Sowing. Faithfully

 In the Gospel Mk 4: 26-34 Jesus is speaking to his disciples through  the use of parables.   In one parable he says “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how”    Jesus always spoke of the kingdom of God and how it will grow.   This parable is another illustration of  how Gods kingdom will flourish. The beauty in it is that we as followers are to simply have faith  and watch it happen. Just as Jesus says in the parable seed will sprout but we don’t know how.   We don’t need to know how or why. We just need to know who. The who is Jesus and that’s really all you need.   Yes we are called to sow but it’s God awesome  power that makes everything possible. We are called to spread the word but only with the power of God does grow and flourish  

In another parable Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed.  The mustard seed  is incredibly small, very similar to the church at that time.  Jesus said to his disciples that the mustard seed  “becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”  Perhaps there was a duel meaning here. Jesus may have been speaking about the church and how it will grow and provide the much needed shelter from this world.  But Jesus also referenced mustard seeds in the past, when he spoke of faith. Like a mustard seed a small amount of faith can go a long way.   Maybe this was Jesus  also reminding his disciples that with very little, God can do much more than we can.  We do not know how.  We aren’t supposed to  understand how a seed becomes a plant. We are to just watch it happen. 

     Today I ask you. Can you watch faithfully? Can you sow a seed and watch?  Watching the seed mature as God sees fit.  So many of us lack the patience to trust the lord with  our seeds. We sow then wait anxiously.  Hoping that what sprouts from that seed is exactly what WE want. True faith involves patience and trust that what comes from that seed is what God wants. Are we not seeds ourselves?  God’s plan for your life is complete. God has done a lifetime of planning for each one of us. Still, we worry.  When we can trust God, the ultimate sower of seeds, life becomes peaceful. God has a plan for each one of us.    That is why in this gospel it mentions that Jesus  spoke to his disciples in two ways. He spoke with parables, and he spoke  directly to them.  Every communication we have with God is uniquely designed for us.  Tailor made for our hearts.  We can  all hear the same words but get different messages. That is what the ultimate sower does for us.   Today, we are reminded  how to sow. We sow with faith that although we do not know how, we  always know who.