Word to the Wise
Friday, January 27, 2017 - Friday in the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time
[Heb 10:32-39 and Mark 4:26-34]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. [Mark]
Jesus' characteristic mode of teaching was through parables. A parable uses familiar material to communicate something new, unlike an allegory which uses familiar material to communicate about something we already know (each element "stands for" something). As is often the case with our lectionary, we are given only a portion of the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Mark because it is divided between the two daily cycles (Years I and II - we are in Year I now). I urge the Beloved Community to read the entire section on parables from verse 1 to verse 34 for a complete picture.
What is it that is "new" in the parables? It is the kingdom of God in the person of Jesus. The parables make sense when one accepts Jesus as the one whom God has sent. Once one trusts in Jesus, great harvests occur or large plants spring from very small seeds. The words I quote above might seem "counterintuitive." Why not "explain" everything in public? The disciples believe in Jesus, which is the starting point. They can then understand how the "kingdom" works. In the scheme of Mark's gospel, the acceptance and rejection of Jesus is the starting point of knowing how God is working.
What parable can any of us use in our own day to show how the kingdom is at work in our own or others' lives? AMEN
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