Mark 4:26-34
Jesus said to the crowds:
“This is how it is with the kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and through it all the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”
He said,
“To what shall we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
NAB
In this passage, we are told that Jesus spoke to the masses in parables, but to His disciples He explained everything. Perhaps the masses were amazed by the miracles and entertained by the stories. They lived in the moment. The disciples were students of the rabbi. They needed to understand the parables so that they could go forth and teach others.
Consider the parable of the mustard seed. The mustard seed is faith. God gives us faith and waits for His harvest. The faith grows in us; we do not understand how it grows. Suddenly we find ourselves acting in faith. We may even surprise ourselves. Consider a young Christian man in a war torn country where the practice of Christianity, once tolerated, is forbidden. As he sees Christians murdered for their faith, he may be moved to become a priest. What about the cradle Catholic who accepts the sacrament of Confirmation and later stops attending mass? Is it an act of faith when that person returns to church to be married?
God never forgets that seed. Some seeds develop quickly. Others take more time. How are you nurturing your faith? |
