It is not of course unusual for one of the evangelists to be the only one that records a parable. Except for Matthew we would not have the parable of the hired laborers, and only Luke tells the story of the prodigal son. But there is an interesting difference in Mark’s case. He is more interested in revealing who Jesus was and what he did, why he died, and what others said of him than in his teaching. And so he recorded only a few of his parables -- only five in fact, while both Matthew and Luke have three times that many. .

We may conclude therefore that while Mark surely knew many of Jesus’ parables, he was highly selective in the ones he used. Of the five he recorded all of them are found also in Matthew and Luke, except the one I am talking about -- which the New Jerusalem Bible calls “ the parable of the seed growing by itself” (Mark 4:26-29).

This poses an interesting question. It is generally agreed that Mark wrote first, perhaps as early as 70 A.D., while Matthew and Luke wrote a decade or so later, and that they had access to Mark and copiously made use of his material. Something like 80% to 90% of Mark is in either Matthew or Luke, often word for word! Why did they both pass over this parable? They both record the parable before this one in Mark (parable of the sower), and the one after (parable of the mustard seed), but pass over this one!

Perhaps they did not discern its significance, which has been the parable’s fate all these centuries. I suspect many of you, regular readers of the Bible, will be like Ouida. When I recounted the parable to her she said, “I don’t remember that parable.” Tucked away only in Mark and only four verses, it may be the most neglected of all the parables, and yet it is one of the most significant. It is in fact mind-boggling in significance, and it may well be the most reassuring of all the parables in reference to the ultimate triumph of God’s purposes.

“This is what the kingdom of God is like,” Jesus begins. “A man scatters seed on the land. Night and day, while he sleeps, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he does not know. Of its own accord the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear, And when the crop is ready, at once he starts to reap because the harvest has come.”

I think the Roman Catholic scholars who translated the above in the New Jerusalem Bible caught the essence of this parable in a single sentence: The kingdom will achieve its full development by virtue of it sown hidden intrinsic power.

It is saying what God spoke through the prophet Isaiah (55:11) centuries before: “My word shall not return to me unfulfilled.” As surely as the seed is sown, it is that certain that the harvest will come. The growth may be indiscernible, and we will not understand how it grows, but grow it will -- until all that God has ordained will be realized. And apart from human initiative! Even while we sleep God’s kingdom is spreading. This is reassuring to those who are discouraged, supposing that nothing is happening in spite of their considerable effort.

While I was still young I learned a fact about economics that has served me well all these years -- money will make money for you while you sleep. That I could earn money while I slept intrigued me. It is a liberating truth that I have sought to teach my children and grandchildren -- don’t pay interest to others, let them pay you interest. And make money while you sleep!

And there may be something of a mystery even to that truth. Didn’t one Wall Street guru say that compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world? I have difficulty teaching my children and grandchildren that by the time they retire they can be millionaires if they put but 5% of their earnings into a mutual fund -- and let it grow while they sleep!

This parable is saying something like that, except in reference to things spiritual -- and with greater certainty than the stock market. And the how is more mysterious. Jesus may first of all have had his own seed-sowing in mind, for he went everywhere sowing the seeds of a coming kingdom. And then there was the apostolic proclamation, and the preaching of the gospel all through the ages. The seed is sown, and however dark and dismal the world may appear there is a victorious millennium of peace and goodwill in the offing -- no more death, nor pain, nor heartache.

The good news will have covered the earth as the waters cover the sea. Nations will have beaten their swords into ploughshares and there will be no more war. No poverty, no injustice. It is now at work in the world -- gradual and indiscernible. The kingdom is coming to fruition -- by its own innate power, even while we sleep. We don’t know how it grows, and thank God we don’t have to.

There is an invisible, innate power in growth. A tiny seed not only grows into a mighty tree, but its roots can crack large stones in the process. A lowly weed or blade of grass works its way through a crack in brick and concrete. Just so the seeds of the kingdom of God have such power that there is no contrivance of man or demons that can prevent its maturation.

The parable emphasizes the slow, gradual process involved. There is first only the shoot, and then -- how long? -- the grain in the ear, and then -- how much longer? -- the full grain in the ear. As man counts time it may appear endless, but with God a thousand years is but a day. This parable does not accommodate the televangelists and sign-bearers who insist “The end is near.” Kingdom growth and human history may yet be in their infancy. We may presently be only in the “shoot” era, with thousands -- even tens of thousand years -- yet to go before the consummation. But still only a few days to God!

But even in the “shoot” era there is an abundance of kingdom seed being sown and growth going on. Two of Ouida’s and my favorite ministries are an example. The World Bible Translation Center in Fort Worth has translated, published, and distributed millions of Bibles for those who would otherwise be without God’s word in their own language. Habitat for Humanity has already built a million homes for the poor, and are this year well into their second million.

In yesterday’s local paper there was the story of a homeless shelter in our home town, conducted by Sons of Thunder, a Christian motor cycle ministry, that might have to close because it does not meet city regulations. The write-up told how the Singing Oaks Church of Christ, our home congregation, gave over $12,000 as seed money to keep the shelter open.

And yesterday a phone call informed me of work being done in behalf of poverty-stricken Haiti, and last night I was told of efforts to take children off the streets of Nairobi -- where 30,000 of them sleep in the streets -- and provide them with food, housing, and training.

Millions of such stories could be told -- labors of love and works of faith -- all around the world. And multitudes are turning to Christ, especially in India, China, Africa, and South America. The seed is sprouting and growing. Perhaps there is already some grain in the ear. Finally -- and by our good works we may hasten the day -- there will be the full grain in the ear. And time for the harvest

Kingdom growth is already evident in dramatic ways in human history. Slavery, once a scourge that afflicted the majority of the human race, is now virtually non-existent. Prisons and institutions for the mentally ill were once cesspools of filth, cruelty, and human degradation -- conditions that would not be tolerated today. Superstition, an evil that long hindered enlightenment, is greatly diminished. Education, decent housing, and meaningful employment have long been on the rise. Hospitals and health care are available for more people around the world than ever before. Modern science and technology are being used by the God of heaven to usher in his reign on earth. It was seeds of the kingdom that gave us the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Age of Enlightenment.

There is still much darkness in our troubled and terrorized world, but there are also countless points of light shining in that darkness. Kingdom seed continues to be sown. Its growth is certain. How it can grow amidst all the demonic forces we do not know. But grow it will against all odds. The power is in the seed. First the shoot, then the grain in the ear, and then the full grain in the ear.

In the end we win. It is really a participle -- we are winning!

Notes

I thank you for your loving concern for my wife Ouida and my daughter Phoebe. Ouida was treated for atrial fibrillation (irregular heart function) in the hospital, and she continued on drugs for it after we brought her home last Saturday. She seemed to improve for a few days, but by Thursday a.m. she was so weak that she had to go back to the hospital. This time the diagnosis was pneumonia. It is not clear whether pneumonia was the original problem or whether it developed during her illness. She will be there for awhile, but in good hands. She is only a mile away. When I am not there with her we keep in touch by phone.

Wednesday was Phoebe’s 52nd birthday. I took her a potted plant, only to learn that they are not allowed in ICU. “You can take it in and show it to her,” the nurse allowed. So I showed her the plant and sang Happy Birthday, and I told her I would care for it for her. She did not remember that it was her birthday. That same day they did a procedure called cardio section (if I got it right) -- shocking the heart so as to slow its beat. A few days before they inserted a stint in an artery. She has a long way to go yet. I decided I would not tell her that her mother was also in the hospital unless she asked about her. She asked about her.