Seed Banks of Faith – Br. Jamie Nelson

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Br. Jamie Nelson, SSJE

Mark 4:26-29

“The seed would sprout and grow, though the sower does not know how.”[1]

To the disciples listening to Jesus, watching seeds sprout and grow must have seemed a rather mysterious process despite being a commonplace sight in first-century Galilee. Sure, each year they would have seen farmers scattering seed over wheat and barley fields in late autumn once the first winter rains had arrived. They would have observed tiny green seedlings emerging from the soil 1-2 weeks after sowing. But what exactly was going on in that invisible underground process?

Twenty centuries after Jesus first shared this parable, plant physiologists can tell us much more about the workings of seed germination, that temperature, moisture, air, and light all interact to provide the precise conditions that signal to seeds that it’s time to grow, to break out of their protective coats and lengthen up towards the light.

Different types of seeds need different conditions to spark growth. In forests, grasslands, and deserts, a soil seed bank builds up over time. Seeds from different plant species accumulate and lie dormant, waiting for their moment. Some seeds need the two-step sequence first of winter’s freezing cold and then of spring’s warming thaw as the green light to go. Other kinds of seeds may rest in the soil seed bank for years, even decades, until mechanical, chemical, or thermal processes spark growth.[2]

In the Rocky Mountains, Lodgepole pine trees have integrated wildfire into their reproductive cycle.[3] Mature trees retain some of their cones on their branches for decades. It’s not until those cones are exposed to the intense heat of a wildfire that the resin that seals up the cone melts away, allowing the seeds to be released for distribution across the newly barren ground. The Lodgepole pine then become one of the early colonizers of fire-devastated landscapes, eventually growing to a stately height of 60 feet or more.

We carry within ourselves our own soil seed bank, a reservoir of sparks of faith that when planted, grow us closer to God and to making the Kingdom of God present in our midst. Over time, we accumulate a variety of those seeds of faith. They are the fruit of life events and experiences both small and large, mundane and sublime: conversations over cups of coffee, deeply heartfelt yet unanswered prayers, the beauty of a sunset, the birth of a child, the devastation of losing a job – joys and sorrows and more, all those moments and memories that you carry in your soul.

Some of those seeds of faith germinate quickly because the right conditions are present. Other seeds of faith lie dormant for years, germinating unexpectedly after the devastation of a spiritual wildfire which brings the searing heat needed to free those seeds.

So, what can we do to work towards growing the Kingdom of God in our midst? Cultivate the right conditions for germination and trust the process. The timing and invisible work of spiritual growth may seem mysterious. When favorable conditions for germination aren’t present, have faith that God our marvelous creator is building up our soil seed banks, which will one day blossom into the Kingdom of God.

Though we may not know how, the seed will sprout and grow.

Amen.

[1] Mark 4:27b

[2] These processes are known as seed stratification and scarification.

[3] This adaptation is known as serotiny.