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
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]
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