Gospel: Mark 4:1-20

 

Mark describes the way in which Jesus teaches the crowd: on the seaside, sitting in the boat, with many people around listening to Him. Jesus helped people perceive the mysterious presence of the Kingdom in the things of life by means of parables. 

 

He spoke of seeds, soil, rain, the sun, salt, flowers, fish, harvest, etc. His parable uses these things which were known to the people to explain the mysteries of the Kingdom.

 

At that time, it was not easy to get a livelihood from agriculture. The land was full of stones. There were many bushes, little rain and much sun. Many times, people, in order to take a shortcut, passed through the fields and stepped on the plants. But in spite of that, every year, the farmer sowed and planted, trusting in the force of the seed, in the generosity of nature.

 

At the end, Jesus Christ says, “He who has ears to listen, let him listen!” The way to understand the parable is by listening and thinking, “trying to understand!”. The parable does not give us everything readymade, but induces those who listen to think and discover, based on the lived experience that they have of the seed. It induces creativity and participation. The parable does not give bottled water, but rather, leads one to the fountain or source. 

 

The parable reveals and hides at the same time! It reveals to “those who are inside,” who accept Jesus, the Messiah, the Servant. It hides for those who insist on considering Him the glorious king. They understand the images of the parable, but they do not grasp the significance.