Parable of the growing seed Mark 4:26-34

Mark 4:26-34 Gospel reading for Sunday 17th June 2012

(See separate post for reflections on part 2 of the reading The parable of the mustard seed or scroll down to see the next post.)

Any passage that opens with the words 'He also said' naturally makes us curious (and indeed necessitates) that we find out what it is that was previously said in the lead-up to it. A quick investigation reveals that this story is a sequel to The parable of the sower. Therefore much of our understanding of The parable of the growing seed can be drawn from the obviously connected preceding parable. (Click on the link above for previous detailed reflections on The sower).

Before proceeding with The growing seed, I'd like to highlight some critical points to bring with us from The sower and its accompanying explanation:

1. The Word, (Jesus), has been already sown everywhere in the world! 
2. It has been planted (hidden) within every single human being!
3. The fact that Jesus is already present in every person, in every situation that we find ourselves in, is hugely significant.
4. NOTE: A careful examination of the wording used in the explanation of The Sower, reveals that it is exactly the same wording that John uses in the opening chapter of his Gospel. In the beginning was THE WORD ... and THE WORD became flesh.

 So as if to make sure, Jesus backs up with The parable of the growing seed in order to reinforce the point that may have been missed in The sower.

The kingdom, with all its hidden power is already present right from the start.  "... the seed is clearly understood as having been sown in this world, squarely in the midst of every human and every earthly condition." Robert Farrar Capon: 'Parables of the Kingdom'

Furthermore the kingdom just goes about its work, often in the most unlikely situations, but the harvest eventually comes. Curiously in this story, there is no mention of failed crops, or other negative accompaniments, like weeds. The kingdom simply grows of itself in its own good time, in and through one big mystery and with a zero contribution from the individual!

Robert Capon further suggests:

"Have we not acted instead as if the Word wasn't anywhere until we got there with Him? Haven't we conducted far too many missions on the assumption that we were "bringing Jesus" to the heathen, when in fact all we had to bring was the Good News of what the Word - who was already there, had done for them?" 

Two words in particular stick out from the above quote: had done. Do we fully reflect the past tense nature of the already completed work of Jesus Christ? Do we place enough emphasis on celebrating our forgiven-ness?

A radical reading of these kingdom parables? Maybe... but that's what happens when we view the parables through a lens which focuses on how God works and how He reveals Himself to us, rather than on thinking that the parables are primarily instructions and warnings for us today.

Nev