Mark 4:26-34

Ezekiel 17:22-24

Psalm 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16

2 Corinthians 5:6-10

Mark 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 through it all 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.

Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, as I contemplate the mystery of your Kingdom, I pray that you may reign more fully in my heart and in my life. Thy Kingdom Come! Conquer all that is evil and strengthen all that is good.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Mark’s Three Parables about the Kingdom: The Gospel of Mark records three parables of Jesus about the mystery of the Kingdom of God. All three parables employ the image of a seed. Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-20) to the crowds by the sea and later explains the meaning of the parable in private to his disciples to illustrate how people receive the good seed of the Kingdom in different ways. The two parables we hear today emphasize two other dimensions of the mystery of the Kingdom of God. The Parable of the Growing Seed (Mark 4:26-29) dwells on the mystery of how the Kingdom of God will grow. The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Mark 4:30-32) reflects on the fact that the Kingdom will start small but become very large over time and welcome people from every nation. The three parables can be seen as building on one another: the first focuses on the beginning and sowing of the seed; the second on the growth of the seed; the third on what the seed will become in time. Mark’s Parable of the Sower invites listeners to welcome the seed of the Kingdom like good soil. Rather than be indifferent to the Kingdom and carried away by the temptations of the devil, or be superficial and stumble due to tribulation and persecution, or be fruitless and overcome by worldly anxiety and the lure of riches, we are called to be receptive to God’s word and yield a superabundant and supernatural harvest. In Mark’s Parable of the Growing Seed, Jesus compares the mystery of natural, organic growth to the supernatural growth and expansion of the Kingdom of God. The farmer plants and seed and cares for it, but he is not the principal cause of the seed’s growth. This parable teaches us that the growth of the Kingdom of God in an individual and in the world is a divine work. The farmer can till the soil, fertilize it, and provide some water. However, the farmer cannot control the weather and doesn’t cause the warmth and light of the spring and summer sun necessary for growth. This teaches us that we cooperate with the work of God, but we cannot control or hasten the arrival of the kingdom by our efforts any more than the farmer can harvest his grain early (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 91). Our individual spiritual growth only happens by collaboration with the gift of God’s grace and the theological virtues. The growth of the kingdom of God in the world only happens by our collaboration with the work of the Holy Spirit. In the end, the “parable serves as an encouragement for those who think their efforts for the kingdom are fruitless, and a warning for those who think they can bring about the kingdom by their own projects and programs” (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 91). Mark’s Parable of the Mustard Seed contains an unexpected twist at the beginning. Mustard seed wasn’t something that you would normally sow. It wasn’t like wheat which needed to be sown every year. The mustard plant is actually very invasive and grows easily in arid climates. The parable first tells us that the Kingdom of God will be sown by Christ and by his disciples and be very invasive. The main point of the Parable of the Mustard Seed, however, is to compare the small start of the Kingdom to its impressive growth. A seed can’t welcome all the nations, but a great shrub can. “From its humble, inauspicious beginnings in Jesus’ itinerant preaching in Galilee with a small band of followers, the kingdom will mature to an immense tree in whom the Gentiles will find a home. This growth will not be due to human methods but to God’s hidden power. Jesus speaks with utter assurance of the future success of the kingdom, urging his disciples to persevere with hope and patience” (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 92).

2. Ezekiel’s Parable: The First Reading, from Ezekiel, was chosen because it is an Old Testament parable about the future Kingdom of God. It is taken from a section of Ezekiel that follows a section with allegories about the Kingdom of Babylon. Ezekiel compares King Nebuchadnezzar II, who reigned over Babylon from 605 to 562 B.C., to a great eagle (Ezekiel 17:3). At the beginning of his reign, the great eagle subjugated the Kingdom of Judah as a vassal kingdom. Eight years later, in 597 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar took the King of Judah, the young Jehoiachin, into exile and placed Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, on the throne (Ezekiel 17:5). Instead of listening to the prophet Jeremiah and accepting the rule of Babylon, Zedekiah sought the support of Egypt to fight against Babylon (Ezekiel 17:7). All of this led up to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Our First Reading, Ezekiel 17:22-24, is a messianic prophecy of hope. In the prophecy, the cedar tree is the Kingdom of Israel, the crest of the cedar is the house of David, and the tender shoot is an heir, a Son of David (see Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Year B, 276). What Ezekiel promises is that “God himself will choose a descendant of the house of David (a ‘twig’) and establish him in Jerusalem (the ‘mountain height of Israel’), where his dynasty and kingdom will flourish” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Ezekiel, 35). The Responsorial Psalm also speaks of the just one flourishing like a cedar of Lebanon. Jesus alludes to Ezekiel’s prophecy in his Parable of the Mustard Seed. Ezekiel prophesied under the oppression of the Babylonian Empire; Jesus prophesied under the oppression of the Roman Empire. “The Messiah and all connected with him perpetually look small in the eyes of the world, like a mustard seed. Yet, in ways unseen, the seed grows. It fills the whole earth. It brings eternal life to those who seek its shade. It is a spiritual empire, the Tree of Life from which all birds and beasts (Gentiles) of the world can eat and gain eternal life (Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Year B, 281).

3. We Walk by Faith: Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians teaches them about the resurrection. In this life, we are on a journey toward our true home in heaven. In our conduct, we should seek to please God because one day we will appear before the judgment seat of Christ and be judged. Paul is courageous because he walks by faith. Paul can suffer like Christ and offer himself due to his faith and his hope in the resurrection. To live by faith entails both trusting in God and conducting oneself after the manner of Jesus’ ‘yes’ to God, that is, in self-giving love. Paul recognizes that our true home, the place where we were created to belong, is actually in the presence of the Father and his risen Son (2 Corinthians 4:14). Therefore, he now expresses his desire to leave the body and go home to the Lord. He speaks about how we will all be judged. Each person will be judged individually on how they lived.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I thank you for your parables which reveal the deep mysteries of the Kingdom. You continue to teach me each day. I am your disciple and want to learn from you. You are meek and humble of heart and show me how to be a faithful child of God.

Living the Word of God: How do we welcome the seed of God’s Kingdom? How do we collaborate with God’s grace? How is our spiritual growth? Are we like a shrub that others find rest in? How will I be judged?