Category: Uncategorized

***

Gospel: 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 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.

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

“This is how it is with the Kingdom of God,” Jesus says. “It is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.”

There are three stages leading to this sower’s harvest: first, he scatters the seed. Secondly, the harvest grows. Finally, he reaps what he’s sown.

***

Human beings tend to be good at steps one and three: We know how to work. We know how to reap. 

Often, what we struggle with is step number two: waiting. 

This is the period when God intervenes. Without any effort of our own, the rains fall, the sun rises and sets, the seeds split open, grow, and begin to bear fruit.

Once the work of nature is complete, we reap what we’ve sown. 

***

Notice Jesus never describes the sower as anxious, stressed, or depressed. Rather, he sleeps at night and rises by day, waiting for nature to run its course. In the end, his reward comes.

Similarly, once we place our lives – or a particular intention – into God’s hands, there’s nothing else we need to do but wait.

Allow the Spirit to change our hearts, our circumstances, or the world around us. When the harvest is ready – or the prayer is answered – we’ll collect the fruit.

***

What’s something I’m waiting for?

***

Once you’ve scattered the seed, trust in God to do his part. The harvest will come, even though, “we know not how.”

***

***

Image credits: (1) Living the Everyday (2) The North American Anglican (3) Church in the Acres

***

Mark 4: 21-25

Jesus said to his disciples,
“Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket
or under a bed,
and not to be placed on a lampstand?
For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible;
nothing is secret except to come to light.
Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.”
He also told them, “Take care what you hear.
The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you,
and still more will be given to you.
To the one who has, more will be given;
from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

A study from MIT found that, in pitch black, the human eye can detect a candle flame flickering from over a mile and a half away. 

That small speck of light breaks through almost 9,000 feet of darkness.

Through the Holy Spirit, Christians can bring that same light to others.

***

As Jesus says in today’s Gospel, we are like the flickering flame of a lamp placed on a lamp stand. 

We must burn brightly, dispelling the darkness of ignorance, indifference, prejudice, or sin around us with love.

For example, a check-in phone call to a friend or a neighbor can break the darkness of isolation.

A sincere apology can expel a grudge.

A smile, a hug, a word of affirmation can brighten anyone’s day.

A hot meal from our soup kitchen can not only fill a stomach, but also warm hearts.

***

Just as the eye longs for light, so the heart longs for love. 

So, how might we dispel the darkness, spreading the light and love of Jesus Christ today?

***

***

Image credits: (1) Pastor Unlikely (2) The Kildare (3) Our Father’s House Soup Kitchen

***

Gospel: Mark 4: 1-20

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea.
A very large crowd gathered around him 
so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.
And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.
And he taught them at length in parables, 
and in the course of his instruction he said to them, 
“Hear this!  A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, 
and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.
And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.  
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it 
and it produced no grain.
And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.
It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

And when he was alone, 
those present along with the Twelve 
questioned him about the parables.
He answered them, 
“The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you.
But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that

    they may look and see but not perceive,
        and hear and listen but not understand,
    in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.”

Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable?
Then how will you understand any of the parables?
The sower sows the word.
These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.
As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once 
and takes away the word sown in them.
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, 
when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.
But they have no roots; they last only for a time.
Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, 
they quickly fall away.
Those sown among thorns are another sort.
They are the people who hear the word, 
but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, 
and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, 
and it bears no fruit.
But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it
and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

There are different ways of receiving the Word of God. The fruit it bears depends upon a person’s heart.

Some hear it without understanding. Others receive the Word with joy, but their faith lacks any root. Once a trial comes their way, belief is the first thing to go.

Still others receive the Word, but when left to choose, they prefer the things of this world to the things that are eternal.

Finally, there are those whose hearts are like rich, fertile soil. They hear the Word of God and are permanently changed by it.

***

But consider the effort it takes to make soil fertile – and by extension, to make a human heart deeply receptive to the Word of God.

In order to make soil fertile, you must dig into it; break it; and repeatedly separate it. That period of chaos is what opens up the ground, allowing it to receive seeds, and ultimately, to give life.

Any sturdy plant was once a tiny seed placed inside broken, fertile soil.

***

So, what does that mean for us?

***

Our hearts are most fertile after being broken. 

Think of any stressful, frustrating, or traumatic experience in life. In those moments, it feels like we’ve been tossed about – broken inside – much like rich, fertile soil.

They are blessed, Jesus says, who turn to him in that hour. That’s when the Word of God has the greatest chance of taking root, changing us, strengthening us, and enabling us to bear good fruit.

As Saint Paul says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” These gifts come from within; they are often the fruit of a heart that’s been broken and healed by the Lord.

May Jesus take any fertility within us, bless it with his Word, and allow it to bear good fruit – thirty, sixty, even a hundredfold. 

***

***

Image credits: (1) How Stuff Works (2) iStock (3) RISE Church