Justin Appel

Dear Friends,

Today’s lesson from the Gospel according to Mark contain Jesus’ explanation for why he chose to speak in parables.

The problem with the word ‘parable’ is that it contains some ambiguity. When Jesus says that those ‘outside’ only hear his words ‘in parables’ (Mark 4:11), he means that some people will simply do not understand his words because they have become unreceptive. For these people, 'parables' equal 'riddles'. Their ears are ‘dull’ and their hearts ‘callous’ to the penetrating grace of God’s Word.

Such a possibility fits well with the parable of the sower that follows. Many receive the ‘seed’ — the ‘word of the kingdom’ — but it won’t take root in some for various reasons: lack of knowledge, no perseverance, falling away in persecution, obsession with money.

On the other hand, Jesus spoke in parables to ‘draw in’ those who are willing to listen, and to give them a ‘taste’ of the kingdom. This too is born out in the parable of the sower. The fertile ground in the story is like a person who hears God’s word, understands it, and lives by it (‘bears fruit’).

The upshot of all this is that Jesus’ parables were concentrated stories that worked, and still do work, in a familiar way. Throughout our lives, we receive God’s grace and we hear God’s Word at specific junctures, but we have a choice with regard to our responses — every day!

This is why it is so important for us to seek out the ‘means of grace’: sacraments, certainly, but also many other things that communicate God’s grace to us and dispose us to receptivity — prayer, icons, fasting, nature, and so on. The more ‘open’ and ‘soft’ we are, the more the ‘word of the kingdom’ can penetrate our defenses, the more God’s grace can enter in and produce fruit in our lives.

Yours in Christ,
Justin