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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
Yesterday, we read that once again Jesus began to teach by the sea. And again He 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, and 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." 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." The seed which is planted within will be revealed like light from a lampstand, shining to others. My study bible tells us that here Jesus calls us to attentive listening and discriminating response. We must not only hear, but hear properly. More will be given to those who respond to Christ with open hearts; they will grow in understanding. It quotes St. Mark the Ascetic: "Do the good you know, and what you do not know will be revealed to you." I think it's also important to consider and "look at" what we think we "hear" (as the Greek in the text says literally). How do we present it? Are we quick to judge when we ourselves are imperfect? Good judgment must go with all things.
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." Here is a parable that occurs only in Mark, and it's so beautifully illustrative of this mysterious work of the kingdom at work in us, and among us. My study bible says here that the kingdom refers to the whole span of God's dispensation plan of salvation. The man is Christ, and the seed is the gospel. His sleep indicates Christ's death, from which He will rise. That the man does not know how the seed grows tells us that Christ doesn't manipulate man's response to the gospel: each person is free to receive it and to let it grow in his own heart. The harvest indicates the Second Coming, when all will be judged on their reception of the gospel.
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 cites Theophylact as teaching that the mustard seed represents the disciples, who began only as a few men, but "soon encompassed the whole earth." But similarly, the same image can stand for faith entering someone's soul, causing an inward growth of virtue. Such a soul, my study bible says, can become godlike and can receive even angels (the birds of the air).
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. My study bible says here: "To unbelievers, the parables remain bewildering. To those with simple faith, these stories using common images reveal truth in ways they can grasp, as they were able."
We have to think about parables and begin to reflect that they don't really stop giving information to us about the kingdom. That is, through the times that we consider our faith, and come across the parables again in reading or hearing Scripture read to us, glimmers of truths, recognition of some kind of light that shines and illumines another aspect of our own journey, these are the sorts of things that parables continually give us all through our lives and our struggles with faith. Scripture itself is something like poetry in that it works on many levels at once -- all true at the same time. Parables are the example of Christ's word par excellence: told so that we are to understand that a deepening revelation of faith should be ours as we go forward on this journey of the kingdom. He has told us that in the seeds that really do take root in good soil, every yield will be different (in yesterday's reading). Here we see some classic interpretations of these parables as given through the centuries by Fathers and Mothers (such as Theophylact and St. Mark the Ascetic), truths gleaned repeatedly from generation to generation. But we also can understand the mustard seed not only as allegory to the disciples, but to the work of the kingdom that takes root in each one of us. The mysterious work of the kingdom that is at work while a man sleeps is also akin to the truly mysterious work of God in us, that works to transform, to create growth, to mature spiritual fruit in ways that we ourselves still find entirely mysterious even though we see the results in ourselves. In an illustration of the ways parables work, that man "doesn't know" how the seeds grow in all cases teaches us that this is the work and province of God, and not in our control. And, at the same time, it tells us the truth noted by my study bible, that God doesn't manipulate us in how we respond. Over and over in the journey of faith in a lifetime, we'll find these parables illustrated something about what that journey has been like for us, how it's worked and what it's done. Most of all, we'll find the kingdom as a kind of field or plane of existence that intersects all things in our lives, that lives within us and among us, and its mysterious growth so simply illustrated and yet profoundly given in these parables. Like the mustard seed, we don't know where our faith will take us, what will take root and even the life that may nest and be supported by that growth. Like the farmer and the seed, we just don't know what will result from following our faith -- whether or not that is comforting others, giving the word elsewhere, or doing any other thing asked of us. Faith can be the confidence we give to someone to fulfill and use their own God-given talents, or it could also be the courage to turn down something that sounds very good, but isn't. Prayer is a great example of how these parables may be manifest in our lives: we just don't know the full effect of our prayers, for ourselves and for others for whom and with whom we pray. It's all a part of the strength of this mysterious power and growth of the kingdom that is always at work, even though "how" it works is entirely hidden from us. We turn to these parables for truths that have stood the test of time and experience, for so many centuries and in so many lives. Yet, their glimmers of realized truth are always new to each one, and remain something wondrous and to marvel at with each recognition. Christ's truth is like that, Scripture is like that, working on many, many levels, all true at the same time -- and we will find this for ourselves in our lives. A phrase of Scripture may come to us when we have a moment of maturity, a recognition that some other facet of its truth has manifested for us. Let us take the great gift of this seed, and hold onto it, let it work in us, and pay attention! We don't know where we're called, but we keep that word always pondered and alive in our hearts, a flame that needs our full attention and love.
