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| | For June 25 • Pentecost 3B | This week's text picks up where last week's text leaves off.
If we look at the first verse in this chapter (Mark 4:1), we read how Jesus was teaching beside the sea and the crowd got so large that Jesus had to get into a boat and preach from there. He taught in parables. And we hear a collection of those parables, including the important parable of The Sower (4:3-9) and it's explanation (4:13-20) as well as the parables of seed growin secretly and the mustard seed.
That day of teaching in parables ends with Jesus and his disciples travelling to the other side of the lake. (verses 35-36). Last week we considered God's word for us through Jesus teaching in parables, this week we consider God's word for us through Jesus words and action through the form of a miracle story. This miracle story shows the authority of Jesus word (an authority that has already astonished the crowds in Mark because he not only preaches and teaches about God's kingdom, but his word does what it says).< br/>
The Psalm for the day is Psalm 107. R.T. France points out that some commentators see how Psalm 107 "forms a 'horizon' for this reading and other miracles in this section." Of special note is the portion of the Psalm we'll sing in worship Psalm 107:23-32.
Another passage to look at and think of when reading this story is the story of Jonah (chapter 1). Jonah too runs into rough seas. Jonah too sleeps in the storm and is awakened by a frightened crew. The crew fears God even more than the storm, when everything quiets down -- after Jonah has been thrown overboard ... sacrificed? Of course in the story of Jonah, Jonah is running from God's call and the storm and the fish put him back in line with God's mission.
Verse 37: With all the media coverage of violent storms recently, it isn't difficult to imagine the violence and ferocity of the storm described in this short verse. People who have been in a great windstorm describe the terrible sound of the wind as being like that of a train. Couple that with the power of pounding waves, waves that fill the boat, and we can get a sense of how terrifying a scene this is.
Verse 38: But Jesus is asleep in the stern ... on a pillow, no less. Contrast his peace, his rest, with the violence of the storm in the verse before and the panic of the disciples in the next verse. Jesus is literally surrounded by shrieking chaos and panic. And yet he sleeps. It is difficult to think of Jesus asleep while his disciples are in peril. I guess it's difficult for his disciples to imagine this too. But then here is a picture of a man at peace and at rest in faith in God. He is calm in the storm because he is Lord of wind and sea, the calmer of the storm, but also, I think, because (as we read in John's Gospel) he and the Father are one. He walks in faith in his heavenly Father. He fears no evil. The disciples wake him in a panic. The question is a strange, rude prayer. You do care that we're perishing, teacher, don't you? There's a lot in that question. It expects a "Yes, I do care." But it also seems to carry a bit of rebuke of its own, doesn't it. Don't you care? We're dying here! I wonder what they are expecting Jesus to do ... stop the wind (they seem surprised when that happens) or pitch in and pull his weight? Jesus sleeping. They won't stand for it.
Verse39: Jesus wakes up and he rebukes the wind and tells the sea to be quiet. R. T. France and other commentators point out that these words, translated here in NRSV by Peace! Be Still! are the same words used for Jesus' rebuke of demons. It is literally: Be Quiet! Shut Up! What follows is a great calm. (The opposite of the the great windstorm). The chaos, the noise of wind and sea is tamed. Everything is set in order again. Just as at creation, the voice of the LORD has spoken and it has happened. Jesus speaks this powerful and creative word ... with authority.
Verse40: These words are tough. "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" From the people who have been with Jesus everyday, the insiders to whom he has explained everything (4:10 and 4:34), Jesus expects more. And yet, Jesus has saved them from the storm, and so we could hope that the witness and experience of Jesus' miraculous power of wind and sea would strengthen their faith. We shall see. What about us?
Verse41: There are three greats in this story. 1) A great windstorm; 2) A great calm; and 3) A great awe (NRSV) literally fear --"they feared a great fear." I wonder if this fear is the great fear of reverence or just plain fear. And then the question: "Who then is this ...?" Commentators point out that the question is for us to answer. As we read, we, the hearers of the Gospel, from our perspective and remembering the first words of the Gospel (Mark 1:1) know that this is Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God. Mary Ann Tolbert, however, sees this fear as the opposite of faith. Instead of the event strengthening the disciples faith, they respond in fear -- the opposite of faith. Before the wind and sea, in the storm, they are afraid. Now, before the Son of God and in the power of God, they are afraid. They do not respond with thanksgiving or praise or worship or faith, but with awe, fear and wonder.
What do you make of this story?
