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
In
the garden we are approaching a time of year when a lot will need to be done:
earth turned, tested, amended in preparation; seed chosen; watchful tending of
sprouts, so that they will eventually flower, set seed, bear fruit. This is
especially important for food crops, for fruit and grain are the whole point
and purpose of a season’s work.
God
and his angels worked long to prepare the earth for humanity. God has planted
us on the earth. And on the fields of earth, in the midst of his crop of
humanity, He planted one particularly magnificent, potent and fruitful seed—His
Divine-Human Son. This Son ripened on earth, and has offered Himself as seed,
as a potential voice, to every human heart.
His
abiding voice is a gift to us from the Father. We don’t have to accept the
gift. For the rules of the game, established by God Himself, are that we must
have the possibility of choice. So it is quite possible that we allow modern
life to drown out the voice of the divine as it whispers to our heart. We can
fail to open our heart’s listening. We can fail to cultivate the necessary
depth and fertility of soul, so that what we hear and inspires us cannot grow
and thrive in us.
This
gift of the seed-word from God is no simple gift. It is a gift that requires
our participation. So we have to make time and space to work with it. We plough
the earth of the heart through suffering and learning. We listen, paying
attention to the qualities of heart-earth we may need to amend, so that the
seed from the Gardener of the Heart can be received at just the right time. We
tend to His words, patiently helping them grow there in loyalty and trust. And
then in time the seed-word of God, which bespeaks of human development and
inner growth, produces a beautiful nobility of soul. It grows into a fruit that
enlivens, a grain that feeds and nourishes. Our heart becomes banquet that
feeds and nourishes our fellow human beings and the world.
In
time we will have grown something to offer back to God and His angels; the gift
of a matured and fruitful soul. In time, with labor, our souls themselves will
become bread and wine, which we can offer to the angels, as support in their
work with us.
