Scripture: Hebrews 10:11-18. Psalm 110:1-4. Mark 4:1-20

In our readings today, we see Jesus as priest in the first reading and the
psalm. Then in the Gospel Jesus is the teacher-preacher giving us a
powerful lesson in colorful images. As priest Jesus offers the perfect
sacrifice of his life for all peoples. He is the one who atones for us and
makes us one with God ( at-one-ment is atonement). The Psalm takes up the
theme already treated in Hebrews in an earlier chapter. It is a royal
messianic psalm and presents Jesus also as king. In this Psalm I like to
use the word "enemies beneath God's feet" as referring to my sins and
offenses. They are subjected to the mercy-seat of God's throne and I am
humbled by them. But through Jesus the highpriest, I know they are
forgiven and I can again continue to serve as a disciple of the Lord.
Then in Mark's snappy Gospel we have Jesus as the teacher par excellence as
he gives us his first parable, that of the Sower and the Seed. His
imaging and colorful comparisons are timeless and do strike a note in us
when we ponder them over. For me this first parable is like Psalm 1 which
opens the whole of the book of Psalms for me and shows me what it means to
follow the righ path while pondering and mulling over the divine words of
God. Therefore, in listening to the parable, I am led to take God's word
seriously and to make sure that the soil of my heart is able to nourish the
seed and allow it to grow within me day by day. By interiorizing the word
of God and Jesus I am confident that a rich harvest will result whether it
be thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold. Amen.