Parallels, Parables, Planting

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My sermon is entitled “Parallels, Parables and Planting” and my focus is our Gospel (Mk 4:26-34). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

The word parallel comes from two Greek words: para meaning beside and allelois meaning each other. By definition, parallel means extending in the same direction, equidistant at all points, and never converging or diverging. Most of us know that lines in a plane which do not intersect or touch each other at any point are said to be parallel. Parallel may also refer to computing, mathematics, science, navigation, music, entertainment, grammar, rhetoric or gymnastics.

Gospel parallels place similar passages from different evangelists alongside each other for easy comparison. This is an important tool for anyone who wants to better understand the gospels. How did different writers tell the same stories in the first generations of the Church? Why are they different?

The synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, contain much of the same material. Matthew and Luke tell nearly all of the stories told in Mark and share several stories that are not in Mark. In addition, all three books are written as if the authors personally observed all of the events and were reporting what they saw at the time.

The Gospel of John purposefully omitted much of the material found in the synoptic gospels and added a considerable amount of material not found in them. It appears that John wrote his gospel as a supplement to the other three. So, when you place the four side-by-side, you see striking similarities and subtle differences.

All three synoptic gospels recorded that Jesus compared the mustard seed to the Kingdom. Matthew used the phrase Kingdom of heaven, while Mark and Luke employed the phrase Kingdom of God. The seed was sown. Matthew wrote that a man sowed it on the field. Mark wrote that the seed was sowed upon the ground, while Luke said that a man sowed it in his garden.

Matthew’s Jesus stated that the seed is the smallest of all seeds, while Mark’s Jesus added that it is the smallest of all seeds on the earth, and Luke’s Jesus is silent on its size. Matthew’s seed has grown; Mark’s grows up and puts forth large branches; and Luke’s grew. Matthew described its maturity as the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree; Mark as the greatest of all shrubs; and Luke as a tree.

All three mention the birds of the air, while Matthew concluded that they come and make nests in its branches; Mark that they can make nests in its shade; and Luke that they made nests in its branches.

Why painstakingly point out striking similarities and subtle differences in 2 or 3 verses of Scripture? To compare literary styles suited for their particular audiences and to emphasize certain theological statements.

Immediately, we notice the different places where the seed is planted and what happens when it flourishes: field, ground and garden. Nestmaking occurred in the present and in the past. Why note these subtle differences? Well, if I’m in Potter Township, I would plant seeds in a field, but if I’m in Pittsburgh, a garden. If I’m writing my gospel in 70 AD, I would write about the present, but if I’m writing my gospel in 85 AD, time has passed, and that would alter my writing. By the time Luke wrote his gospel, around 85 AD, the church had grown and flourished. So, when we read the gospel parallels, we need to keep in mind the time, setting and audience of its hearers and readers because while the church is universal, it is not always uniform.

So, what made Mark different? What was he saying? What was his theological point? We could spend hours discussing his literary style, apocalyptic symbolism and irony, but let me leave you with this. Mark was the first to write a biography of Jesus that linked his ministry to his Passion. He invited readers to understand that Jesus’ words and deeds were inextricably linked to that finale, and that was what awaited his followers. In other words, Mark connected Christology to discipleship. I will return to that thought, but for now let me move to my second point, parables.

What is a parable? Simply defined, a parable is a short story that teaches a moral or spiritual lesson. It comes to us from the Latin, parabola, and the Greek, parabole, which literally meant ‘a throwing beside.’ Its origin is from the term para, again, meaning alongside, and bole, throwing or casting, or a beam or ray.

The geometrically gifted understand that a parabolic curve refers to a comparison between fixed points and a straight line. The St. Louis Arch and your satellite dish are parabolic curves. Jesus, however, did not teach math or build arches. Rather, he compared real life situations to teach a lesson about God.

Parables were part of Jewish tradition. The Hebrew term for a parable was mashal. We find mashal in the allegories, proverbs, riddles and taunts of Judges, Samuel, Proverbs and Prophets. We are familiar with Nathan’s powerful story to David of the rich man who stole and slaughtered the poor man’s prized lamb. It transformed David to a humble, contrite sinner. So, we see that Jesus did not invent parables, but like his ancestors, used them to win people over to his views.

Jesus spoke parables to proclaim the gracious advent, disturbing presence and challenging implications of the Kingdom of God. At times, he opened with, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” or, “To what shall I compare?” Although he ends his teaching abruptly, Jesus often concluded with a challenging question. “Which of these three … proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” Or, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

While Jesus did not pressure listeners to choose any one direction, he confronted them with the necessity to make a choice that determined their future. No doubt, his listeners who viewed matters one way now discovered a better way. Discovering a better way resulted in conversion, reconciliation and changed behavior. Once they experienced conversion and reconciliation, his followers transformed society and changed the world.

