Good soil
Day 291, Thursday, May 29
Mark Chapter 4
Living in an agricultural society, Jesus used a lot of parables and analogies about growing things: wheat and mustard seed and grapes and such, as well as those about sheep and goats and other livestock.
We’re a little further away from the land, but not so much so that we can’t understand his meaning.
Today’s quotation is one that’s mainly familiar to me from many years of reading the Christian Science Monitor newspaper—this scripture quotation is on the editorial page each day. It took me a long time to understand why they had chosen this particular quotation, but I think it’s a lesson about patience. When we plant a seed, whether it’s a literal seed in the ground or wisdom in an editorial or column, we have to let it go and let it grow.
You can do things to prepare the soil and make sure the conditions are right for growth, but ultimately growth is up to the soil and the seed to do what they do, out of sight and out of your control.
Also in today’s reading is the familiar parable of the farmer who dropped seed along the path.
Some fell on the hard-packed earth of the path and was quickly eaten by birds. Some fell on rocky places where it had shallow soil: it grew quickly but could not withstand the bright light of the sun as it had no roots. Other seed fell among the thorns, which grew and choked out the tender plants. Some, though, fell into good soil and flourished.
The parable is about how different people respond to hearing the word of God.
Some are so hardened that it makes no impact.
Some receive the word gladly, but never allow themselves to get beyond a surface understanding of faith. Once the joy of initially receiving the word is confronted with the harsh light of real life, it doesn’t have the roots it needs to stand up to the heat, and dies.
Others receive the word and it begins to grow, but the cares and complications of daily living squeeze the joy and life out of it and they fall away.
Others are fortunate to receive the word at the right time of life, when they soil is rich and the soil and seed can together do what they do, producing a rich crop of faith.
We can see this parable from two different angles, and gain from it either way.
First, we can see ourselves receiving the seed.
Unlike the literal seed and soil of the parable, we have ability to change our own circumstances and attitudes, making conditions better for our faith to grow.
The other way we can look at the parable is evangelistically, as we spread the faith to other people.
We can take care to witness when the time is right and to make sure those we witness to have the support they need. This is another reason that the strongest witness we can make is to people we have an ongoing, trusting relationship with, not strangers. It is those we cross paths with regularly that we can help tend the soil, so to speak, to give the word the greatest opportunity possible to flourish and thrive within them.

Thursday meditation

Proverbs 29:1-3
Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.
When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.
A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.

Prayer focus
God, take the seed of faith that is in my heart and let it grow and flourish many times over. Also, give me the will and wisdom to help that faith grow in those I know and love.

-Rev. Mark Fleming