The parables of our Lord convey the mysteries of the kingdom of God to those who are “able to hear it,” those who don’t reject it, that is, “to his own disciples,” who are catechized to fear, love and trust in Him by faith (Mark 4:33–34). He scatters “seed on the ground,” which “sprouts and grows” unto life, even as “he sleeps and rises” (Mark 4:26–27). Indeed, His own cross becomes the Tree of Life, under which “every kind of bird” will dwell, and in which “birds of every sort will nest.” In faith, we live for God in Christ, who for our sake “died and was raised” (2 Cor. 5:15).