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

The cue came to the Pontiff from the reading of the Gospel passage (Luke 13:18-21) in which "it seems that Jesus struggles a bit: 'But how can I explain the Kingdom of God? To what can I compare it?"" and uses "two simple examples from everyday life": those of the mustard seed and the yeast. They are, Francis explained, both small, they seem harmless, "but when they enter into that movement, they have within them a power that comes out of themselves and grows, it goes beyond, even beyond what can be imagined". Precisely 'this is the mystery of the Kingdom'.

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

So the apostle explains: "How many tensions are there 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 the 'waiting' itself, said the Pontiff rereading the epistle, is not a 'quiet' waiting: Paul speaks 'of ardent expectation. There is an ardent expectation in these tensions'. Moreover, this expectation is not only of man, but "also of creation" which is "stretched out towards the revelation of the sons of God". In fact, "creation too, like us, has been subjected to transience" and proceeds in the "hope that it will be freed from the bondage of corruption". Therefore, "it is the whole creation that from the existential transience it perceives, goes right 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 to this day'.

The conclusion of this reasoning led the Pope to relaunch the concept of 'hope': man and the whole creation possess 'the firstfruits of the Spirit', that is, 'the internal force that carries us forward and gives us hope' of the 'fullness of the Kingdom of God'. That is why the Apostle Paul wrote "that phrase that teaches us so much: 'For in hope we have been saved'".

It, the Pontiff continued, is a 'path', it is 'that which leads us to fullness, the hope of coming out of this prison, out of this limitation, out of this slavery, out of 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 a great thing, to a liberation, to a great glory. And that is why Jesus says: 'Inside the mustard seed, that tiny grain, there is a power that unleashes unimaginable growth'".

Here then is the reality foreshadowed 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. That gives us hope'. And, Francis added, 'To live in hope is to let these forces of the Spirit go forth and help us grow towards this fullness that awaits us in glory'.

Next, the Pontiff's reflection looked at another aspect, for in the parable it is added that 'the mustard seed is taken and thrown. A man took it and threw it into the garden' and that even the leaven is not left unturned: 'a woman takes and mixes'. That is, 'if the grain is not taken and thrown, if the leaven 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 one grain. If we do not mix with life, with the flour of life, the yeast, only the yeast will remain'. It is therefore necessary to 'throw, to mix, that courage of hope'. Which "grows, because the Kingdom of God grows from within, not by 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 to throw, to take and to mix', and also 'the fear of doing so'. And he noted: "Many times we see that we prefer a pastoral of conservation" rather than "letting the Kingdom grow". When this happens 'we remain what we are, little ones, there', perhaps 'we stay safe', but 'the Kingdom does not grow'. Whereas "for the Kingdom to grow it takes courage: to cast the grain, to stir the yeast".

Someone might object: 'If I throw the grain, I lose it'. But this, the Pope explained, is the reality of always: '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. These are museum-keepers: they prefer beautiful things" to "the act of throwing so that force may break out, of stirring so that force may grow".

All this is encapsulated in the words of Jesus and Paul proposed by the liturgy: the "tension that goes from the slavery of sin" to the "fullness of glory". And the hope that 'does not disappoint' even if it is 'as small as wheat and as leaven'. Someone, the Pontiff recalled, 'said that it is the most humble virtue, it is the servant. But there is the Spirit, and where there is hope there is the Holy Spirit. And it is the Holy Spirit who brings forth the Kingdom of God'. And he concluded by suggesting to those present to think back to 'the mustard seed and the yeast, the tossing and the stirring' and to ask themselves: 'How is it, my hope? Is it an illusion? A 'maybe'? Or do I believe, that there is the Holy Spirit in there? Do I speak with the Holy Spirit?"

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 31 October 2017]