There is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear

Also He said to them, "Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed?  Is it not to be set on a lampstand?  For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."  Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear.  With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." 

And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.  For the earth yields crops by itself:  first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.  But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

Then He said, "To what shall we liken the kingdom of God?  Or with what parable shall we picture it?  It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade." 

And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.  But without a parable He did not speak to them.  And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.

- Mark 4:21-34

 In yesterday's reading, we were given the Parable of the Sower.   Once again Jesus began to teach by the sea.  And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:  "Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth, and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.  And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that  'Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.'"  And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.  When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, an the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."

 Also He said to them, "Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed?  Is it not to be set on a lampstand?  For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."   My study bible tells us that "Christ discloses truth, He does not hide it.  His truth is like light, for it reveals all mysteries and exposes all secrets.  That which is hidden is the Gospel, the presence of the Kingdom of God.  The Gospel, at first a mystery explained only to the disciples, will be revealed to all (Luke 8:16-18).  Everything done in secret will ultimately be revealed (Luke 12:1-3)."  We are used to hearing these words here (the analogy of the lamp and the lampstand) in terms of living as persons who will reflect the light of Christ.  But coming after the Parable of the Sower, they illuminate the nature of the Kingdom among us, the mystery He teaches.

 Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear.  With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."   My study bible suggests here that Jesus is giving us a call to attentive listening and discriminating response; these are both required for understanding and experiencing the truth of Christ.  "We must not only hear but hear properly.  More will be given to those who respond to Jesus with open hearts;  they will grow in understanding.  'Do the good you know, and what you do not know will be revealed to you' (St. Mark the Ascetic, 6th century.'"   Here, as in the Sermon on the Mount, and in continuation of the themes in yesterday's Parable of the Sower, we are called to cultivate our own capacity for listening and truly hearing; the measurement becomes one of our true desire to "grasp" this Kingdom and live it, the mystery He reveals in parables.  As with the parable and the seeds, my study bible says that "Satan, not God, takes away the Word that was sown in hearts too hard to receive it.  But to those who are able to receive His Word, God gives even more."

And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.  For the earth yields crops by itself:  first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.  But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."  A note says, "The kingdom of God is like the seed which by the power of God produces a harvest.  This is an image of the mysterious working of the Kingdom -- beyond human measure and expectations.  This parable appears only in Mark." 

Then He said, "To what shall we liken the kingdom of God?  Or with what parable shall we picture it?  It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade."   My study bible says, "The parable of the mustard seed contrasts humble beginnings with a bountiful crop.  Jesus begins with poor fishermen, but in a few years the Christian faith will spread throughout the Roman Empire and beyond.  The work of God may involve apparently insignificant people and circumstances, but the possibilities are limitless because of God's power.  That being said, Jesus' followers must always be prepared for the 'long haul.'  Jewish expectations in Jesus' day were for the Kingdom to appear suddenly and fully.  But God's Kingdom takes time to grow and mature through adversity, and when it is fully formed it will be even greater than expected."

And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.  But without a parable He did not speak to them.  And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.  We note that the parables are given as they were able to hear it.  Not everyone is receptive.  But my study bible suggests to us that people are accountable even for what they do not understand.  We play a role in turning to God in our own hearts.  Jesus taught in many ways, but Mark's Gospel suggests to us here that parables became a hallmark of ministry.  The many people that now come to Him in large crowds indicate a kind of a change; those who truly desire to hear are those who will respond to the parables.

It's interesting to think about the parables as keys to a mystery that isn't going to be just handed to us.  Rather, the very existence of the parables as Jesus' teaching tool indicates we're responsible for some of our hearing, and for how we hear.  Jesus repeatedly uses the phrase from Isaiah:  "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  In yesterday's reading, He gave yet another quotation from Isaiah that puts an even more stark interpretation on these words:  He taught in parables so that, "Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.'"  Another translation of these verses (Isaiah 6:9-10) reads, "Go, tell these people, 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand;  Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’  Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed." The revelation of this Kingdom is a healing mystery -- on many levels of who we are as human beings.  Repentance, as indicated here, has a great deal to do with this healing.  The parables, therefore, invite us in, to turn and turn again toward God, and to enter into and participate in this mystery more deeply.  We're to become a part of it and it a part of us.  In this context, Jesus' words make sense, "Take heed what you hear.  With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."   This is something that becomes a part of us.  It is in the light of all this that we have to think about my study bible's admonition that "people are accountable even for what they do not understand."  Jesus' parables give us examples of growth, mysterious and great, happening in so many different ways -- as in the mustard seed that grows to a sturdy shrub so that birds take shelter, as in the crops that grow while we sleep -- but they also call us to our part:  attentive listening, a true desire to grow, the willfulness to cultivate our lives as good ground for a harvest, doing our best to facilitate the good fruits that bear witness of the presence of this Kingdom.  Let us consider, then, what it is to cultivate good attentive listening, the ability to truly hear, to turn back, to be healed, to grow in this Kingdom, so that "more will be given to us."  This is a good time, the middle of Lent, to do that.  How do you cultivate your mindfulness of God's Kingdom, God's presence?  What does it take to bear the harvest of His seeds?   How do you listen and hear?