Science has discovered a seed has a shell (the seed coat), an embryo (a tiny baby plant) and endosperm (plant food), and we still marvel at the shell’s ability to sense and respond to the right environment to begin germination. The growth of the seed remains mysterious. A seed may lie dormant for a time, but it is still alive and has the potential to grow into something beneficial and great for the world.
Earlier in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus compared God’s Word to seed. Today, he compares the seed to God’s kingdom. These parables explore the mysterious nature of the kingdom’s growth. Perhaps Mark added these two parables to encourage the early Church. Jews who chose to follow the new way of Christ’s Gospel were asked to make changes in their understanding and application of Torah and its many traditions. They have been asked to embrace Jesus as the new high priest, to accept that the traditional series of sacrificial offerings have been replaced by Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice, and to put Christian gatherings ahead of temple worship.
It’s not surprising when these early converts questioned their initial zeal and decision to become Christian, because of the rejection, abuse, and persecution that were common experiences for them. The author of Hebrews letter is reminding the reader of their original enthusiasm and joy and urging them to have patience and perseverance, so not lose the reward their newfound faith offers them.[1]
At least on occasion, todays Christians question whether this life of faith we practice will really grow into God’s kingdom and embrace the whole world. Patience and perseverance do not come easily for most of us. Patience means the willingness to suffer; perseverance means the willingness to endure. Neither is a popular remedy in the face of opposition. And yet the pre-Christian Roman playwright Plautus suggested, “Patience is the best remedy for every trouble.” Our own Thomas Jefferson advised a friend, “To every obstacle oppose patience, perseverance, and soothing language.”[2]
Hebrews starts by asking us to “remember the days past when…” (Heb 10:32) remember when we first received the good seed of God’s Word, our initial enthusiasm and joy. Take time today to contemplate your faith journey, how a small seed, settled itself into the soil of your heart. Maybe it laid dormant for a time, all the while, without our knowing, the Kingdom was growing within, until one day an epiphany came to our consciousness, with new life and new challenges.
As so often happens, we more easily advocate patience or perseverance than put either into practice. Yet, as the psalmist tells us, “Trust in the Lord… Take delight in… and commit to the Lord your way.” (Ps 37:3-5) For God indeed never seems to be in a hurry. Maybe that’s why he asks patience and perseverance of us! May we have sense and respond to seed of His kingdom present in our heart, that we might, in our own smallness, produce something beneficial and great for the world.
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