Mark 4:1-20
Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such
a very large crowd gathered around him
that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the
whole crowd was beside the sea
on the land. 2He began to teach them many things in parables,
and in his teaching he said
to them: 3'Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed,
some seed fell on the
path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Other seed fell on rocky
ground, where it did not have
much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of
soil. 6And when the sun rose, it
was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. 7Other
seed fell among thorns, and
the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8Other
seed fell into good soil and
brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty
and sixty and a
hundredfold.' 9And he said, 'Let anyone with ears to hear listen!'
10 When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11And he said to them, 'To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; 12in order that"they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven."'
13 And he said to them, 'Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? 14The sower sows the word. 15These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. 17But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, 19but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. 20And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.'
Think:
When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, 'To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that"they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven."'
During my ordination a few weeks ago the Bishop mentioned the following "Like it or not, from this day on, they become huge projection screens, but that is another sermon." I've been thinking about what kinds of things I project and what projections have been placed on me in the past few weeks and even before that. When I entered seminary I was suddenly the ecclesiatical, biblical and all over Christian authority- at least that's what my friends and family seemed to think. I worked very hard to explain to them that I hadn't learned all that much between August 1, 2010 and September 1, 2010 about any such things, what I had learned in seminary by that point was only how to log into my email, get into my dorm and where my classes were. But now that I have completed my seminary course work I still feel like I haven't begun to understand anything more than I did when I heard and responded to my call. That isn't exactly true, I do know more, I have learned about scripture and church history and cannon law, I have amassed knowledge that I am certain will help me in my future ministry but I like the apostles need these things explained to me sometimes.
I feel like one of the projections placed upon clergy is that we are in some way closer to the apostles understanding than those in our care- that those in parishes and ministry with us could be thought of as the masses who are instructed in parables and those who wear the collar could be thought of those who are around Jesus who are supposed to understand plainly what is going on around them. To those who think that way I want to point to this passage- the apostles themselves who knew Jesus, who ate and drank and traveled with him did not understand the parable- they needed it explained to them. This is precisely why we have professors of church history, scripture, canon law, liturgy and so many other things to teach priests the necessary skills in seminary and other theological education.
This is who I am grateful for today- the many professors who explained to me the parable of ministry.
Pray:
Teacher God, Bless those who have taught me from Sunday School Teachers to Seminary professors who have given me the knowledge they have amassed through years of training and study so that I might be able to answer some of the questions of those in my care. I ask that you continue to send me teachers so that I might learn through them the meaning of your Word and live according to your Love. Demonstrated so deftly by you, Your Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Contemplate:
Centering Prayer 10 Minutes.
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