Slow Down, You Move Too Fast

Read Mark 4:26-34

Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. –Mark 4:27

After the parable of the Sower, Jesus tells two more parables about seeds. The second of these parables is the more familiar (the Parable of the Mustard Seed). The first parable, though, is unique to Mark, the “Parable of the Seed that Grows of Itself.” (Not exactly a catch title…) The kingdom of God, Jesus explains, is like a farmer who sows seed in his field. Then “all by itself,” the seed grows—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.

There are two possible ways to understand this parable. One interpretation puts emphasis on the “inaction” of the farmer. The soil, not the farmer, produces the grain. As the New Interpreter Bible explains: “human actions can neither hasten nor delay the coming of God’s kingdom.”

I’m a huge fan of The Pitt, a show that tells the story of a single day in a Pittsburgh emergency department. The most recent episode tells the story of a man who is in a car accident with his wife. (I promise, no spoilers!) At one point, he asks his doctor: “So this is how it works?” The doctor looks at him quizzically, so the patient elaborates: “You spend so much time worrying about things you think are important, and then something like this happens and you realize it wasn’t important at all.” The doctor nods: “Yeah, that’s how it works.”

Sometimes we need to remember that our lives don’t actually depend on the many things we worry about—the seed grows “by itself.” So I hope these days of “forced rest” from the winter storm can be a reminder that the world continues without our constant effort.

But as I said, there is a second way of understanding the parable. There is a point at which the farmer shifts into action—when the grain is ready for harvest. I can remember what “harvest season” was like in the first church I served. For weeks, you’d see the combines running in the fields, from morning until well into the night. It was hardly a season of “inaction.”

The timing of this harvest is of incredible importance. Start the harvest too early, and the grain will be immature. Harvest too late, and the grain can mold or spoil. Discernment is needed to know when to bring the harvest into the barn.

So let’s put these together. Successful farming requires both patience (trusting and allowing the seed to grow) and discernment (knowing when to take action). In what areas of your life do you need to pull back, to allow seeds that you have planted to grow and develop? And where is there “ready fruit” to harvest—opportunities or blessings that you need to appreciate now, lest they pass you by?

Thank you, Lord, for days of rest. Thank you for the reminder to slow down and appreciate the gifts of home and family. Give me wisdom to know when to work, and when to savor the fruits of that labor. Amen.