St Mark Chapter IV : Verses 26-34
The seed growing secretly
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| To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? J-J Tissot |
[27] And should sleep, and rise, night and day, and the seed should spring, and grow up whilst he knoweth not.
[28] For the earth of itself bringeth forth fruit, first the blade, then the ear, afterwards the full corn in the ear.
[29] And when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
[26] Et dicebat : Sic est regnum Dei, quemadmodum si homo jaciat sementem in terram, [27] et dormiat, et exsurgat nocte et die, et semen germinet, et increscat dum nescit ille. [28] Ultro enim terra fructificat, primum herbam, deinde spicam, deinde plenum frumentum in spica. [29] Et cum producerit fructus, statim mittit falcem, quoniam adsit messis.
Notes
The Kingdom of God. The Church militant; the human soul.
The Sower. Christ. His Apostles. All who labour for the spiritual good of men.
The Seed. The truths which Christ and His Apostles taught. The teaching of the infallible Church.
The Ground. The soul of man.
The blade and the ear.
(a) The gradual growth of the Church on earth.(b) The spiritual progress of the individual soul.
The full corn.
(a) The maturing of the seeds of faith, leading men to embrace the Catholic faith.(b) The perfection of the Christian soul.
The reaping and harvest.
(a) The hour of death(b) The day of judgment. (Apoc. xiv. 15.)
Lessons taught by this Parable.
1. The growth of grace in man’s soul is slow and secret.
2. Those who preach the Word of God must not expect instantaneous results. They must patiently wait for the fruit of their labours.
3. The word of God is a vital principle, a living word (1 St Pet. i. 23-25), which works secretly and grows up "while he knoweth it not."
27. sleep and rise, night and day : sleep by night and rise by day.
28. of itself : without man’s help. Stress is laid on the spontaneity of the growth, because this parable is intended to teach a lesson of patience.
The parable of the mustard seed
[30] And he said: To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? or to what parable shall we compare it?
[31] It is as a grain of mustard seed: which when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that are in the earth:
[31] It is as a grain of mustard seed: which when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that are in the earth:
[32] And when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches, so that the birds of the air may dwell under the shadow thereof.
[33] And with many such parables, he spoke to them the word, according as they were able to hear.
[34] And without parable he did not speak unto them; but apart, he explained all things to his disciples.
[30] Et dicebat : Cui assimilabimus regnum Dei? aut cui parabolae comparabimus illud?
[30] Et dicebat : Cui assimilabimus regnum Dei? aut cui parabolae comparabimus illud? [31] Sicut granum sinapis, quod cum seminatum fuerit in terra, minus est omnibus seminibus, quae sunt in terra : [32] et cum seminatum fuerit, ascendit, et fit majus omnibus oleribus, et facit ramos magnos, ita ut possint sub umbra ejus aves cæli habitare. [33] Et talibus multis parabolis loquebatur eis verbum, prout poterant audire : [34] sine parabola autem non loquebatur eis : seorsum autem discipulis suis disserebat omnia.
Notes
30. To what shall we liken, etc. Our Lord seems to arouse the interest of His hearers, and to excite them to seek appropriate similitudes.
the Kingdom of God. The Church of Christ on earth.
31. A grain of mustard seed. Some botanists have thought that the Salvador Persica is described here, but more probably it is the Sinapis nigra, which is a common garden plant. In the East it grows to a height of several feet ; though it cannot be called a tree, yet it grows higher than ordinary garden plants.
less than all the seeds. Not the very least in point of size, but one of the smallest seeds the Jews habitually used. “As small as a grain of mustard” is a Jewish proverb used to express the fact that a thing is very small indeed.
32. birds of the air. Not used, as in the parable of the sower, to represent evil principles, but those who should enter the Church of Christ. Birds in general, but especially goldfinches and linnets, are particularly fond of the pungent mustard seeds.
the Kingdom of God. The Church of Christ on earth.
31. A grain of mustard seed. Some botanists have thought that the Salvador Persica is described here, but more probably it is the Sinapis nigra, which is a common garden plant. In the East it grows to a height of several feet ; though it cannot be called a tree, yet it grows higher than ordinary garden plants.
less than all the seeds. Not the very least in point of size, but one of the smallest seeds the Jews habitually used. “As small as a grain of mustard” is a Jewish proverb used to express the fact that a thing is very small indeed.
32. birds of the air. Not used, as in the parable of the sower, to represent evil principles, but those who should enter the Church of Christ. Birds in general, but especially goldfinches and linnets, are particularly fond of the pungent mustard seeds.
33. Many such parables. St Matt, (xii.) gives five of these parables, but doubtless many were never committed to writing, and thus have been lost to the Church.
able to hear. Either capable of understanding or worthy of hearing.
34. without parable he did not speak. To arouse the interest of the multitude and to avoid irritating the Pharisees.
Interpretation of the parable of the mustard seed
1. The grain of mustard seed shows the humble beginning of Christ’s Church. Its first teachers were poor illiterate men, its Founder the “ Carpenter of Galilee.”
2. The earth. The world.
3. The rapid growth of the seed. The marvellously rapid extension of the Church, as, for example, after Pentecost (see Acts ii. 41).
4. The birds dwelling under the shadow. All the nations which were to accept the Catholic faith. Under the shadow of the Church they would find food, shelter, and rest.
Additional Notes
The mustard seed was perhaps employed by Christ to represent the Church on earth, because just as the pungency of the seed is only given forth when it is crushed, so the Church of Christ flourishes most when persecuted. St Gregory takes the “ grain of mustard seed ” as representing Jesus Christ Himself. That seed was sown when He was buried, but after His Resurrection grew up into a mighty plant and sent forth numerous branches, — i.e. preachers who should go forth into all lands, and provide a home for all nations. The Catholic Church is daily fulfilling its glorious destiny by means of its priests and missions. The unity of the Church is also well symbolized by this parable, for this one tree is to grow, till it affords shelter to all mankind. The nations are to gather under its shadow ; the branches are not to be grafted in various places. There is, and can be, only one Catholic Church, as there is one Lord and one baptism.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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