Today’s gospel-reading, which describes Jesus’ cure of the woman suffering from chronic haemorrhaging and the raising of Jairus’ young daughter from death, might lull us into thinking that Jesus’ endless kindness and compassion boosted his popularity enormously. However, even a cursory reading of Mark’s Gospel reveals that Jesus received mixed receptions almost everywhere he went.

A characteristic of all four Gospel writers was that they did not waste words or use them idly. So, I found myself wondering why Mark noted that, after Jesus had suggested to the Apostles that they take a boat trip “to the other side” of the Sea of Galilee, “they took him just as he was”. Mark left it to his readers to work out for themselves the meaning of “just as he was”. My guess is that Jesus was totally exhausted after teaching six parables in succession. He had presented the Parable of the Sower to a large crowd and had then done his best to explain the meaning of that parable to the Twelve. He went on to teach them five more parables and found himself frustrated by their inability to grasp what he had done his best to teach them. So, having suggested a boat trip to the other side of the lake, as though it would be a relaxing and enjoyable excursion, he climbed into the boat and, understandably, quickly fell asleep.

If there is one thing that becomes clear from the two parables in today’s gospel-reading, it is that Jesus was not a farmer. No farmer worth his salt would ever plant a crop without taking precautions to protect it from birds and predatory insects. A farmer would hardly ever plant a crop and leave it to grow all by itself. The point Jesus was surely making in the parable that opens today’s gospel reading is that nobody would ever be able to control the growth of the kingdom of God. Jesus himself was unable to control its growth, for he could not control the religious leaders who refused to listen to the message he was intent on proclaiming. I want to suggest that, paradoxically, he wanted to teach his disciples that they, too, would run into opposition from those from whom they least expected it to come.

Ordinary people across the world are coming out in public to march in protest against the killing of innocent people in terrorist attacks, in the wars involving the Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Hezbollah, and in crimes of domestic violence. Many of the protesters are motivated by their own moral integrity, commitment to social justice, ordinary human decency and/or respect for fellow human beings. In the wars to which I have just referred, so-called leaders try to justify the deaths of innocent victims as “unfortunate but unavoidable collateral damage”. Such attempted explanations no longer wash with people who have a moral compass.

For centuries, we Christians have struggled to understand, appreciate and live the Eucharist. It is more than receiving sacramental Communion and taking time to have an intimate conversation with Jesus. While there may be many of us who regard that as the high point of going to Mass, it runs the risk of our missing a fuller understanding of Eucharist. In stating that, I do not wish to belittle those who see reception of Jesus in Communion and conversation with him as the highlight of their daily and Sunday Eucharist.