He said, “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land 27 and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. 28 Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.” 30 He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? 31 It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. 32 But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” 33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. 34 Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
The parable of the seed growing by itself is found only in Mark. The seed, once it is sown, grows without further action by the Sower. The growth of the kingdom of God established on earth by Christ is of divine origin and does not depend on man. It will develop slowly until it reaches the stage of maturity determined by God. No one can stop the growth of the seed. Man must cooperate but his efforts will not bear fruit for the Kingdom unless guided by God (1 Cor. 3:6-7). The kingdom is dynamic and the whole process of hearing the word, letting it grow within you, bearing fruit, and providing a bountiful harvest for God is what is important. Regardless of what happens in the world, the harvest, the kingdom of God, will come to final fullness so we should be patient and confident and not get discouraged.
The mustard seed is a very small seed that grows into a large plant. Birds light on its branches to eat the grains of mustard seed when they are ripe. God will grow the kingdom from its small beginning to its incredible fullness (Ez. 17:23). This will happen in the same way seeds are planted, and the harvest follows, but we have to wait for it to gradually happen as the process takes care of itself. One must be patient and let God make the seed grow so that all those who accept His Son can find shelter. Jesus’ teachings were given in parables to the crowds according to their capacity to understand (Mk. 4:33) but they needed to make an effort to grasp the deeper meaning of the parables. It was not Jesus’ intention to disguise the word so that those who heard it could not understand. Those who followed Jesus as a result of hearing his teaching became his disciples. He taught them about the kingdom of God by explaining the deeper meaning of the parables.
Almighty God, help us to understand your living Word given to us by Jesus and handed down by his Apostles. Grant us the grace to keep your precepts, and the spiritual insight to grow daily in understanding as we read and ponder your Word. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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