Thursday, March 8, 2012

It’s Not What You Know…

Mark 4:21-34
Much has been learned about agriculture in the centuries since Jesus taught about the kingdom of God, but the value of Jesus’ parables has in no way diminished. "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground,” Jesus said, “and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come” (Mark 4:26-29). The farmer in Jesus’ parable had no idea how seeds become plants. All he knew was that there was a time of growth and development at the end of which the crops would appear and need to be gathered. Nowadays it is not uncommon for elementary school students to study the growth of plants or for science fair participants to demonstrate how various factors affect the process. To say that we do not know how the seeds sprout and grow would not be truthful.

But what we know or don’t know is not really the point of the story. Jesus’ parable is really about trust and patience. To plant a seed is to anticipate that which is to happen at some point further on. While there are things to be done while the plant is growing the process is ultimately dependent on the work of God in creation. So it is with the kingdom. To look forward to God’s reign in its fullness is to anticipate a future event. There are things to be done in the meantime, work to which we are called, but ultimately the process is dependent on God alone. Indeed, the more we learn about growth and development in nature the more we marvel at the intricacy of the process. And the more we attend to Jesus’ words about the kingdom the more active we become in our waiting.

The beauty of Jesus’ parables is that they remain vivid as they continue to offer guidance for our living.

Prayer: Lord, we depend on your grace alone, for which we give you thanks. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

No comments: