Mark 12:1-11 (NRSV)

Then he began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.  When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard.  But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted.  Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed.  He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.  What then will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.  Have you not read this scripture: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes'?"

“Beloved son” is the term that stands out to me today.  We know Jesus as the only beloved Son of God.  In the parable story that Jesus tells, it is easy to place Jesus in the role of the beloved son that the tenants of the vineyard seized, killed, and threw out of the vineyard. 

Parables are succinct stories that have no historical integrity but display events so that they have an alternative meaning and a lesson to be learned.  Jesus uses parables to explain situations, and this parable of the vineyard owner is no different.  The vineyard owner has been paralleled with God, and the ones sent to collect the produce are the mighty prophets of old.  Jesus himself is the Son.  The tenants are the world and could be Israel in this case.  Jesus sites for them a psalm that they would easily recognize (Psalm 118:22-23).  The audience would immediately understand that the story Jesus is telling has a distinct meaning for what is about to happen to him.

The tenants have been given great responsibility for the vineyard, which is well equipped with a fence, a wine press, and a watchtower.  God has given us everything that we need, yet we continue to turn our backs on God, not acknowledging all the wonderful blessings.  The world has rejected and killed all the prophets of God and then reject and kill the beloved son.

The call today is not simple.  It involves understanding and accepting the responsibility to care for the creation (the vineyard) that God has provided for us.  In that, we are expected to honor and respect God’s prophets.  It also involves placing Jesus Christ, the cornerstone, at the foundation of our life so that everything else aligns with Him.

Mark 4:21-34 (NRSV)

[Jesus] said to them, 'Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand?  For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.  Let anyone with ears to hear listen!'  And he said to them, 'Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you.  For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.'  He also said, 'The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.  The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head.  But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.'  He also said, 'With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?  It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.'  With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

“Come to light” is the phrase that stands out today.  Jesus continues to teach in the 4^th chapter of Mark, and makes an argument for the proper use of light, insinuating that light isn’t any good to anyone or anything if it is hidden or isn’t used properly (under a basket or under a bed).  However, if it is put on a lampstand, then it serves it’s purpose.

The passage continues to unfold in the same manner.  Like the light, Jesus tells those he is teaching (we included) that we will be given a measure (Word).  What we do with that measure…  if we serve its purpose, then more will be given.  However, if we ignore its purpose…  if we have nothing, we will loose everything.  More simply put, if we choose to ignore God’s word or if refuse to listen to God’s word, then we will loose an eternity with God.

Jesus continues with the agricultural imagery in his explanation of the Kingdom of God.  He chooses the parable of the mustard seed.  This continues the seed explanation from yesterday’s reflection about the seed cast on good soil.  If the smallest of seeds can produce the greatest of shrubs with great, strong branches, then how much more could we do as receivers and cultivators of the Word.  From the smallest amounts of the received and acted on Word of God, great things can come to build up the Kingdom of God.  The passage says that Jesus continued to speak to his followers in parables, but explained everything to his disciples.

Today, I feel that the call is to make sure that God’s Word is heard and acted on.  It is one thing to hear the Word and it’s another to put it into action.  We can do this in our faith communities, in our families, and in our work places.  I had a friend once that helped me think of my job as ministry, regardless of what it was.  We should figure out how what we do brings glory to God and reconciles the world to Christ.  This will help us bring meaning to our lives as we put God’s Word and God’s love into action.

Mark 4:1-20 (NRSV)

Again [Jesus] began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.  He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 'Listen! A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil.  And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away.  Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.  Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.'  And he said, 'Let anyone with ears to hear listen!'  When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables.  And he said to them, 'To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that "they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven."'  And he said to them, 'Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.  And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy.  But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.  And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing.  And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.'

This passage, which immediately follows where we left off yesterday, oddly starts with Jesus teaching them “beside the sea” in parables.  It is interesting that this particular parable is not only a parable, but an explanation of the parable.  This is helpful when reading it 2000 years later.  What jumps out to me is that Jesus teaches them many things “in parables.”  The word "parable" comes from the Greek παραβολή (parabolē), that means "comparison, illustration, or analogy.”  It is a succinct story, which illustrates a lesson, or sometimes an instructive or normative principle.

It is worth pointing out that Jesus is teaching using the analogy of a sower in an agricultural society.  This is a great idea.  People new how to plant and harvest, their life depended on it.  Not like today when folks have gardens in their back yard to grow fresh vegetables.  If you didn’t sow wisely, you didn’t reap, and you would probably starve.  One would think that by using this reference, people would more than likely understand what Jesus was talking about, but that isn’t the case.

So, we get a rare opportunity to hear Jesus explain what he is talking about.  He explains how the seed is word (aka Word of God, the Good News, the Gospel, etc…).  Call it what you will.  The path, the rocky ground, thorns, and good soil are all the hearers or receivers of the word.

Jesus relates the Word to the receiver in the agricultural analogy clarifying that good soil bears good fruit.  In other words, the hearer that receives the Word of God, takes it to heart, and acts on it, will in turn do the good work to build up the Kingdom of God.  The call in the scripture today is be good soil!  Be soil on which when the word of God (the seed) falls, it takes it in and acts on it to produce good fruit for the Kingdom of God.