Gospel of Mark Series: The parable of the sower

 Welcome to my Gospel of Mark Series. During 2012-13, each week, I will write a post about the Gospel of Mark as I review and explore each of the 16 chapters and how it may be applied in our daily lives. My goal is to understand and pray the Gospel of Mark.  I hope you will join me on this journey as we travel through the liturgical season of Year B.  In today's post, we explore chapter 4:1-12 which is the parable of the sower.

So many people crowd around Jesus at the lakeside the He gets into a boat, which earlier He asked His disciples to have ready (3:9).  From the boat He teaches the people standing along the shore in parables.

Parables were used by Jesus, as they were by the rabbis and other teachers of His time, as ways of coming to know a mystery through a comparison with some familiar situation already known.

The comparison could be made through a story or simply by a brief metaphor or allusion.  When the comparison was made in a short, catch  way, it was a proverb.  A parable became a riddle or puzzle, when people failed to experience the insight or the mystery it introduced.  The parable comparisons of Jesus become parable puzzles to those without faith in the mysterious action of God in the world.

The parable of the sower compares the coming of God into the world with the situation of a sower scattering seed for a  harvest.  It seems that the farmers of Israel at the time of Jesus sowed the seed before, not after, they ploughed the land.  Though God’s power may appear to be wasted or destroyed, it eventually produces wonderful results.  The parable begins and ends with a call to listen.

Strangely Mark seems to say that Jesus told parables as a deliberately puzzling way of teaching to hide from the outsiders the true meaning of the kingdom..  This is part of Mark's emphasis on a reluctance of Jesus to accept in public the title of Messiah, and an unwillingness in Him to reveal to all His true identity.  In fact, Jesus told parables to lead people by faith to a person discovery in their own lives of the kingdom of God revealed in His own person, and to stir a radical commitment in all to its coming into the world.

In our journal and/or our discussion group we may wish to reflect on this passage as follows:

• Name the key points that you have learnt about the person of Jesus in this passage of scripture?
• Reflect on the keywords in this passage for they contain the substance and purpose of all the things Jesus said and did-
• Consider my relationship with Jesus  in the light of this Gospel passage.
• Reflect on some of the ways in which this power of God which Jesus call the kingdom of God, may be entering into my life at this present time.
• Consider how I fail to sow the seed of the kingdom of God?
• How do I related to the parable of the sower.  Make a list of areas in my life that need a change of heart and develop an action plan on how this change of heart might occur. (eg name an area and name one/two changes that you will implement with God's help.
• What impact does Jesus’ teaching have on you (4:1-12).
• How has this passage spoken to you- what does it say to you personally?