It was certainly not feminine mystique, but NaNaw exuded the mystery of a life, large-lived, unveiled to her grandchildren only in glimpses and curios.  She was a woman of fierce intensity.  Her soul-piercing gaze could freeze young hearts.  She had a “yard-broom” made of long, thin branches, any one of which might in a moment be plucked out as a rod of reproof.  But when she smiled, it was like the sun after rain.

Her décor was eclectic.  A Japanese watercolor of Mt. Fuji.  The ornately carved pump organ with its swirly chair.  And especially her trunk, whose collection boasted her grandfather’s powder horn, a torn Confederate dollar, and bundles of cards and letters from my father and my uncles when they were mere boys serving their Uncle Sam at the ends of the world.  Though ancient in my estimation, NaNaw was never frail.   She was vigorous in everything except her hearing.  Though, my mother often remarked that NaNaw couldn’t hear you if you were speaking to her but would hear you clearly from three rooms away if you were speaking about her.

Good hearing depends upon much more than the operational efficiency of our ear drums, middle-ear ossicles, cochlea, and inner ear.  It is enhanced by other senses as well as our  mindfulness.  As anyone who lives near train tracks can tell you, it is easy to filter out routine sounds, no matter how invasive.  We tune out and we tune in.  When we hear our name in a crowd, we tune in.  When we hear our mother tongue in a foreign land, we tune in.  But as Charlie Brown’s teacher illustrates, we often tune out when listening to authority or criticism.

Good hearing requires more than sharp ears.  It involves choice.  And it involves commitment.  It demands discernment.  It is not limited to the point in time in which communication occurs. It requires preparation before.  And reflection afterwards.  It must hear both what is auditory and what is not.  Consequently, in English we distinguish between listening and hearing.  

The Gospel of Mark is the action gospel.  King Jesus appears in glory and power.  He demolishes the dominion of Satan.  He proclaims the coming Kingdom of God.  And though Mark often mentions Jesus’ teaching, he does not recount much of it.   Only in Mark 4 and Mark 12 is the content of Jesus’ teaching recorded.  And in both chapters, we read “and he began to speak to them in parables.”  He commands his hearers and us to “Listen!… He who has ears to hear let him hear.”  Then warns,

Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. -Mark 4:24-25

How good is your hearing?  Are you a careful listener?  A selective listener?  Are you tuning in to God’s Word?  Or tuning Him out?  What are you choosing to hear?  And whose words are you trusting?  What measuring cup are you using to scoop God’s Word into the mixture of your life? 

Join us this Lord’s Day as we examine Mark 4:21-34 and consider what it looks like to have good hearing.  We meet Sundays at 10:30 am on the square in Pottsville, Arkansas right next to historic Potts’ Inn for worship.  Get directions here or contact us for more info.  Or join us on Facebook Live @PottsvilleARP or YouTube. 

To till or not to till?  That is the question.  But it is not the only question.  Is this plant a nitrogen feeder or consumer?  What plants grow in together beneficially?  What plants should not be allowed to cross-pollinate? And what about pest control?  Marigolds or Seven-Dust?   And where can the tomatoes go this year?  

Making a fruitful garden is more art than science.  Or perhaps we should say, more providence than skill.  The timing and amount of early spring and late summer rains, the last and first hard freeze, and the median temperatures needed for the tomatoes to ‘set’ are all out of our control. A wise, older woman once counseled that a garden was planted 1/3 for the deer, 1/3 for the pests and 1/3 for you. And, even then, it was still up to the Lord.

The phrase “garden season” is of course a misnomer.   Gardening is a year-round endeavor.  In late fall you clear last year’s stubble and prepare the ground for the year to come.  In winter you map out the crop rotation and purchase seeds.  In late winter and early spring, you seed and tend the plants starts, filling every south-facing window.  And of course, try to remember when it is time to put in the potatoes.  By April the frosts are past, and the garden is in full swing as the sower ploughs in hope of a fruitful harvest and a full pantry and freezer.

Fruitfulness results from the attentive care of the sower, the quality of the seed, the preparation of the soil, and the Lord’s sovereign Providence.   As is often the case, agricultural realities are apt analogies for spiritual realities.   Jesus’ use of agrarian life to illustrate spiritual life is more than cultural relevance for his contemporary hearers.  His teaching is meant just as much for us as for them.  

Scripture often compares spiritual life to growing things.  Psalm 1 compares the man who heeds God’s word to an everbearing tree planted by streams of water.   In John 15, Jesus compares men to either fruitful or unfruitful branches.   And goes on to say, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.”  And the author of Hebrews, quoting Deuteronomy 29:18, warns us to “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble.”  Paul speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit in believers as the fruit of the Spirit.

God has made us for fruitful, growing spiritual life.  On the day God made man, He “blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply…’”   But perhaps no scripture passage speaks more about spiritual fruitfulness than Jesus’ first recorded parable, The Parable of the Sower.  All the Synoptic Gospels include it, but in Mark we find both its fullest expression, and an explanation of Jesus’ purpose and method in using parables.  And so, it is a parable but also a parable about parables.

Parables are not allegories.  They have one central meaning.  And it is not necessary to discern a distinct symbolism for every element of the story. One commenter famously noted that parables are “earthly stories with a heavenly meaning.” Commenters have long debated whether the Parable of the Sower is about the Sower, the Seed, or the Soils.  Yet these three join together to teach us to live spiritually fruitful lives.

Are you fruitful?  Is your spiritual life growing, bearing fruit, and scattering seed for the next generation?  Do you know the tender, attentive care of the Sower, the life-giving power of the Seed?  Are you like receptive Soil?  Or has hardness, or fear, or distraction prevented the seed from growing fruitfully in you? 

Join us as we examine Mark 4:1-20 and consider the gracious Sower, the life-giving Seed, and the receptive Soil that bring fruitful life. We meet Sundays at 10:30 am on the square in Pottsville, Arkansas right next to historic Potts’ Inn for worship.  Get directions here or contact us for more info.  Or join us on Facebook Live @PottsvilleARP or YouTube.