What is God saying to you, to us through scripture?
| | | | Seeds and Soil and Mysterious, Miraculous Growth | | 0 responses | Parables are like seeds themselves. Sown upon a fertile heart and mind, they yield some great fruit. Share some your harvest with us.
Here are some questions I have for you as a I prepare to preach.
What do you hear God saying to you personally or to us as a congregation through these parables?
If you were going to preach on these parables, what title would you give your sermon and why?
Did you find it helpful to link these parables to the Parable of the Sower (4:1-10)? | | |
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| | Visit Holy Trinity Lutheran Church | | Read Mark 4 online |
| | For June 18 • Pentecost 2 | Mark 4:26-34
Two parables about seeds, soil and the mystery of growth
These two parables from Mark Gospel are part of grouping of parables in the fourth chapter of Mark. This chapter begins with the parable of the Sower (1-9) and its explanation (10-20). Mary Ann Tolbert sees this parable of the Sower as an interpretive key to the first half of Marks Gospel. According to Tolbert: "the actions in the parables (Sower and Tenants --12:1-12) corresponds to characters, groups or actions in the narrative of the Gospel as a whole" (New Interpreter's Study Bible 1813). The emphasis of the parable of the sower in Mark, according to Tolbert, is on the type of fruit the soil produces from the seed (the Word) that is sown into it. Tolbert asserts that the parable helps the hearers of Mark's Gospel to understand the actions of the characters in the story as they respond to Jesus' Word. The parable, then, is a foreshadowing of the overwhelmingly negative response to Jesus (three out of four times) and God's kingdom. Yet, the tremendous yield of the fruitful soil offsets the unfruitful.
Since the parables we are considering for June 18 are part of this series, and since these parables deal with seeds and soil and growth, Tolbert sees a relationship here. These parables take up where the discussion of the good soil leaves off (Mark 4:8 and 4:20). Emphasizing the soil, then, helps us to understand these parables as a commentary about the fruitful interaction of seed and soil. In both of the parables, we tend to concentrate solely on the seed. Tolbert points out the importance of the soil itself. In the case of these parables, we have a discussion of how good soil yields such a harvest.
The great thing about parables, though, is that they are open-ended. A number of interpretations often turn out to be fruitful.
The parable of the growing seed
This parable is told only in Mark's Gospel. It is a strange and lovely little story. 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. I would assume the "he" of verse 27 to be the someone who has scattered seed on the ground. He doesn't know how it grows. The earth produces of itself, and when the fruit is full and ripe -- a harvest. It is a mystery why and how the Word (both spoken and performed) of God when scattered over people, takes root, grows and bears fruit in lives of faith. And yet, it is a mystery in which we can rejoice. God's word does bear fruit. And fruit is what God is looking for. The kingdom of God, then is like a fertile and fruitful piece of ground. The seed in the soil grows and gives of itself, an offering.
The parable of the Mustard Seed
How do we draw the point of comparison in the parables? In the parable of the mustard seed, we often stop with a one-to-one comparison between the kingdom of God and a tiny mustard seed (by kingdom, though, we are not thinking of place, but the reign of God, so some people will say the reign of God is like ...). But notice here how it is the entire process being compared to the reign of God. The reign of God is like mustard seed when it is sown in the ground. The emphasis is not necessarily on the smallness, but on the miraculous growth comes from a seemingly insignificant seed sown in the ground. Here I'm reminded of a lesson from John's Gospel that we read this past Spring during Lent. "Unless a grain of wheat falls in the earth and dies, it remains a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit (John 12:23). The seed in the soil grows up to be the greatest of shrubs and blessing for all of creation. So could we say that God's reign rises from the earth to be a blessing for all (shelter and home for the birds)? So the reign of God is not like a seed, but instead like a seed that is sown and grows and bears fruit from good soil. There is something here about the nature of the relationship between God and God's people. God comes down to us (earth, soil) and God's reign grows out from us, bearing fruits of Christ's death and resurrection for the blessing of the world.
How do you read?
| | Message Board | | Seeds and Soil and Mysterious, Miraculous Growth | | 0 responses | Parables are like seeds themselves. Sown upon a fertile heart and mind, they yield some great fruit. Share some your harvest with us.
Here are some questions I have for you as a I prepare to preach.
What do you hear God saying to you personally or to us as a congregation through these parables?
If you were going to preach on these parables, what title would you give your sermon and why?
Did you find it helpful to link these parables to the Parable of the Sower (4:1-10)? | | |
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