2nd February Trinity
Luke 8:14-18
And as a great crowd had gathered, and ever more people streamed to him
out of the cities, he spoke in a parable:
A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some seed fell on the
path. It was trodden upon, and the birds of the sky (air) ate it up. Other seed
fell upon the rocks, and as it sprouted, it (the sprouting green) withered,
because it had no moisture. Still other seed fell under the thorns; the thorns
grew with it and choked what came up. And some fell upon good soil, grew, and
brought forth fruit a hundredfold. When he had said these things, he called
out:
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
His disciples
asked him what this parable might mean. And he said:
To you it has been given the gift of being able to understand the
mysteries of the kingdom
of God
The seed is the Word of God. That which fell upon the path are those who
hear it; afterwards the tempter comes and tears the Word out of their hearts,
so that they cannot find healing through the trusting power of faith working in
them.
Those on the rock are those who, when they hear the Word, take it up
with joy; but they remain without root. For a while the power of their faith
works in them, but in times of trial they fall away.
What fell under the thorns are those who hear the Word from the spirit,
and as they go on their way, the sorrows and the riches and the joys of life
choke it, and they bring no fruit to maturity.
And the seed which fell in the good soil are those who hear the Word,
and take it up into their hearts, feel its beauty, become noble and worthy and
patiently keep it alive, tending it there until it brings forth fruit.
No one lights a light and hides it under a vessel or under a bench;
instead he places it on a lamp stand so that all who come in see the light. For
nothing is hidden which shall not be revealed, and nothing is secret which
shall not be known and proclaimed.
So attend to how you listen. For he who has enlivened in himself the
power to bear the spirit, to him more will be given. He however who does not
have this power, from him will be taken that which he thinks he has.
2nd
February Trinity
February 16, 2014
Luke 8: 14-18
Today’s reading is a parable, a metaphorical description,
that can be heard on several levels. There is always the literal meaning—a
sower of seed scatters the grain and it falls in different places with
differing results. But Christ makes clear to his closest disciples that there
is also another parallel layer of meaning. The seed is not only grain, but also
the Word of God, and how it falls into the human heart. It is no accident that
Christ chooses an image from the plant world, the world of living beings. For
the Word of God is connected to our capacity to grow, to blossom, be fruitful.
The means by which the Word of God enters the heart is
through our sense of hearing. And this sense, too, is multilayered. There is
our literal hearing—the ability to hear sounds and distinguish words. And there
are also additional layers of hearing, connected to the depth of our
understanding. At this level of hearing, the more we understand, the broader
and deeper our hearing becomes. And the more we understand, the deeper and more
fertile the richness of our soul’s inner ground. With His Word, Christ Himself
is entering into us.
‘So attend to how you listen,’ Christ says[1] ;
for our focus and our level of hearing contributes to our heart’s fertility,
our ability to nurture Christ in us.
The poet Stanley Kunitz, who lived to be
100, wrote:
I have walked through many lives,
some of them my own,
and I am not who I was,
though some principle of being
abides, from which I struggle
not to stray.
some of them my own,
and I am not who I was,
though some principle of being
abides, from which I struggle
not to stray.
….
In my darkest night,
when the moon was covered
and I roamed through wreckage,
a nimbus-clouded voice
directed me:
"Live in the layers,
not on the litter."
Though I lack the art
to decipher it,
no doubt the next chapter
in my book of transformations
is already written.
I am not done with my changes.[2]
In my darkest night,
when the moon was covered
and I roamed through wreckage,
a nimbus-clouded voice
directed me:
"Live in the layers,
not on the litter."
Though I lack the art
to decipher it,
no doubt the next chapter
in my book of transformations
is already written.
I am not done with my changes.[2]