The Parable of the Mustard Seeds opens with Jesus thinking aloud, searching for ways to help his listeners grasp the mystery of the kingdom. It cannot be defined or contained in human categories but understood only by using word pictures that force the listener to think and ponder at a deeper level. Once again, the earthly reality most suitable is a tiny seed. In this seed parable, the emphasis is on the seed’s smallness. For Jesus’ Jewish audience, the idea of the kingdom as a seed must have seemed surprising. A more predictable comparison would have been a cataclysmic earthquake or a mighty army. Isaiah prophesized, “You will be visited by the LORD of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.” Elsewhere he proclaimed, “The sound of a tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The LORD of hosts is mustering a host for battle.” Joel echoed those words, “The LORD utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the LORD is great and very awesome; who can endure it?” But no, the kingdom is like a mustard seed, which Jesus describes for effect as the smallest of all the seeds on the earth which springs up and becomes – again, for effect – the largest of plants.

In mentioning large branches that shelter many birds, Jesus evoked the image of a lofty, shady tree, symbolizing an empire that grants protection to peoples of different races and tongues.

The Prophet Daniel interpreted the dream of Nebuchadnezzar as a tree that “grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.”

In Ezekiel, we read, “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.’”

The parable of the mustard seed pointed to the future worldwide reach of the kingdom of God. From its humble, inauspicious beginnings in Jesus’ itinerant preaching in Galilee with a small band of followers, the kingdom would mature to an immense tree in whom Gentiles would find a home. This growth was not due to human methods but to God’s hidden power. Jesus spoke with utter assurance of the future success of the kingdom, urging his disciples to persevere with hope and patience.

Now, let me return to Mark connecting Christology to discipleship. Last week I made the point of illustrating Mark’s sandwich technique: how he wrapped stories together by layering one passage between two parallel passages. I said that the entire Gospel of Mark is one massive sandwich with 8:29 as the real meat: And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” Then after he rebuked Peter, Jesus called the crowd and the disciples to him and said, “’If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?’”

I revisit that passage to make a point about Mark. He was the first writer to connect the narrative of what Jesus said and did to what God accomplished in the Christ’s death and resurrection and call it good news or Gospel. He linked the two inextricably because he wanted his readers to understand Jesus’ words and deeds not as independent modes of revelation, but as one interdependent mode of revelation. To identify Jesus as the Christ and to understand his life through the prism of the cross was the first point Mark was making. The second was to understand who you are in relation to Jesus Christ. In short, just as Mark linked inextricably Jesus’ words and deeds to his death and resurrection, he challenged his readers to see themselves as linked to Christ.

And so, I ask you, do you identify yourself as a Christian, one who not only follows his teaching, but one who embraces the cross as he did? What choice will you make today that will determine your future? Since you heard Jesus’ words and deeds, have you determined that his way of life is better than yours? …

Finally, planting seeds. We are all familiar with planting seeds. Whether we farm the land or garden a plot, we know that seeds sprout and mature into plants that bear fruit. As I reflect upon this parable, I wrestle with the activity of planting seeds and the quiet contemplation of marveling at God’s power. Should I be actively engaging people through evangelization? Should I join a megachurch where Christian fellowship is alive? Distribute Bibles on the corner or in some other corner of the world, like China? Wear jewelry and clothing that advertises my beliefs? Share sermons on social media?

Should I marvel at how the Kingdom of God blossoms in spite of our efforts to thwart it? Should I spend more time reading and reflecting on Biblical passages? Should I study and journal? Download podcasts onto my smartphone and listen to them as I walk or drive? Set aside time for quiet meditation and contemplation?

Personally, I am more of an active contemplative. I spend time each morning reading Scripture, sacred writings and Biblical theology, and the rest of the day interviewing people, writing reports and driving the western suburbs. Interspersed throughout the day I eat, drive my tractor and unpack boxes, walk our dogs and, more importantly, spend time with my wife. The time I spend in the morning affects the rest of the day. When I come across a passage, like today’s parable, or a reflection by one of the Church Fathers or a contemporary theologian, I discuss it with my wife on a walk or over dinner.

Periodically, while living my ordinary life, the topic of religion emerges. It’s in the ordinary moments that God provides an opportunity to put spirituality into action. Now, I can think of hundreds of stories where this has happened to me, and you would think it normal for a pastor, but, instead, I turn to a story my wife, Cindy, told me.

Cindy recently had a conversation about vacations with her trainer. Cindy told a friend that in 2022, we are going to Oberammergau, Germany to see the Passion Play. Her friend asked what that was. Cindy explained it was about the Passion of Jesus, and that the play is performed only once every ten years by people who live in Oberammergau. The lady acknowledged that she was raised in a home where her parents did not practice religion. After a minute, she asked Cindy, “Didn’t they make a movie about the Passion?” It was Cindy’s opportunity to evangelize in the ordinary moment.

It was her opportunity to evangelize in the ordinary moment. I repeat that sentence because we all have ordinary moments when we can evangelize at the gym or in the bleachers, in a restaurant or the grocery store, while parenting or teaching, babysitting or banking. And anywhere the Spirit blows us is where we plant seeds and marvel at the mystery of God’s Kingdom.

Friends, when we plant seeds, we should marvel not at what we have done but what God has done through Christ, His Church and the Holy Spirit dwelling in and among us. In prayer I ask God that you find ordinary opportunities to plant the seeds of God’s Kingdom and marvel at His Mysteries through prayer and evangelization. And when you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.