The scriptures read are Leviticus 1-3, Psalm 31 and Mark 4.
Leviticus 1-3. Lots of priest craft right off the bat. Lots of details, some not for the squeamish or those who didn't grow up on farms. Bible scholars love this stuff. Your mileage may vary.
But a couple of points before you dismiss this out of hand. God is forging a nation that has lived for a long time in a foreign country with multiple gods. Strict monotheism is a hard concept to grasp (cf. the unpleasantness with the golden calf). So for the first time they are being given a concept of holiness, of things being set apart for God's purposes. And they are being given the means to expiate guilt when they fall short of God's and the community's standards. Communities need rules. And anthropologists have found out that nothing cements social ties like a moral matrix in which to operate and being asked to make sacrifices. This stuff is important to the Israelites even if it seems foreign to us.
Psalm 31. You know how sad songs paradoxically are just what you need when you are sad? Psalms about people in real distress work the same way. The psalmist is at a real low point. He pours out his heart to God. And in the end God hears and heals him.
Mark 4. The parable of the sower and the soils again. The good news for those spreading the good news is we are not responsible for who hears it and whether they do or don't respond properly. Spread the word!
A lot of Jesus' kingdom parables are about how slowly, subtly and unlikely is its growth. Since it grows in and among people, changing their lives, this is to be expected. Spiritual maturity is what God wants.
Jesus is so exhausted he is sleeping through a gale. The disciples wake him and he tells the weather to pipe down. He's short with the disciples, too. He's sleep-deprived and grouchy. I can relate.
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