Gospel MK 4:26-34
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
and would sleep and rise night and day
and the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”
He said,
“To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
“This is how it is with the Kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”
He said,
“To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
The grass in our backyard was drying out for some reason - it didn't look as lush and green as the grass in our front yard despite the automatic sprinklers we have back there. Sure enough, the sprinklers weren't working as they should and they needed replacing which I was able to do after a little figuring out. The miracle of our backyard is that God does the rest. If I can make sure that the yard has adequate water, then God powers the sun that drives photosynthesis which results in the oranges, tangerines, loquats and flowers that bless us throughout the year.
And so it is in my spiritual garden. I plant the seeds of the Kingdom of God, do my share of tending to them. It takes some work, but God does more than I can even imagine - softening hard hearts (softening my hard heart), feeding souls, constantly nudging us to turn toward Him like a sunflower turns toward the warming rays of the sun. I am at my best when I plant and tend to seeds of the Spirit - and have faith that God will do the rest in breathing life into those seeds. This requires patience like no other as sometimes it takes a lifetime for God's seeds to sprout.
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