tasks of self-care, like exercising, going to bed early, drinking plenty of water seems
mundane (but we do it to set ourselves up for health)
Sometimes visiting that elderly person seems like a waste of time, especially to you kids (but we have no idea
how powerful our presence is for them)
Sometimes you parents must sit through softball practice, or dance lessons, or soccer events (you do so not
to raise up a professional athlete, but to tell your child that they are important to you).
Sometimes lingering after Mass creates church.
Sometimes saying shaking hands or holding hands during the Lord’s Prayer is the only physical contact that a
person has received.
Sometimes bringing you whiny toddler seems like a huge risk, but it may be the sound of a little one that
comforts those of us who don’t’ have children, or the couple who no longer has little ones around.
Sometimes the little acts of kindness like holding a door for someone, or letting someone merge in front of you,
or picking up one bit of trash as you walk makes a big difference. Some people ask, “Will those things
make other people different?” It doesn’t matter, it will make YOU different.
In the movie The Hobbit, Gandalf says, "Saruman believes that it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I've found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love".
In the gospel, Jesus says that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. It’s tiny, but has the potential to grow into something huge. Maybe those little mundane, boring things you do have the power to re-energize someone; maybe that short conversation or taking the time to say “good job” is just what the person needs today.
Never doubt that your one, small kind, boring action (like a mustard seed) is all that the Kingdom of God needs to start growing, it’s like a ripple effect. If you are concerned with the direction of how the world seems to be going . . . the solution lies in you: commit yourself to goodness. You be the seed that your group is waiting for. You be the seed that this parish is waiting for. You be the seed that the world is waiting for.