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| Van Gogh |
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
Luke 8: 14 – 18
To create a garden, we have to first break open the soil; we
enrich it with compost. Then we plant the seeds, each in their proper season.
We water them daily, protecting them from scorching heat, from freezing cold, from
drought. We remove the competing weeds. And in time there is an abundant
harvest.
This same process applies to the garden of the heart. Sometimes
the ground of the heart is broken open through life’s wounding. Otherwise, we
undertake to break open the ground of the heart through focusing our listening
attention, digging our own hearts open, going deeper. And we enrich the ground
of the heart with the compost of all our life experience. Through reading,
study and the sacraments, we sow the seed-words of God in the heart’s ground.
And when God’s words take heart-root, we attend to them, noticing their beauty.
We care for them diligently, daily, removing obstacles to their growth. We
protect them from the fierce heat of anger, from the flooding of greed, from the
weeds of envy and pride. Through patience and attention, our inner garden grows
elevated. It bears a rich harvest. It becomes a fitting place for the Divine
Word Himself, the Son of God, to come and to live. And when He does, we will
have an abundant heart harvest to offer him.
Thus in the words of St.
John of the Cross, we will say,
Within my flowering breast
Which only for Himself I save
He sank into His rest
And all my gifts I gave….[1]
