Mark 4:1-12
Again
he began to teach beside the lake. Such a very large crowd gathered around him
that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there, while the whole crowd was
beside the lake on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables,
and in his teaching he said to them: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as
he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other
seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up
quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched;
and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and
the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into
good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding
thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’ And he said, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear
listen!’
When
he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about
the parables. And he said to them, ‘To you has been given the secret of the
kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order
that
“they may indeed
look, but not perceive,
and may indeed listen, but not understand;
so
that they may not turn again and be forgiven.” ’
Reflection
Do
I listen well to God’s words?
How
does Jesus give me the secret of the kingdom of God?