1st February Trinity 2018, He Reaches for You

1^st or 2^nd February Trinity
Luke 8:4-18

 
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.

The Sower, van Gogh

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; afterward, 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 lampstand 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 4, 2018
Luke 8: 14-18
 
In spring the soil in a garden is turned, opened, so that seed can be sown into the worked earth.
 
The ground in the garden of the heart also requires periodic turning. Hearts opened through turns of destiny, hearts opened through the will’s conscious intent, are fertile ground. The seed of the living spirit, the word funneling into the heart through the ear, received through intentional listening, germinates in the prepared ground of the soul.
 
But germination is just the beginning. The gospel makes it clear that this is only a first step. The Spirit Word wants to grow, to develop strength, to blossom and ripen. Keeping the Spirit Word alive and growing in the garden of the heart takes some effort on our part. It takes tending, patience, time.
 
In a simpler age, reading from the Good Book, hearing the Word of the Spirit at the end of the day was one way to keep it alive in the soul. This allowed the Word to take root. The “riches” of modern life tend to crowd out such a practice. But many find helpful the practice of refreshing the Sunday reading at home during the week.
 
Once the Spirit’s Words, the mystic trees that grow mankind’s future, are sprouted, the soul garden houses living beauty. The soul becomes a noble and

Alfred Soord

worthy place. As Rilke says:
               
The deep one, whose being I trust,
                …breaks through the earth into trees,
and rises,
when I bow my head,
faint as a fragrance
from the soil. *
 
Our tending helps to ripen His trees’ shining fruits. The fruits that feed mankind’s future are the light of understanding, the continuing life of our souls and spirits, the nourishing of love. His fruits, ripening in our hearts, nourish us. They nourish all whom we encounter. And our fruits of soul, ripening in our hearts, nourish—Him.
 
Be modest now, like a thing
ripened until it is real,
so that he who began it all
can feel you when he reaches for you.**
 
* Rilke’s Book of Hours, pg. 101
**, pg. 96

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2nd February Trinity 2017, My Grief or My Gladness

2nd February Trinity

Luke 8:4-18

And as a great crowd had gathered, and ever more people streamed to him out of the cities, he spoke in a parable:

Van Gogh

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; afterward 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.

Harvest of Earth, Mattias Gerung, Ottheimer Folio detail

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 12, 2017

Luke 8:14-18

Christ uses today's parable of living things, seeds, to describe Himself. He is the seed of the living, Creative Word of God. He is sown into our hearts. But whether He grows there depends on the inner conditions into which He falls.

Tissot

One could say something similar about what happens to our own words. How they are received, whether they live and grow in another's heart, depends largely on the conditions into which they fall. Say what we will, unless the conditions are right, nothing will grow.

There is a further element to consider: God's Word is His living, Creative Word of Love. This is what He has sown and wants to grow in our hearts.  But we humans have the option to strew all kinds of words. We can broadcast words of kindness, mercy, comfort. Or we can fling words of hate, cruelty, meanness. We can scatter words that create or words that destroy.

Depending on where these words land, they will sprout. Kind words will grow kindness; mean words will grow hatred. And we will inevitably harvest what we have sown.

Rudolf Steiner said, "We easily allow ourselves through a wrong judgment to be

Hortus Deliciarum, Das Gleichnis vom Sämann Wiki Commons

carried away into hurling an insult, for example, without thinking of the consequences of our action. We hit a person and we are unaware that we have raised our hand against ourselves because this blow will come back to hit us at the given time."*

So even an enlightened self-interest would caution us to be careful of what we speak. For we will inevitably reap what we sow. In the words of e.e. cummings:

my life is the life of the reaper and the sower;

my prayers are prayers of earth's own . . .  children

whose any sadness or joy is my grief or my gladness **

*Source (German): Rudolf Steiner – GA 125 – Wege und Ziele des geistigen Menschen – Kopenhagen, 4 June 1910 (page 56-57). This English translation has been copied from the book: GA 125 – Paths and Goals of the Spiritual Human Being – Life questions in the light of spiritual science – Chapter 4 – Copenhagen, 4 June 1910  **e.e.cummings ~, Complete Poems 1904-1962

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1st February Trinity 2015, Ploughed by Pain

1^st or 2^nd 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.

1^st February Trinity

February 8, 2015

Luke 8: 14 – 18

Anyone who has tried planting a garden knows: the conditions must be right. The right season, the right temperature, neither too hot nor too cold. The right level of moisture, neither too hard and dry, nor too muddy. The right level of fertility.

Our hearts are also gardens waiting to be cultivated; cultivated through art, through truth, through spiritual and religious practice. Some of us may be just starting. Or maybe we tried before, but we lacked sufficient depth. Or maybe our hearts wandered off into the busyness of life. But there comes a moment.  The poet says:

My soul is a dark ploughed field

In the cold rain;

My soul is a broken field

Ploughed by pain.

Where windy grass and flowers

Were growing,

The field lies broken now

For another sowing.

Great Sower, when you tread

My field again,

Scatter the furrows there

With better grain.[1]

James Tissot 

Our hearts ploughed by life’s sorrows, broken open with gratitude, watered by tears. And the Word-Seed is sown. Recognizing our fertility, our heart’s potential, the Creator drops his Word – I AM – into our hearts.

And the Word-Seed takes root. We recognize that it has the potential to grow into a thing of beauty in us. And so we straighten up and do our best to cultivate the garden of our heart. With patient effort we tend the Word-Seed. We keep our hearts moist and soft. We weed out our bad habits. With patient effort we tend the creating Word in our hearts until it grows and blossoms forth in beauty of soul. Until it matures into fruitful deeds of love.

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[1] Sara Teasdale, “The Broken Field"