3rd February Trinity 2019, Another Sowing

Luke 8: 14-18 (adapted from Madsen)

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.

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.

3rd February Trinity

February 17, 2019

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:

Tissot

My soul is a dark plowed field

In the cold rain;

My soul is a broken field

Plowed 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.*

Our hearts plowed 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.

---

*Sara Teasdale, “The Broken Field"

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2nd February Trinity 2019, Generous

February Trinity

Matthew 20: 1-16

But many who are last will be first, and many who are first will be last. The kingdom of the heavens is like a man, the master of his house, who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. Agreeing to pay them one denarius a day, he sent them out into his vineyard.

At about 9 o’clock he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace, and he said to them, “Go also into my vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.” So, they went. He went out again at about noon and at 3 o’clock and did the same. At 5 o’clock he went out and found others standing there, and he said to them, “Why do you stand here all day idle?” They said, “Because no one has hired us.” He said, “You, too, go into the vineyard.”

Burnand

And when evening came, the master of the vineyard said to his steward, “Call the workers and give them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.”

Those who had been hired at 5 o’clock came forward, and each received one denarius.

Burnand

Therefore, when it was the turn of those who were hired first, they expected to receive more. However, they too also received one denarius each. They took it, but they began to grumble against the master of the house. “These men who were hired last only worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.”

However, he answered one of them, saying, “Friend, I am not being unjust to you. Did you not agree with me for one denarius? Take what you have earned and go. I wish to give to the man hired last the same as I give to you. Have I not the right to do as I wish with what is mine? Or do you give me an evil look because I am generous? Thus will the last be first and the first will one day be last.”

2nd February Trinity

February 10, 2019

Matthew 20: 1-16

Some individuals seem to have all the luck – everything they do turns out well and is rewarded. Meanwhile, others sweat and toil under difficult circumstances and seem barely able to exist. Those for whom things go well may be guilty of pride – they may think that the others just aren't applying themselves enough, while the disadvantaged individual may likely suffer envy.

Codex aureus Epternacensis 

Without knowing about each other's past lives, it is impossible to determine the reason for the differences. On the great wheel of incarnations, we are sometimes up and sometimes down. The whole purpose of incarnating is to develop a strong and independent self. In the parable, this selfhood is the 'one denarius' that is the reward of a day's labor, the reward for our daily labors on the field of earth. This single selfhood can then open in gratitude and be offered as a container for a higher, truer Self.

Some seem to come to selfhood only after a tremendous amount of labor and suffering. Others may seem to achieve their 'one denarius' quickly, late and with little effort. What we do not know is how much this individual has suffered or labored in the past, either in this lifetime or another. The parable seems to be saying that grumbling and envy are in any case detrimental; they won't bring you greater rewards; in fact, they erode the self.

11th Century Byzantine

In addition, the parable assures us that, despite what the envious may think, the Master is generous. He always rewards our labors, no matter how it may appear to us. He gives us our daily bread, sufficient for the day's needs. In fact, we are all working together to achieve the harvest. 

Albert Einstein said, "Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received."

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1st February Trinity 2019, Set It Free

4^th Epiphany

Kenneth Dowdy

Luke 13: 10-17

Once he was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit weakening her for eighteen years: she was bent over and could not stand upright [lift her head all the way up]. When Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said to her, “Woman, you are released from your illness!”

He laid his hands upon her, and at once she was able to straighten up. And she praised the power of God. Then the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days for doing work; on those days you can come and let yourselves be healed—but not on the Sabbath.”

But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Does not every one of you untie his ox or his ass from the manger on the Sabbath and lead it away to the water trough? But this daughter of Abraham, who was held bound by the dark might of Satan for eighteen years, wasn’t supposed to be released from her bondage on the day of the Sabbath?”

All his opponents were put to shame by these words, and the people rejoiced over all the signs of spiritual power that happened through him.

1st February Trinity

Feb 3, 2019

Luke 13:10-17

Tissot

Many of us have an appointment calendar or at least a plan for the day. Sometimes everything seems to fall into place. Other times we become annoyed when something unexpected prevents us from carrying out our plans.

The woman who was ill has waited 18 years for just this moment. She has a direct encounter with the loving and healing being of Christ. It is her illness itself that brings her to him in this great moment of destiny. The synagogue leader, too, has a plan. Certain things are to happen on certain days.  He shows no compassion or joy. He can only criticize. He tries to control and limit, according to the schedule.

These two, the woman and the leader, are two archetypes that dwell in every human soul. We all have a part of us that needs healing, a part that longs for a direct encounter with our Creator. And we all have a part of us that says, ‘not now’.

Yes, we need to create and protect our schedules. But the encounter with the Being of Love doesn’t happen by appointment. It happens when it happens; when the moment is ripe; when we are open.

So, as the poet suggests:

Whoever you are: step out of doors tonight,

Out of the room that lets you feel secure.

Infinity is open to your sight.

Whoever you are,

With eyes that have forgotten how to see

From viewing things already too well-known,

Lift up into the dark …

….

And when at last you comprehend its truth,

Then close your eyes and gently set it free.*

---

*Dana Gioia, "Entrance (After Rilke)", in Interrogations at Noon

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4th Epiphany 2019, Requirements of Destiny

4^th Epiphany 

Matthew 8: 1 – 13

When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “Take care that you speak to no one about this. But go, show yourself to the priests. Make the gift of offering that Moses prescribes, as a proof to them.”

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a Roman officer, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my boy lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

The centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Speak just one word, and my boy will be healed. For I myself am a man with people above me, and with soldiers under me. If I tell this one, ‘Go,’ he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness of external existence where human beings live, wailing and grinding their teeth.”

Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go now! According to your faith, so let it be.” And in that same hour, the boy was healed.

4^th Epiphany

January 27, 2019

Matthew 8: 1-13

These two human beings, the leper and the centurion, show us different sides of the ideal human relationship with Christ.

With the leper, the desire for his own healing is balanced by an implicit and humble acceptance of God’s will. “If you are willing,” he says. And the Son of God answers, “I am willing.” 

God is always willing to heal. But healing is not the same as a cure. Conditions need to be met from the human side—then healing is possible, even when no cure can be found. Perhaps, in this case, the man’s humility, his awareness that his own desires were not necessarily sufficient reason for a cure, was what was necessary for both a healing and a cure.

With the centurion, too, there is humility. Now it is coming from someone who is not only himself in a position of power, but also from one who is asking on behalf of someone else. The centurion recognizes a power stronger than his own, one that transcends time and space. It is evidently his implicit and full trust in that higher power which allows his request to be fulfilled.

Christ himself lives both sides, the active healing side, and the receptive,

Gethsemane, Karl Bloch

suffering side. God, in a human body, was learning about human prayer from those he encountered. And their attitudes of soul he would elevate to a kind of perfection in the garden of Gethsemane. There, he was no longer able to keep body and soul together. He was dying. And he asked his Father for a cure, for just one more day, in order to fulfill what he understood to be his mission to die on the cross the next day. “If this cup of death can pass from me today—if it can wait until tomorrow—but—whatever is fitting, according to your will.”

He is our greatest example. “Lord,” we can say, “my trust in you provides the connection through which healing can flow from you. My awareness of the laws of destiny lets me know that in all humility, I am perhaps not the best judge of what I, what others, what the world needs. Only if the requirements of destiny have been fulfilled will a cure be possible. But whatever happens, nonetheless you heal, you make whole. Your will be done.”

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