“Earth as Parable”
Mark 4:26-34
Allen Huff
Jonesborough Presbyterian Church
6/17/18
The parables
of Mark 4 create a kind of theological watershed. And the images are both simple
and extravagant. In this collection of stories, Jesus repeatedly – and artfully
– compares the kingdom of God to hidden mysteries occurring within the earth.
These faithful mysteries happen season after season, year after year. They
involve soil, water, sunlight, death, and new life. The kingdom of God, says Jesus, is
like the life-force of the earth itself, the force that makes things grow,
become, and change. And while we can see, hear, feel, smell, and taste its
effects, we can’t actually observe that dynamic power at work.
Paul alludes
to the same thing. When distinguishing between his ministry and that of
Apollos, Paul tells the Corinthians, “What then is Apollos? What is Paul?
Servants through whom you came to believe…I planted, Apollos watered, but God
gave the growth.” (1Cor. 3:5-6)
As human beings, created in God’s
image, we, and the faith that is within us, are signs and expressions of the presence
of God and of God’s kingdom. And for all of our indelible holiness, all we can
do is to bear witness to the mystery. We are its stewards and beneficiaries, not
its architects, or builders, or gatekeepers.
The teachings of both Jesus and
Paul take us way back. Remember what happens on day 3 of the ancient Hebrew parable
of a seven-day creation: “And God said, ‘Let the waters under the
sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it
was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered
together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, ‘Let the
earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind
on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.’ And it was so…And God saw that
it was good.” (Gen. 1:9-11, 12b)
Scripture is not a legal document.
It’s not meant to limit us or to answer every question. Scripture is a faith
statement. It’s a work of art. It’s a Spirit-inspired gift meant to tease us
with and invite us into the mystery and the holiness of God’s kingdom-revealing
creation. So, when Jesus mentions seeds in his parables, he’s talking about
more than seeds. He’s talking about the entire process of beginnings, growth,
fruitfulness, falling, dying, and new beginnings. And it seems to me that he’s
using this every-day mystery as a metaphor for the very personality of God in
the universe. So, in spite of everything that’s obviously and painfully awry,
the creation is like the kingdom of God. And it is good.
One of my favorite storytellers is
Doug Elliott. He’s a diminutive, gentle-spirited, mustard seed of a man. And if
the power went out for good, I’d want Doug Elliott next to me long before I’d
want someone like Bear Grylls. Doug is not a “Man Against Nature” kind of guy. He’s
not a survivalist who regards the earth as a something to subdue and exploit
and the rest of humanity as a potentially hostile presence to fear. Doug
Elliott is a Man With Nature. He’s a
mystic who has learned how to be in relationship with his neighbors and the
earth. Most of Doug’s stories have to do with the natural world, and he delights
in sharing its wonders with whoever will listen.
On one of his CD’s, Doug tells
about visiting the legendary storyteller Ray Hicks who lived at Beech Mountain,
NC. Doug had gone to Beech Mt. to go ginseng hunting with Ray’s sons. When that
trip didn’t pan out, Doug spent the morning talking with Ray and his wife, Rosa.
For Ray Hicks, keeping silent was genetically impossible. Once he started
talking, the rock was rolling downhill. Jack Tales, recollections of
experiences, and mountain lore welled up like water from a spring. And that
morning, ginseng was on tap.
Doug says that Ray talked about looking
for a particular fern, rattlesnake fern. When you saw it, ginseng would be
nearby, unless someone had already dug it up. “Yeah,” said Ray, “and some kind
of fungus gets hooked up with the roots.”
Doug realized that the old mountain
man was talking about a fungus that made what’s called a michorrizal connection. That specific fungus and the roots of
plants like ginseng, rattlesnake fern, jack-in-the-pulpit, and mayapples form a
symbiotic relationship – a relationship that’s more than mutually beneficial.
It’s essential to the survival of both
the fungus and the plants.
“What do plants eat?” Doug asks his
audience. “They eat light. And they suck dirt. You want to talk about a
miracle,” he says. “Whoa! Plants eat light and suck dirt and make wood and
fruit” and flowers!
For ginseng, a crucial element in
that creative process is the michorrizal
connection that its roots form with the fungus. When the fungus makes its
way into the cell structure of the roots, it expands the surface area of the roots
so they’re able to draw enough moisture and nutrients from the soil to sustain
the plant’s leaves above ground so that they can eat enough light to feed the root
which is itself the valuable part of the plant. Even the richest soil will not
grow healthy ginseng without this essential relationship between fungus and
plant.1 Think about what that means for the first parable in Mark 4,
the parable of the sower. Good soil is a place teeming with unseen relationships
and wonders.
Doug Elliott says that the science
of this process is a relatively recent discovery, but somewhere in the
consciousness shared by those who have lived in close relationship with the
earth for generations, that kind of mystery had already been perceived. And the
kingdom of God is like that mystery, says Jesus. It’s like the hidden things that occur for the sake of
visible things. Parables are born
through our awareness of such mysteries.
Individually and together, we are
parables, too. There’s an old proverb that says something like: Be mindful of your life. You’re the only
Bible some people will ever read. While that adage is potentially
self-serving, it also carries some real truth. When we open ourselves to
mystery in the world, when we love each other, when we share laughter in joy
and tears in sorrow, when we care for the earth, when we welcome the stranger –when
we do these things because we recognize that our own lives are connected to all
life, we become living parables.
The kingdom of God is the michorrizal connection among us. And
while every day is burdened with stories that challenge our faith, hope, and
love, every day is also resplendent with stories and wonders to hear, to
behold, and to share. And we hear, behold, and share those stories not to deny
and avoid those challenging realities. We hear, behold, and share the earth-wrought
parables as a way of participating in God’s ongoing redemption of all that is
broken, hurtful, and destructive in the world.
So, in all things, look for the
parables. Tell the parables. Be a parable. And trust the Mystery.
1Doug Elliott on his CD “Of Ginseng, Golden Apples, and
the Rainbow Fish: Ancient Tales, Traditional Lore, Lively Tunes and a Modern
Mythic Adventure” © 2017. (Recorded live
at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN.)
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