Mysterious ways

Luke 8:1-15 NASB

Soon afterwards, He  began  going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, and  also  some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: "The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up. "Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. "Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. "Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great." As He said these things, He would call out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

His disciples  began  questioning Him as to what this parable meant. And He said, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND.

"Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. "Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.

"Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. "The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. "But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

My thoughts -

I pay a lot of lip service to gender equality. That's all I can do, really. But if I don't notice the women who supported Jesus when I read this chapter I'm just full of hot air. Their contributions were great enough to get specifically mentioned here; Mary Magdalene, Joanna the wife of Chuza, and Susanna. Also "many others" who supported Jesus's ministry "out of their private means".

How do I know next to nothing about these women? What can be known and where can I read about them? Was their support strictly financial? We know all about the twelve and yet their individual names are rarely mentioned.

We get Peter mentioned a lot because of his interactions with Jesus. I love Peter. He wore his heart on his sleeve and wasn't afraid to ask the stupid questions. I'm a proud stupid question asker. Peter just needed to know more all the time and wasn't ashamed.

We read a lot about the Sons of Zebedee. Maybe I notice them more than others having grown up as one half of a whole (the Baker twins). And of course we all know Judas and Thomas's names, but not for good reasons. Judas betrayed and Thomas doubted.

But by and large the twelve are nameless as individuals. They exist as a group. They are the disciples. If you gave me a pop quiz I doubt I could name all twelve. Sure, I could probably memorize them. But they are rarely mentioned in the Bible or in our culture individually by name.

And here these three women are listed by name. They contributions must have been important. I want to know more.

Another question I've always had is why Jesus taught in parables. His answer to his disciples was, "so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand." Well call me one of "they" because that doesn't make sense to me.

Is there a deeper truth that can only be understood in stories? Or was there a political reason to obscure some meanings? You'd think this explanation wouldn't have been too hard for Jesus to give the crowd, yet he reserved it for those closest to him.

Every time I try to understand why God works in mysterious ways I fail. I want more clarity from the Divine. I want more revelation. But God doesn't exist to please me. I don't get my way. I get just enough to be desperate for more.

This parable has always disturbed me. I like a good, streamlined chain of events. I don't like variables. I don't like a lot of options. Give me "a sower went out, sowed seed, and it produced crops". That's easy. It's comforting. It works. And we're all saved that way.

But that's not what Jesus said. There's this rocky soil. And sometimes the seed doesn't produce strong roots. And the sun withers the crops. And the thorns choke them out. And then, rarely it would seem, some seed falls on good soil and produces crops. Now that soil is good enough to produce a high yield but still, this disturbs me. Do you know how rare good soil is?

So why am I so bugged? Am I afraid that I'm not good soil? Does my heart break for others who hear the gospel preached and are unmoved? Maybe both?

How easy is it to fall into worry or distraction about the things of this life! I worry all the time. What good does it do? Not much. But what if I lose my job? What of we can't pay all the bills this month? How are we going to make ends meet? How could I possibly go back to school? How can we afford to get the medical care we need? What are we going to feed the kids? There are so many things to worry about in this economy and this job market. And I do worry.

But when things go well I don't worry. Instead I get distracted by shiny junk. What kind of new guitar should I get? What kind of TV or computer? Should I get an Android phone? What restaurant should we eat at? Where should we go for vacation? What kind of new car would have enough room for our family while being cooler than a minivan. How can I dress to look a little younger and cooler?

It's not that the worries are not legitimate. It's not that the distractions are all bad things. But they take my focus away from things that are eternal and on to concerns for the temporary. I am less focused on the Kingdom of God and more focused on the kingdom of Tom.

And so I fear. I am afraid that when Jesus talks about the things that keep the seed from producing he's talking about me.

Am I bearing fruit?

Can anyone be saved?

Does God really love us?

How can we be sure?

These questions I ask myself constantly and sometimes the reassurance I so desperately crave isn't there. God is working in mysterious ways again. God is speaking in cryptic messages again.