Today’s Reading: Mark 4: 1-9 & 13-20 NRSV [See parallels in Luke 8:11-15 and Matthew 13:18-23]
“And he said, “If you have ears to hear, then hear.” Mark 4:9
Many who read this passage read the interpretation and think it deals with the various types of soil into which the seed, i.e. the Good News of the Kingdom of God, is planted. But when I was in seminary, I read a book about the parables that pointed out that in the Aramaic language [the language in which Jesus taught] each parable would have been introduced with the words “It is in the Kingdom of God as it is with … “whatever the parable focuses on.
Reading the passage with this perspective, Jesus makes clear that the focus of the parable is on the Sower, not the results of his efforts. The disciples are to understand what happens to anyone who seeks to plant the seeds of God’s kingdom in the world. That is what he wants the Disciples to understand. They are to plant the seeds of the Kingdom by how they live, embodying the Love of God through their words and deeds, and doing so, they can expect a very mixed set of results. They are to recognize the various kinds of results that will occur when they witness to God’s ongoing presence in the world, knowing that not all the results of their efforts will be positive. In fact, the odds are against them given the various kinds of people who hear the Word.
Today as his Disciples we are called once more to live a life that reflects the ongoing presence of God’s kingdom by how we act, seeking to embody the love that was in Christ Jesus. And we are to recognize that our efforts will have mixed results. We are simply told to keep working to live within the framework of the Love of God and not worry about the results.
In our lifetime we have seen how this works as we have witnessed the Civil Rights movement, the women’s movement, the LGBT movement – a lot of planting with mixed results but some extremely important positive ones arrived at with a lot of effort i.e. planting. So, the challenge to each of us today is how and where we are going to plant the seeds of God’s love.
Reflections 