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Mark 4:26-34
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”
33With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
Yesterday’s Reflection was based on the Parable of the Sower. Sometimes called ‘The Parable of the Soils.’ You might remember that we said the Bible scholars believe it was one of the most widely-known of Jesus’ parables during his earthly lifetime and the years that followed. Today’s reading contains two parables that aren’t quite as well-known, but that still make memorable points about the kingdom of God.
But before we look at those parables, let’s take a couple of minutes to think about the parables of Jesus in general.
Those who worship with me regularly or who participate with me in these Reflections probably know that I’m particularly interested in the way Jesus used parables as a method of spiritual teaching, And for that matter, in how much of his teaching took the form of parables. According to the New Testament scholars, about a third of all his teachings took that form. His use of parables seems to tell us something important about Jesus’ vision of discipleship – beyond the meaning of the individual parables themselves.
For one thing, parables are meant make us think. We need to turn the stories over in our minds to figure out what Jesus means to say to us. So he must have intended for discipleship to include quite a bit of ‘theological reflection.’ Lots of people think ‘being a Christian’ means obeying certain rules and laws so you can go to heaven. But Jesus didn’t really hand down a lot of black-and-white rules for us to follow in living the Christian life. That would have been a lot simpler – but not better, I think. Because making us chew his teachings over in our minds and think about what they mean – that engages us in a way that memorizing rules does not.
In Deuteronomy 6:5, the Hebrew scriptures say that we are to love God with heart, soul and strength – but Jesus added ‘mind’ to that list. And the parables of Jesus engage our minds in a way that rules and doctrinal statements just can’t.
Another thing we should say about parables is that they’re easy for us as disciples to pass along. The ministry of Jesus was the basis of a worldwide movement – a group of his followers who would go out into the world to tell people what he had said and done. For those he was sending out into the world – and the word ‘apostles’ actually means “those who are sent out” – the parables would be very effective tools for passing along his teachings. It’s a lot easier to teach people the Parable of the Prodigal Son than to teach them to explain the doctrine of prevenient grace. So disciples without formal education could help people understand the points Jesus was making about the life of faith.
And the gospel accounts tell us that Jesus gave more complete explanations of the parables to his disciples than he did to the general public. I suspect that those fuller explanations Jesus gave were meant to prepare the disciples for using those parables in their own ministry.
Another advantage of teaching by parables is that they can communicate different meanings to people in different life circumstances. Think about the Parable of the Prodigal Son, for instance. That parable teaches one lesson to people who have wandered away from God and made a mess of their lives, but it teaches a different message altogether to religious people who can be judgmental and self-righteous. For one group, it’s a message of forgiveness and acceptance. For the other group, it’s a warning against self-righteousness and a sense of entitlement. Sometimes, the parables can even say different things to people at different stages of their lives of faith.
So, having said all that about parables in general, what about the parables in today’s reading?
In one of them, Jesus likens the kingdom of God to a field that’s had seed sown in it. The seed takes root and continues to grow even when the farmer is sleeping. It seems to me that Jesus is telling his disciples that as they went through the world teaching and making new disciples, they could be confident that even as they traveled from place to place, the Holy Spirit would keep the faith growing in the hearts of those they converted and then left behind them.
In the other parable, Jesus uses the metaphor of a mustard seed to communicate the idea that the kingdom can ‘start small,’ then grow quietly and steadily into a mighty structure – like a tree that gives shelter and shade. Jesus started with a handful of peasant followers, and now there are something like two billion Christians in the world. So this parable seems to give encouragement, reminding us that we can trust in God’s promises about the fulfillment of the kingdom.
Maybe some other meanings suggest themselves to you. But it seems hard to deny that Jesus’ parables are an ingenious – and effective – way to communicate the central truths of the faith. Two thousand years later, most of them work just as effectively today as they did in first-century Palestine.
Let’s pray. Lord, we thank you for the parables of Jesus – for the way they have guided the growth of our lives of faith, and for the way they still have the ability to show different facets of your way, shining new light into our minds. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Henry
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