Daily Reflections
Mark 4:26-34
The parables of Jesus are striking. They reflect a unique, highly imaginative and creative mind. His usual style was not to explain them in detail, but to leave his hearers to grapple with them. The temptation we face in hearing the parables is to assume that we know their meaning and have no further need to plumb their depths. The other snare to avoid is to imagine that we cannot possibly understand them. To avoid both these pitfalls we need to turn to the Holy Spirit for guidance and fresh insight. The joy of such discernment does not come with a mere cursory glance or superficial reading – we need to allow the words and their meaning to permeate our minds and hearts.
The parable of the growing seed appeals to the laws of nature to show how growth has a momentum unperceived by the human eye. The farmer sows his seeds, confident and assured that they will germinate and produce a crop. In the same way the word that is sown in our hearts has an impetus and energy all of its own. It grows and matures all by itself – we don’t know how or why – but the power of God’s word matures, purifies and refines us in ways we are not aware of.
The grace of God cannot be perceived by the human eye. It has a mystery, a pace, a movement which, like the farmer, we need to respect. There are laws in the spiritual life as there are laws in nature. The laws of grace cannot be observed, dissected or perceived. Its gentle and masterful work is done in the unseen recesses of each human heart. Its healing and transforming power cuts away at the hard and unyielding parts of our nature – grace transforms, renews and builds on nature. As we are faithful to the disciplines of the spiritual life – daily prayer, reading God’s Word, celebrating the Eucharist, resisting temptation and serving others in love and humility – unperceived by us a rich and abundant harvest will be revealed.
‘Holy Spirit, you are the Lord and the giver of life. Your desire is that I grow in holiness and radiate in ever-increasing measure the beauty of Jesus. Grant me a renewed, keen and crisp grasp of the wisdom of God’s word contained in the parables.’
2 Samuel 11:1-10, 13-17 • Psalm 50(51):3-7, 10-11
Mark 4:26-34
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