Mark 4

Seeds do not grow without soil, and soil is a factor of place.

It’s like Jesus knows. How?

When predictable things are replaced by elusive ones

The people come, bringing something of themselves. Then they leave.

In God's kingdom, sometimes less is more.

The wind and water operate at a guttural level within these fishermen disciples.

It’s a beautiful plant. It’s also an invasive weed.

What do we miss when we seclude ourselves on safe shores of sameness?

My Western side longs for more activity in this parable, but I'm trying to listen to my Eastern side.

There is a puzzling and disturbing detail in Mark’s account of the storm at sea, one we often do not even notice. In verse 36, we are told that when Jesus heads across the sea with his disciples, “other boats were with him.”

On first reading, the two parables in today's Gospel text seem to make less and less sense. In the first, a sower seems to leave the seed to fend for itself. In the second, a tiny mustard seed becomes a bush large enough for its branches to provide shelter for birds. (In Matthew's telling, it's a full-size tree!) When we stop to think about it, both parables are preposterous.

Like the stories that come before it, the storm at sea is a parable of reversal.

Like the stories that come before it, the storm at sea is a parable of reversal.

I have come to realize how mysterious a thing a seed is.

To be a follower of the one who promised that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed is to expect a blessed in-breaking of peace.

The Prodigal Son is often read to mean that God loves sinners, whereas the Jews thought God only loved the righteous. This makes no sense.

Six words of scripture always transport me to an amazing place: “The kingdom of heaven is like . . .”

These Gospel stories can seem so familiar. But sit with the disciples in the little wooden boat, and Jesus' power will render you speechless.

The “Jesus asleep in the boat during a terrible storm” story has always seemed unfair to me. I feel for the disciples when they wake him; they are understandably angry that he doesn’t seem to care that they are about to die. I’d be just as angry at Jesus for appearing so calm in the midst of real danger.

The disciples are uncomfortable that Jesus is not acting according to the category of “concerned friend,” much less “messiah”—so they kind of yell at him. And when it comes down to it, who hasn’t yelled at God during the storms of life?