Word to the Wise
Sunday, June 17, 2018 - 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
[Ezek 17:22-24; 2 Cor 5:6-10; Mark 4:26-34]"To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we used for it?" [Mark]
One of the principal characteristics of Jesus' preaching and teaching is the use of "parables" to convey his message about the kingdom of God. In most cases, the parables are drawn from everyday life so that the ordinary person could understand. The major industries of the areas where he preached were farming, herding and fishing, so many of the parables are drawn from that: seeds, sowing, vineyards, dragnets, lost sheep, etc. Others point to everyday experiences such as placing a lamp in a room, putting yeast in flour, losing a coin, being robbed on a journey, a son's poor choices that call for forgiveness. This Sunday, we can reflect on two agricultural parables involving seed and sowing.
I live in a highly agricultural part of West Texas. Cotton, grain and wine grapes are major crops. Some of the parishioners at our university parish are farmers, or students who are studying agriculture. The amount of science that goes into modern farming would stagger the peasant farmer of Jesus' day, but it all comes down to one thing: putting the seed in the ground and waiting. Yes, the weather and the insects will take their toll. It's part of the way of life. But the farmer must sow the seed. The Word of God, which we who are baptized are commissioned to know (the person of Jesus and his message), must be sown and not kept in a package to be admired. That is the import of the first parable.
The second parable speaks to the amazing power of the seed that is sown. Cotton, grain and grape seeds are all small things. Jesus uses the "mustard seed" which we should not confuse with that yellow stuff we put on hot dogs. The Middle Eastern family of plants is characterized by the smallness of the seed, the largeness of the plant in relation to the size of the seed and the rapidity of its germination. The image would be very familiar to Jesus' audience. We cannot be worried about the size of our effort as long as we make that effort. Great results can come from very small seeds. I see that in my own small garden. I think about my itinerant preaching and the fact that I will rarely see the long term results of my work which takes me from California to Florida. I just know that I have to sow the seed no matter how meager my efforts may be and let God take care of the rest. The same is true for all of us. Every little seed counts.
We may not live in an agricultural area, but we might consider this. Every vegetable or fruit we bite into came from a small seed that had to be sown and grown. We can feed the world with the Word of God, but we have to be willing to sow that seed and be patient. AMEN
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