June 16, 2024
One of the things my father has given me is a love for early rock ‘n’ roll music, the songs he himself listened to growing up in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. From DooWop to Motown, the Beach Boys to the British Invasion, my Dad knew all the songs. The “oldies” FM station in Philadelphia was a fixture on his car radio, and I have no doubt that my early desire to be a radio DJ was due to the all the time we spent listening to music together.
In a way, you could say that my father planted seeds many years ago that have sprouted in my adult life: not just a love for music, but more importantly, the seeds of hard work, moral courage, and a desire to provide for others. Oftentimes, these values came to me simply by watching him when he didn’t know I was.
In this weekend’s Gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples that the Kingdom of God often sprouts from the tiniest of seeds and grows in ways and places we never expect. And so, the question remains for us: what kinds of seeds are we scattering as His followers? Is the Kingdom of God growing because of the way we love and serve others, or are those seeds never seeing the light of day?
We all influence the lives of those around us, just as a father does his children. May joy, peace and a selfless love be ours for the planting, and may God use us to grow His Kingdom on earth – even when we think no one is watching.
As the title of my Dad’s favorite Beach Boys’ song claims: “Wouldn’t It Be Nice?”