The Parable of the Seed Growing by Itself

What is this parable?

This is a short parable found only in the Gospel of Saint Mark. Jesus uses the picture of a seed growing by itself to speak about the Kingdom of God, which means where God is King. That Kingdom grows without noise, and God will bring it to completion.

The story

Jesus tells of a man who scattered seed on the land (cf. Mk 4:26). Day after day, night after night, he went on sleeping and waking as usual. Meanwhile, under the ground, the seed was quietly sprouting.

“Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.” (Mk 4:28). He cannot pull the wheat to make it grow faster, and he does not fully understand why it grows. When the grain is ripe, he takes his sickle and harvests it, because the harvest has come (cf. Mk 4:29).

What does Jesus want to teach you?

The farmer still has to work: plow the ground, sow the seed, then harvest the grain. But making the seed live and grow is God’s work. God’s Word in your heart is the same: you listen, you keep it, and then God quietly makes it grow, sometimes without you noticing.

This parable helps you be less impatient. Some good things you do may not show results right away: praying for a friend, trying to correct a bad habit. Do not give up. God is at work in his own way and in his own time, even while you sleep.

A lesson for you

• Keep on “sowing seeds”: read God’s Word, go to Mass, do good every day.
• When you do not see results yet, be patient and place it in God’s hands.
• Before you go to sleep, offer your day to God and sleep well, because God always keeps watch.
• Pray for your parents and your catechists, who are sowing God’s Word in your heart, and trust that God makes that seed grow.