Reading:
Mark 4:26
Write:
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…”
Reflect:
Stories of seeds are scattered throughout the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Pun intended: “scatter the seeds.”
The first part of the gospel today points out that farmers do not really know exactly how all of this growing happens – that is true even today. It is a mystery how a seed grows into a plant. Too much water, or too little. The right or the wrong kind of soil. Too much or too little sun. You understand the idea.
But, what about these mustard seeds? Did Jesus make a mistake? I know of one tree’s seeds that are smaller than the mustard seed. But it is a type of tree that probably does not grow in Israel. It is the Cottonwood. (In Spanish, Cottonwood is Álamo, hmm.)
There are other parables, including one about a mustard seed that talk about faith. Jesus says, “if you had the faith of a mustard seed, you could say to this tree be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey you.” I think Jesus is alluding to this in the reading today.
This is why it is really important that all of us have a good understanding of the Bible. We do not need to memorize every verse, but we should all be familiar enough with all of the stories that we can start making these connections. I am not a great Bible scholar, but I do think I am a good student of the Bible. And every one of you should be as well. By the way, you know more than you think you know.
But let us move on. Our reading this weekend says that Jesus used parables because that is the way the people could understand. The literal translation from the Greek does not use the word to understand but uses to hear. Why is this significant?
This verb “to hear” is used more than thirty times in this chapter of Mark. It would also remind Mark’s readers of Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses four and five: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength.”
See! I told you it is important to know the Bible! Jesus quotes this as the first and greatest commandment. Do you remember that?
Apply:
So what does this have to do with Jesus trying to instruct his disciples? It says that Jesus EXPLAINS these parables only to his disciples, not to the whole crowd. Now, his disciples included everyone who was following him closely, not just the twelve apostles. This is important for us! The Holy Spirit guides us today to understand the implications of the grace of God that comes to us through reading the Scriptures. Jesus speaks to us not as I am speaking to you. But through the Bible, through the Sacraments, through the Church – he speaks to us in ways that we can understand today.
Let us go back to the Cottonwood. You have seen how small those messy little cotton balls floating around can be. If you would capture one seed and deliberately plant it, it would grow thirty, to one hundred feet tall. These are not small trees!
Neither is our faith to be small. But how does it grow? I think only coming to Mass once a week, and if you are really devout, praying the rosary once a day, is really being a minimalist. I believe every household should be buying books about the faith. There are many authors that you could read that are very easy to understand.
It does not take an advanced degree in theology in our modern day to learn more about the faith! Just doing the minimal amount for your faith is going to leave you with a faith that finds it very hard to grow. A Cottonwood, or a mustard bush, or any other plant starts from a very small seed and grows into a much larger plant.
Your faith should not remain as just a seed. And to extend this analogy, if you do NOT continue to water and nourish your faith with more than just a once a week Mass, you run the risk having your faith wither and die. Our world is constantly trying to find ways to tear apart someone’s faith. We see that by the number of people who are walking away from the church. They walk away because they have been convinced that it is not something that is necessary.
I believe that one of the reasons why so many people have abandoned the faith is because they have allowed their faith to wither by not nourishing it, watering it, letting it be exposed to the Son, not the sun in the sky but the Son of God.
Everyone is at risk in our modern world of being influenced away from their faith. We see that even in the number of priests who walk away from being priests! If these men only knew how great and glorious a calling the priesthood was, they would come running back to it. If the people who walked away from the faith understood the glory that God has planned, they would come running back to it.
Pope Saint John Paul called for a new evangelization during his time as the Pope. We have this available to us with the number of great books that are available about the faith. If you are looking for someplace to start, I can help you with that. (My knowledge of Spanish books is not that great, but I know that they are making some translations of these great books that I am speaking.)
Also, there is a great deal of information on the Internet. Yes, you have to use discernment when you are looking at things online. But again, ask for some guidance. I think it is time that those of us who hold to the faith need to become better informed. There are people aggressively trying to tear down the church. We need to be a people aggressively trying to build up the church by nourishing our own faith. We DARE not continue to be minimalists.
