Monday, February 17, 2014

2nd February Trinity 2012, Be Quiet

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; but to the others it is given in pictures and parables, for they see and do not yet see, and hear, although they do not yet understand with their thinking. The meaning of the parable is this:
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
Feb 12, 2012
Luke 8:14-18

The seeds are beginning to germinate. If we intend to grow something specific, we have to sow those kind of seeds, cultivate and care for their growth. Otherwise, we are leaving to chance what will grow, and that is most often just weeds.

This intentionality also applies to other areas of our lives. Our thoughts, our actions are the seeds of our future. Haphazard thoughts and actions seed a chancy sort of future; whereas intentional, cultivated thoughts and actions have the strong potential to create the future we want and intend.

Christ’s story makes it clear that He has sown Himself, His words, His intentions, His deeds on the fields of human hearts. He has seeded an intentional future for humankind. These seeds have been sown in every human heart. But they will need to find fertile soil in order to grow. He prays for our cooperation, our cultivation, our own intentionality, in order to make His future bear fruit.

This fertility of the heart we cultivate by paying attention to how we listen. Do we cultivate enough quiet time in our lives to even hear His words? Do we let ourselves be distracted from building the future by things of the moment? Do we have the strength and persistence of heart to continue to work on creating His intended future, even when it gets difficult?

The poet Wendell Berry wrote these words as a reminder to himself:


Make a place to sit down.
Sit down. Be quiet.
….
There are no unsacred places;
there are only sacred places
and desecrated places.

Accept what comes from silence.
Make the best you can of it.
Of the little words that come
out of the silence, like prayers
prayed back to the one who prays….[1]





[1] "How to be a Poet" by Wendell Berry from Given

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