Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) – Mark 4:26-34
Our Gospel reading for this Sunday offers us two seed parables for our reflection.
The first is less well-known than the second. A farmer scatters seed upon the ground. The seed grows of itself, in a mysterious way, while the farmer goes to sleep and gets up, day after day. Finally, the seed has fully grown and the time for harvest is near.
This little parable may seem difficult for us to relate to in our own time. Farming in our time is not about simply scattering seed upon the ground and leaving it to grow by itself. A great deal of work goes into preparing the soil before planting, then the actual planting, and many other activities before the crop is ready for harvest. Science has told us at least some things about how seeds grow that were unknown to first-century Palestinians.
Nevertheless, the main thrust of this parable remains true. Farmers’ hard work, as essential as it is, is not sufficient. Farmers cannot make the seed grow. Nor can they control the vicissitudes of weather. After doing all they can to give the seed the best possible environment to grow, they must ultimately trust in the growth principle of the seed itself.
Now this seed, Jesus assures us, is an image of the Kingdom of God. The coming of God’s rule in our world is somehow like this parable. Moreover, this parable is part of the Gospel, or Good News. In what sense can it be like God’s rule? How is it Good News?
In our society, we have learned to be results-oriented. Follow these steps and this will be the result. To achieve a, do b and c. We tend to bring the same mentality to various kinds of ministry. We expect a certain proportion between what we do and what results.
However, this strict proportion of cause and effect is impossible in Christian ministry and Christian life. No program, no process, however well-intentioned or well-executed, can of itself bring about what we hope its fruits will be: conversion, reconciliation, compassion, trust, hope, faithfulness, to name but a few. Yet, we are assured that if we are faithful to the task at hand, the seed will indeed be planted. It will find good soil, grow and flourish in mysterious and lavish ways, way out of any proportion with the work we have done. Moreover, we are often surprised – even amazed – at where the good soil and the abundant seed turn out to be. All we may have done is some act of routine kindness, or spoken one word of wisdom without even realizing it. We go to bed and awake the next day, and find that a new seed has been planted and has already sprouted. The seed will grow. We need not obsess about it. It is not our doing – however important it is – that makes it grow. It grows. It seeks only a means of entry into our world. That would be our own “yes” to whatever God has called us to be. That “yes” may seem so insignificant – but faithfulness to that “yes” is all God asks of us in the end. We still have plenty of important work to do. But the results do not depend totally on the work itself. An open, trusting heart is all that God seeks. Leave the results to God!
The second seed parable is better-known: the mustard seed, among the smallest of seeds, which grows into a surprisingly large plant. The mustard seed was common enough to the people of first-century Palestine. But again, Jesus presents it to us as an image of the Kingdom of God. God’s coming and activity among us is somehow like this mustard seed.
How so?
Jesus’ own ministry began in what must have seemed like a very small way. He was, humanly speaking, a man of relatively low social status living among a people who had little status at that time. He had a small band of followers. And yet, God was in Christ, offering reconciliation and renewal to all who believed in him. Jesus’ crucifixion, which would have looked like utter defeat to most of those who witnessed it, was nothing less than the breaking of the power of sin and the offering of a new, overflowing life.
In fact, if we look at our experience, we can perceive that God usually works in quiet, patient ways, almost under the radar. God seeks not wealth or fame, but the trusting “yes” of each small heart. The “yes” that our hearts offer God becomes the soil into which God will plant another mustard seed of grace. Our trust in God allows that seed to be nourished and grow, again through God’s grace. Our living trust will, in time, become a large plant which offers rest and shade to others who may be weary or hurting or lost. Our hospitable welcome to all such people lets them build their nests among our branches and find a home. Through all this, God is at work. It is God who is building up a people – a Church – to bear witness to him in the world. Yet, out of love for us and to share his own joy, God invites us to be part of this project.
The seed that grows of itself, in a way that goes far beyond the efforts of the farmer. The seed that seems too small to amount to anything, but yet, in time, becomes a home for searchers everywhere. This is the Kingdom of God among us. This is what happens whenever any of us say “yes” to God with open, trusting, loving hearts. This, in seed form, is the promise of what God will ultimately do for all of creation. May this promise sustain us, whatever challenges we face, and help us persevere with open, loving, trusting hearts.