Gospel

Mark 4:1-20

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea.

A very large crowd gathered around him

so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.

And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.

And he taught them at length in parables,

and in the course of his instruction he said to them,

"Hear this! A sower went out to sow.

And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,

and the birds came and ate it up.

Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil.

It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.

And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.

Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it

and it produced no grain.

And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.

It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."

He added, "Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."

And when he was alone,

those present along with the Twelve

questioned him about the parables.

He answered them,

"The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you.

But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that

they may look and see but not perceive,

and hear and listen but not understand,

in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven."

Jesus said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?

Then how will you understand any of the parables?

The sower sows the word.

These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.

As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once

and takes away the word sown in them.

And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who,

when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.

But they have no roots; they last only for a time.

Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,

they quickly fall away.

Those sown among thorns are another sort.

They are the people who hear the word,

but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches,

and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word,

and it bears no fruit.

But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it

and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

Reflection

There's a theme that runs through all the parables, through all the teaching of Jesus. Something is offered and that which is offered must be received, longed for, and one should be open and ready to go through any transformation that is necessary for this truth to take root within them. But Jesus pointing out many people do not really want what it promises.

They don't want to be changed. They don't want something new. He said, That's why I speak in parables, because I want them to have to look for and try to figure out what I'm saying. And if they're not interested in the depth of what's behind and hidden in these parables, they're not going to listen to anything that is explained to them perfectly.

He longs for a quest inside of us all, to hunger for his message, for his truth, and to be willing to be radically changed by it.

Closing Prayer

Father, create in us a longing, an awareness perhaps of the emptiness that our life might have when we aren't really understanding the role that God has given us in this world. Give us a sense of the emptiness that might be there so that we can find that which fills us, that which gives us purpose and meaning and enthusiasm for all that we are called to be to the people around us. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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