Eleventh Sunday In Ordinary Time
MARK 4:26-34 (Ezekiel 17:22-24; Psalm 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10)
On this Sunday in Ordinary Time the liturgy takes us into the parable chapter of Mark’s gospel.
The Greek word, parabole, can be defined as an analogy or comparison. The Hebrew word for this form of literature, mashal, has a wider meaning. It includes sayings, stories, riddles. Jesus used many forms of parables, from simple comparisons to longer stories containing compare-sons. The Marcan Jesus often begins a parable with an introductory phrase, “The kingdom of God is like…,” or “Thus is the kingdom of God as if….” There are two brief parables in today’s gospel reading. What does Mark mean by “the kingdom of God?” The basic concept is that of the rule, dominion, reign of God. This corresponds to the Hebrew concept of malkuth, meaning kingship, rule, reign, sovereignty. In Mark’s theology the “kingdom” can be future (the afterlife), but also present in the presence of Jesus’ mission and work.
The first parable of today’s gospel is about seed scattered on the ground and growing secretly. This parable is used only in Mark’s gospel. In this parable the kingdom of God is present in the situation in which Jesus and his hearers find themselves and how the hearers apply the parable to themselves. Mark begins, “The kingdom of God is as if a man scatters seed on the ground.” He goes on with his life, night and day, while the seed goes about its own business - sprouting and growing, but the man does not understand according to what principles the seed operates. It goes about doing what had been observed doing for millennia – first the blade, then the ear, then the grain on the ear. When the grain is ripe, the farmer wields the sickle. It is harvest time. The parable supposes very primitive methods of farming. No tractors, no herbicides, no combines. In other words, barely subsistence farming. For the young among us, a sickle is a curved metal blade with a short wooden handle. For people used to working only by riding on wheels or sitting at a computer this must seem awesomely primitive.
What is an interpretation of this parable? The gospels indicate that Jesus’ disciples were in a hurry to bring about the kingdom of God as they understood that term, a religio-political estab-lishment in which Jesus would be king and they would be the grand poobahs. From Jesus’ point of view, or the point of view of Mark’s gospel, the kingdom of God does not operate according to the thrust of human ambitions. It grows inwardly, secretly, no armies, no political revolts, no privileged rulers. The kingdom of God is a gradual, all-pervading influence that may not be noti-ceable for a long time. The parable cautions disciples of Jesus that the growth of the kingdom de-pends ultimately on God rather than on them. God’s action can be very hidden, very slow, imitat-ing the process of evolution by which God directs nature.
The terms “sickle” and “harvest” are often paired and Biblically loaded. A prime example is Joel 4:13, where the Lord God summons the nations to judgment, “Let the nations rouse themselves and march to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for I am going to sit in judgment there on all the nations.
Put the sickle in. The harvest is ripe.” This phraseology turns the parable in the direction of a warning about final judgment. In addition to the interpretation of this parable in the preceding paragraph, Mark may indeed have intended a warning to his Christian Community about the approaching end. This is all the more possible because the tone of his gospel is a mission in a great hurry. His constant use of “immediately, ”(42 times), is one of many indications that Mark expected the end of time and the return of Jesus momentarily. A pastor with such a conviction would lose no opportunity to warn his people to be prepared for “the harvest.”
In a second parable Mark compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed. When it is sown in the ground, “it is the smallest of all seeds.” (Actually it is not, but this fact does not invalidate the comparison.) “Once it is sown it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its branches.” Mustard is an annual herb grown for its flavoring. Varieties range from two to six ft. The oil of the plant and the leaves were used for flavoring. Mustard grows rapidly and can be invasive, taking over a garden or field. If Jesus or Mark intends to emphasize the invasiveness of the mustard plant, they would see the kingdom of God as invading the human heart and society until individual and society are overwhelmed by God’s sovereign rule over them. In the same way, the size of the mustard plant is overwhelming when compared to the size of the seed. When the kingdom of God overwhelms us, we can reverse a saying of St. Paul, Romans 5:20, “If I do the good I did not want to do, then it is no longer I that do it, but the kingdom of God within me is doing it.”
“The birds of the sky dwelling in its branches” is a reference to two Old Testament parables, Ezekiel 17:23 and 31:6. Ezekiel’s parables have a specific meaning in the context of the sixth century B.C., not our concern here. Mark’s gospel is concerned in a special way with the Gentile Church. The size of the mustard plant and its welcoming branches is an invitation from a welcoming Christian community to all nations. The early Church would have seen itself as the tiny mustard seed which by Mark’s time had grown into a large plant welcoming all.
