Do Christians truly believe in the power of the Holy Spirit within them? Do they have the courage to sow the seed, to put themselves on the line, or do they take refuge in a pastoral approach of conservation that does not allow the Kingdom of God to grow? These are the questions posed by Pope Francis during Mass celebrated at Santa Marta on Tuesday, 31 October, in which he outlined a horizon of 'hope' for every single person and for the Church as a community: that of the full realisation of the Kingdom of God, which has two pillars: the disruptive 'power' of the Spirit and the 'courage' to let this power be unleashed.

The inspiration came to the Pontiff from reading the Gospel passage (Luke 13:18-21) in which "Jesus seems to struggle a little: 'But how can I explain the Kingdom of God? What can I compare it to?'" and uses "two simple examples from everyday life": those of a mustard seed and yeast. Both are small, Francis explained, and seem harmless, "but when they enter into that movement, they have a power within them that comes out of themselves and grows, going beyond, even beyond what we can imagine." This is precisely "the mystery of the Kingdom."

The reality, in fact, is that "the grain has power within it, the yeast has power within it," and also "the power of the Kingdom of God comes from within; the strength comes from within, the growth comes from within." It is not, added the Pope with a comparison that refers to current events, "a growth such as occurs, for example, in the case of a football team when the number of fans increases and makes the team bigger," but "comes from within." This concept, he added, is taken up by Paul in his Letter to the Romans (8:18-25) in a passage "full of tension," because "this growth of the Kingdom of God from within, from the inside, is a growth in tension."

This is where the apostle explains: 'How many tensions there are in our lives and where they lead us', and says that 'the sufferings of this life are not comparable to the glory that awaits us'. But even 'waiting' itself, said the Pontiff, rereading the epistle, is not a 'peaceful' waiting: Paul speaks of 'ardent expectation'. There is an ardent expectation in these tensions." Moreover, this expectation is not only human, but "also of creation," which is "straining toward the revelation of the children of God." In fact, "creation, like us, has been subjected to transience" and proceeds in the "hope that it will be freed from the slavery of corruption." Therefore, 'it is the whole of creation that, from the existential transience it perceives, goes straight to glory, to freedom from slavery; it leads us to freedom. And this creation — and we with it, with creation — groans and suffers the pains of childbirth until today'.

The conclusion of this reasoning led the Pope to relaunch the concept of "hope": man and the whole of creation possess "the first fruits of the Spirit," that is, "the internal force that drives us forward and gives us hope" for the "fullness of the Kingdom of God." This is why the Apostle Paul writes 'that phrase which teaches us so much: "For in hope we were saved".

This, the Pontiff continued, is a 'journey', it is 'what leads us to fulfilment, the hope of escaping from this prison, from this limitation, from this slavery, from this corruption, and arriving at glory'. And it is, he added, 'a gift of the Spirit' that 'is within us and leads to this: to something great, to liberation, to great glory. And that is why Jesus says: "Within the mustard seed, that tiny grain, there is a force that unleashes unimaginable growth."

Here, then, is the reality prefigured by the parable: "Within us and in creation — because we are going together towards glory — there is a force that unleashes: there is the Holy Spirit. Who gives us hope." And, Francis added, "To live in hope is to let these forces of the Spirit go ahead and help us grow towards this fullness that awaits us in glory."

The Pope then reflected on another aspect, because the parable adds that "the mustard seed is taken and thrown away. A man took it and threw it into his garden" and that even the yeast is not left helpless: "a woman takes it and mixes it." It is clear that "if the grain is not taken and thrown, if the yeast is not taken by the woman and mixed, they remain there and that inner strength they have remains there." In the same way, Francis explained, "if we want to keep the grain for ourselves, it will be just grain. If we do not mix it with life, with the flour of life, the yeast, only the yeast will remain." It is therefore necessary to "throw, mix, that courage of hope." Which "grows, because the Kingdom of God grows from within, not through proselytism." It grows "with the power of the Holy Spirit."In this regard, the Pope recalled that "the Church has always had both the courage to take and throw away, to take and mix," and also "the fear of doing so." He noted: "So often we see that a pastoral approach of conservation is preferred" rather than "letting the Kingdom grow." When this happens, "we remain what we are, small, there," perhaps "we are safe," but "the Kingdom does not grow." Whereas "for the Kingdom to grow, we need courage: to throw the grain, to mix the yeast."

Some might object: "If I throw the grain, I lose it." But this, the Pope explained, is always the reality: "There is always some loss in sowing the Kingdom of God. If I mix the yeast, I get my hands dirty: thank God! Woe to those who preach the Kingdom of God with the illusion of not getting their hands dirty. They are museum curators: they prefer beautiful things" to "the gesture of throwing so that the force is unleashed, of mixing so that the force grows."

All this is contained in the words of Jesus and Paul proposed by the liturgy: the "tension that goes from slavery to sin" to "the fullness of glory." And the hope that "does not disappoint" even if it is "small like a grain of wheat and like yeast." Someone, the Pontiff recalled, "said that it is the humblest virtue, it is the servant. But there is the Spirit, and where there is hope there is the Holy Spirit. And it is precisely the Holy Spirit who carries forward the Kingdom of God." He concluded by suggesting that those present think again about "the mustard seed and the yeast, about throwing and mixing" and ask themselves: "How is my hope? Is it an illusion? A 'maybe'? Or do I believe that the Holy Spirit is there? Do I speak with the Holy Spirit?"

[Pope Francis, St. Martha's, in L'Osservatore Romano, 1 November 2017]