Mark 4:1–20
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."
Reflection
·
Can I see God’s word is like seeds with a life
of its own?
·
Do I receive God’s word and give it roots and
depth so that it survives hardships; and protect it from the thorns of multiple
cares and desires?