Today's readings: Gen 33; Mk 4; Est 9-10; Ro 4
Mark 4:26-27 He also said, “The kingdom of God is like someone who spreads seed on the ground. He goes to sleep and gets up, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.
Gen 4:36 So after leaving the crowd, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat, and other boats were with him.
Gen 4:40-41 And he said to them, “Why are you cowardly? Do you still not have faith?” They were overwhelmed by fear and said to one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and sea obey him!”
Note: This section in Mark (4:35-5:43) contains four miracles: (1) the calming of the storm; (2) the exorcism of the demon-possessed man; (3) the giving of life to Jairus' daughter; (4) the healing of the woman hemorrhaging for twelve years. All these miracles demonstrate Jesus' right to proclaim the kingdom message and his sovereign authority over forces, directly or indirectly, hostile to the kingdom. The last three may have been brought together to show that Jesus had power over all defilement, since contact with graves, blood, or a corpse was regarded under Jewish law as causing a state of ritual uncleanness.
Acts 4:17 (as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”). He is our father in the presence of God whom he believed - the God who makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do.
