I was in restaurant with an aviation theme adjacent to the runways of the Ft. Lauderdale airport. Included in each booth was a set of headphones which allowed the patrons to listen to the airport Control Tower communicating with the airplanes. My two friends each took turns listening then handed the headphones to me saying, “You will be disappointed because they aren’t working. Everything is garbled and we can’t understand anything.”
I put on the earphones and heard, “Cesena 24Tango clear for takeoff runway 9, maintain runway heading. Air Canada 386 taxi in position and hold runway 9.”
Why did I hear clearly and my friends only heard gibberish? I was a pilot and I had training and experience in airport communications. I knew how to listen to this particular form of communication.
Parables are like that. Jesus used symbols and at times he used an ‘insiders’ vocabulary. Why? The truth was too revolutionary. The people of Israel wanted a Messiah that would deliver the whole country, all at once, from the oppression of Rome. If Jesus was that kind of Messiah the Roman government would do all they could to stop him. If he wasn’t that kind of Messiah the people would rebel against him.
The parable of the sower reveals that the Messiah wasn’t going to set the nation of Israel free. The parable reveals the sower (God) is setting individuals free, one at a time. The parable revels ¾ of the people do not receive the liberating message of God. God’s plan of redemption did not meet the expectations of the people. So, Jesus moves slowly, giving the people an opportunity to grow in their faith so that they would trust God with their future.
What does today’s reading
reveal to you about God?
What does it reveal to you about yourself?
Think about what God wants you to do
or remember about this passage.
Does God want you to change
anything in your life?
26-Oct-11 Mark 4:21-41
No comments:
Post a Comment