SHALLOW

Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away (Mark 4:5, 6 NRSV). 

According to St. Mark the Parable of the Sower is the first in a series of parables Jesus told. His audience perhaps had increased from “a great multitude” (Mk. 3:7) to a “very large crowd” (Mk. 4:1) necessitating the engagement of a boat as his platform (Mk. 3:9; Mk. 4:1). Drawing upon a frequent occurrence Jesus said the farmer scattered the seeds and they fell in various places and had a diversity of results. Those that fell “where it did not have much soil… sprang up quickly” but soon perished due to the scorching heat and the lack of sufficient soil. The soil was too shallow. There was no depth. This is like someone joyfully and excitingly receiving the gospel; making a decision to accept this new way of life; beginning to witness and articulate this new faith and then when faced with other convictions and statements of faith or experiences persecution and ridicule for their faith gradually gives up on following Jesus.

Shallow!!! The word comes from the Old English word sceald and it speaks to being close to the shoreline or the surface. We speaks of a person having a shallow interest or one lacking emotional or intellectual depth. We must avoid thinking of “shallow” in terms of a person’s level of education or intelligence. This is dangerous. In my short journey as a minister I have encountered persons who are illiterate or whose formal education is at the elementary level but whose consciousness and interpretation of spiritual things is more advanced than that of a university graduate or seminarian. No wonder there are intellectual giants who are spiritual babes!

A person with no real purpose in life; who displays prejudices based on the colour of a person’s skin or the community in which someone lives or the kind of car one drives; is easily swayed by nice sounding words or how loudly someone preaches. This person could be exhibiting the absence of “deep soil”. It seems to me that a shallow life thrives on its impulses, impressions, intuitions and instincts. These are not bad in themselves but a person with depth will want to look beyond these. It is the “deep soil” that will allow us to ride through the rough seas of life with confidence. When we encounter the contrary winds of life such as sickness, death, redundancy, failure, temptations, persecution withdrawal of support and natural disasters it is the “deep soil” of faith in God that will fortify and sustain us.

It is absolutely necessary that each of us strive to develop and foster a good, honest, sincere, loving, caring, critical, generous and gracious heart in order for the word of God to fall on “good soil” (v.8) and be productive even in trying times. We get deeper soil as we study God’s word and become more like Jesus. One weekend my high school friend decided to follow Christ. On returning to school Monday we heard of his utter excitement and joy. So excited was he that he tried to convert everyone, even his dog. His dog!? Yes! He was preaching to his dog. Well! Sadly, it was not long before he started to drift and was eventually choked by the things of the world. 

Thought         :Are you shallow soil or deep soil?

Prayer Focus: Ask God to deepen you and fill you with deeper truths.