Mark 4:26
Write:
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…”
Reflect:
Stories of seeds are scattered throughout the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Pun intended: “scatter the seeds.”
The first part of the gospel today points out that farmers do not really know exactly how all of this growing happens – that is true even today. It is a mystery how a seed grows into a plant. Too much water, or too little. The right or the wrong kind of soil. Too much or too little sun. You understand the idea.
But, what about these mustard seeds? Did Jesus make a mistake? I know of one tree’s seeds that are smaller than the mustard seed. But it is a type of tree that probably does not grow in Israel. It is the Cottonwood. (In Spanish, Cottonwood is Álamo, hmm.)
There are other parables, including one about a mustard seed that talk about faith. Jesus says, “if you had the faith of a mustard seed, you could say to this tree be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey you.” I think Jesus is alluding to this in the reading today.
This is why it is really important that all of us have a good understanding of the Bible. We do not need to memorize every verse, but we should all be familiar enough with all of the stories that we can start making these connections. I am not a great Bible scholar, but I do think I am a good student of the Bible. And every one of you should be as well. By the way, you know more than you think you know.
But let us move on. Our reading this weekend says that Jesus used parables because that is the way the people could understand. The literal translation from the Greek does not use the word to understand but uses to hear. Why is this significant?
This verb “to hear” is used more than thirty times in this chapter of Mark. It would also remind Mark’s readers of Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses four and five: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength.”
See! I told you it is important to know the Bible! Jesus quotes this as the first and greatest commandment. Do you remember that?
Apply:
So what does this have to do with Jesus trying to instruct his disciples? It says that Jesus EXPLAINS these parables only to his disciples, not to the whole crowd. Now, his disciples included everyone who was following him closely, not just the twelve apostles. This is important for us! The Holy Spirit guides us today to understand the implications of the grace of God that comes to us through reading the Scriptures. Jesus speaks to us not as I am speaking to you. But through the Bible, through the Sacraments, through the Church – he speaks to us in ways that we can understand today.
Let us go back to the Cottonwood. You have seen how small those messy little cotton balls floating around can be. If you would capture one seed and deliberately plant it, it would grow thirty, to one hundred feet tall. These are not small trees!
Neither is our faith to be small. But how does it grow? I think only coming to Mass once a week, and if you are really devout, praying the rosary once a day, is really being a minimalist. I believe every household should be buying books about the faith. There are many authors that you could read that are very easy to understand.
It does not take an advanced degree in theology in our modern day to learn more about the faith! Just doing the minimal amount for your faith is going to leave you with a faith that finds it very hard to grow. A Cottonwood, or a mustard bush, or any other plant starts from a very small seed and grows into a much larger plant.
Your faith should not remain as just a seed. And to extend this analogy, if you do NOT continue to water and nourish your faith with more than just a once a week Mass, you run the risk having your faith wither and die. Our world is constantly trying to find ways to tear apart someone’s faith. We see that by the number of people who are walking away from the church. They walk away because they have been convinced that it is not something that is necessary.
I believe that one of the reasons why so many people have abandoned the faith is because they have allowed their faith to wither by not nourishing it, watering it, letting it be exposed to the Son, not the sun in the sky but the Son of God.
Everyone is at risk in our modern world of being influenced away from their faith. We see that even in the number of priests who walk away from being priests! If these men only knew how great and glorious a calling the priesthood was, they would come running back to it. If the people who walked away from the faith understood the glory that God has planned, they would come running back to it.
Pope Saint John Paul called for a new evangelization during his time as the Pope. We have this available to us with the number of great books that are available about the faith. If you are looking for someplace to start, I can help you with that. (My knowledge of Spanish books is not that great, but I know that they are making some translations of these great books that I am speaking.)
Also, there is a great deal of information on the Internet. Yes, you have to use discernment when you are looking at things online. But again, ask for some guidance. I think it is time that those of us who hold to the faith need to become better informed. There are people aggressively trying to tear down the church. We need to be a people aggressively trying to build up the church by nourishing our own faith. We DARE not continue to be minimalists.
