30 Yeshua also said, “With what can we compare the Kingdom of God? What illustration should we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when planted, is the smallest of all the seeds in the field; 32 but after it has been planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all the plants, with such big branches that the birds flying about can build nests in its shade.”
33 With many parables like these he spoke the message to them, to the extent that they were capable of hearing it. 34 He did not say a thing to them without using a parable; when he was alone with his own talmidim he explained everything to them.
3rd Week in Ordinary TimeScatter seed on the land. (Mark 4:26)
Have you ever planted seeds from a packet and sat back to see what would happen? With very little attention—just a little water and some sunshine—you soon see little sprouts popping up through the soil. It’s like watching a miracle!
This is similar to what the sower in today’s parable does. His method may not be the best in terms of growing a food crop, but it does illustrate an approach to evangelization that probably feels more natural to us.
Sometimes, when we feel the Spirit nudging us to reach out to someone, we can overthink it: “What will I say? What will I do? What if he asks a question I can’t answer?” But that wouldn’t be the situation if we were to sow the seeds of the gospel as liberally as this farmer. Perhaps there are ways to reach out and bless people without it feeling forced or uncomfortable.
Start by thinking about your personality. Are you an encourager? Or maybe you find little ways to help a co-worker who always seems overworked. Or you might love spending time with people, or you like to bring people little gifts that make them happy: a cup of coffee on a cold morning or a plate of cookies for an afternoon snack at the office.
Guess what? These are all “seeds” you can sow. They are much more than kind gestures; they are signs that you are actively going out of your way to bless the people around you.
Now, imagine that a prayer is behind every seed, a prayer that your gesture will help draw that person a little closer to Christ. What power could be released!
As you go about your day, don’t worry about how to talk to someone about your faith. Just live your life with a focus on the people around you. That’s the secret to evangelization. Your witness may come through words, but it may come through consistently loving and caring for someone who needs it. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see fruit right away. Today’s parable reassures us that the seeds are growing and sprouting, almost of their own accord. Your job is just to scatter as many of them as you can.
“Lord, teach me to be a scatterer of seeds that will draw people to you!” Amen!
2 Samuel 11:1 In the spring, at the time when kings go out to war, David sent out Yo’av, his servants who were with him and all Isra’el. They ravaged the people of ‘Amon and laid siege to Rabbah. But David stayed in Yerushalayim. 2 Once, after his afternoon nap, David got up from his bed and went strolling on the roof of the king’s palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful. 3 David made inquiries about the woman and was told that she was Bat-Sheva the daughter of Eli‘am, the wife of Uriyah the Hitti. 4 David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he went to bed with her (for she had been purified from her uncleanness). Then she returned to her house. 5 The woman conceived; and she sent a message to David, “I am pregnant.”
6 David sent this order to Yo’av: “Send me Uriyah the Hitti.” Yo’av sent Uriyah to David. 7 When Uriyah had come to him, David asked him how Yo’av was doing, how the people were feeling and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriyah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” Uriyah left the king’s palace and was followed by a present of food from the king. 9 But Uriyah slept at the door of the king’s palace with all the servants of his lord and didn’t go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriyah didn’t go down to his house,” David said to Uriyah, “Haven’t you just arrived from a journey? Why didn’t you go down to your house?”
13 David summoned him, ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But in the evening he went out and lay on his bed with his lord’s servants and did not go down to his house.
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Yo’av and sent it with Uriyah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Put Uriyah on the front lines of the fiercest fighting; then pull back from him, so that he will be wounded and killed.” 16 So while Yo’av had the city under siege, he assigned Uriyah to the place where he knew the toughest defenders were. 17 The men of the city went out and fought Yo’av; a number of people fell, including some of David’s servants, with Uriyah the Hitti among the dead.
Psalm 51:3 (1) God, in your grace, have mercy on me;
in your great compassion, blot out my crimes.
4 (2) Wash me completely from my guilt,
and cleanse me from my sin.
5 (3) For I know my crimes,
my sin confronts me all the time.
6 (4) Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil from your perspective;
so that you are right in accusing me
and justified in passing sentence.
7 (5) True, I was born guilty,
was a sinner from the moment my mother conceived me.
10 (8) Let me hear the sound of joy and gladness,
so that the bones you crushed can rejoice.
11 (9) Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my crimes.
----------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment