Week of Sabbath I, Day Three, Morning Devotion

Prayer for hope and healing:

Great and gracious God,
As I approach this day, help me to be good soil for your Word. May I bless those around me with pleasant words and kind smiles. May I be helpful to those who need help, and supportive of those who don’t—don’t let me be a nag, Lord. I know that with your help I can be a great disciple, a great friend, and a great citizen this day.
Amen

Reading: Mark 4:2-9, The Parable of the Sower

Jesus 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!’

Meditation:

The Parable of the Sower dominates Mark’s gospel. It is a great parable, and one of the few for which Jesus offers an explanation. We’ll hear the explanation in our second devotion today.

A parable loses something in explanation, since it works on so many levels. Let’s work the intuitive angle for now. Concentrate on the parts of the parable that jump out at you.

--Did you get a picture of one (or all) of the places Jesus describes? What do they look like?

--Pretend you are the seed. What does it feel like to be in those various places? And have you felt like that yourself? Where?

--Is this parable speaking a word to your life today?

Prayer of joy:

Precious Lord,
Thank you for this day! Thank you for my home, for the food I have to eat, and for the clothes I can put on today. I am truly blessed, and I give you thanks.
Amen