Miracles

This morning’s gospel reminds me of what I call my favorite miracle of daily life. Jesus says:

This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear…

Living in upstate New York, I don’t see as much grain growing as I do corn, but each spring I await the plowing of the fields which catches my attention and then I begin to watch closely for the tiniest hint of a green hue that precedes the smallest of shoots in the corn rows. Then they become visible to the casual observer and within about two weeks hardly anyone can miss the order of the rows and the abundance that is beginning until the plants are “knee high by the 4th of July.” It is astounding to me that farmers just need to watch, as I do, for the next month until the stalks are as tall as I am and the ears begin to form. That joy is palatable for me, as much as is the eating of a recently picked ear of “Silver Queen.” It’s easy to forget all the labor that goes into the preparation of the land and the harvesting. As in everything, there is a rhythm of work and observation until the growth is assured. So it is with the kingdom of God. So it is with the mustard seed, mentioned in the second half of this text. The smallest of our good works, our kindnesses, our prayers, can manifest in abundance if only we are attentive and proceed with intention. I wonder today how ready is the ground of me and where will I find the seeds.

How Is Your Hearing?

Interesting to me in today’s gospel reading (Mk 4) is the fact that about five verses after yesterday’s selection Jesus repeats the line that I found so important. It makes me think that Jesus wanted to make an important point too! He says again, “Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.” This time, however, he adds the admonition, “Take care what you hear.” For me, that implies discernment. I believe he is saying that mindless chatter or gossip should be allowed to pass “in one ear and out the other” without our actually taking it into our consciousness or giving it any attention. Rather we should be concerned with what will move us to “higher mind” activity which then moves to the heart, rather than getting into what does our spirits no good and leads us into useless emotional distress. I am not suggesting we block all unpleasant thoughts or everything that creates some emotional response. What I am trying for in my life is the release of negativity and a sharpening of my inner sense of hearing to lead me to God and the ways of God so I find my home then in the heart of God.

Good soil

This morning’s gospel (Mk 4) recounts the parable of the seed falling on different kinds of soil, the parable that Jesus took time to explain to his disciples when they were alone. For many of us, it’s a “no-brainer” since we had the explanation as soon as we heard the parable itself. The question is rather whether or not we have interiorized the meaning of what Jesus was trying to get across to them and us.

My other reading this morning was from a book called Living Presence: A Sufi Way to Mindfulness and the Essential Self. I’m always interested in how synchronistic things show themselves to be so I wasn’t surprised this morning when the next chapter to be read was called “Listening Within” and spoke of how we often miss the message of the present moment because we are not consciously engaged. Rather we listen and speak mechanically while other thoughts, images or worries are preoccupying us. So today will be a day (if I can manage it) to attempt deeper mindfulness in and between my conversations. And as for the parable, I will try to really ponder and maybe begin to answer the questions: What kind of soil am I as the seeds of God’s word are sown in me? Am I the path where the “birds” of other cares quickly eat up the seed? Am I rocky soil, not deep enough for the word to take root? Are there too many thorns in me, of whatever nature, choking the word of God in favor of other plans and projects? Or am I conscious, rich soil wherein the word can flourish and produce fruit? I know from experience and the kindness of others that it takes constant tending of good soil  for it to be productive. Thus, the admonition of Jesus will be my companion today.

“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear!”

 

Celebrating Universality

This morning, glad to be back to my morning task with a functional computer, I am happy to see the selection from the Second Book of Samuel.

Then David, girt with a linen apron, came dancing before the Lord with abandon as he and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts of joy to the sound of the horn.

I love that image of a king, a high official, a man dancing with abandon because of his love and devotion to God. When was the last time, I ask myself, that I saw that kind of wild abandon in church? And it was not a solo dance; “all the house of Israel” joined in his procession. I think of how hesitant most Americans are to join in this kind of celebrative ritual – maybe not in a nightclub but certainly we are more “proper” in our church services most, if not all, of the time.

There is for me a subtle connection to the gospel for today as well. The clue is the invitation to all to join in the dance – for David the nation of Israel, but for Jesus even  a wider population. When someone comes to him to say that his relatives are outside asking for him, he says something that seems harsh but is rather more expansive. He asks and then answers his own question.

Who are my mother and my brothers? Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to me.

Jesus is not rejecting his family here but rather taking us to a deeper level of consciousness. We ought to recognize this easily since we have taken to greeting our faith communities as “my brothers and sisters” as we address them in preaching or praying together. Jesus is calling us to see everyone as related and thereby to assume some responsibility for  our part in the family of humanity. In a song by Lori True, we hear the repeated question, “What have we done for…the poor ones, the lonely, the hungry, the children, the…” and the refrain continues: “God’s chosen people, lost and forsaken, what have we done for the poor ones here in our midst?”

All of this calls me today to be mindful of the deeper sense in which we are all connected and to express my gratitude to the God who calls us to oneness with a joy that is not based on outside circumstances but on the recognition of the boundless love that is our unity.

A Higher Law

Just a note: The reason my posts are late this week is that my computer is ‘in the shop” as they say. I don’t know when I will have it back so this post is coming to you from my office. I will be out of town for the next four days so am hoping to have my computer to take with me. If not, I’ll be back to this on Monday.

 

This morning’s gospel has Jesus going against tradition once again, testing the laws by “doing the work” of curing someone – the man with the withered hand – on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were watching him closely to see if they could catch him breaking the law but were hard put to say anything when Jesus asked them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save a life rather than to destroy it?”

We need laws for good order, both in society and in our faith communities. We must, however, always be ready to ask ourselves two things: 1. if we are able to assess what we know in our conscience to be correct action, and 2. if we willing to go against convention, and even the law, if we find such action necessary. It’s good to take some time on occasion to review our thoughts and beliefs about this, and to look to Jesus as our model.

Right Judgment

When Samuel was sent to Jesse to look among Jesse’s sons for the one who was to be king (1 SM 16), God gave Samuel a key when he told Samuel about the first son, Eliab, “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature…Not as man sees does God see, because he sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.”

In my opinion, this is the best advice anyone could ever give or receive.

Sophia

This morning before moving to the Scriptures for reflection, I opened a small book called Walking With Wisdom by Nan Merrill, the founder of an organization called Friends of Silence. At the beginning of Meditation (Chapter) 3 was a quote I thought most appropriate for the Sophia Center and for this day for all Wisdom seekers.

Sophia is ever at play. Greet her daily in nature, creative work, a child’s imagination. Discover the sacred in all you do.

Progression

This morning as I pondered each of the readings for this Sunday, it seemed to me like an unfolding, a discovery, or the tripping of a stream down a small waterfall toward a larger body where everything merged into oneness. Let me see if I can capture the feeling of it – each reading yielding a sentence that carries the progression.

1. God speaks through Isaiah. “You are my servant, Israel, through whom I show my glory,” reminding us the reason God has formed us in the womb.

2. The servant (each of us) responds with the psalmist, “In the written scroll it is prescribed for me, to do your will, O my God, is my delight.”

3. As we recognize and go about the ministry of service to God in our lives in myriad ways, Paul gives us a greeting of encouragement to share with all we meet. “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

4. As John the Baptist in today’s gospel recounts the fulfillment of his life purpose that he recognized when he met Jesus, so we hope to be led to that realization as we go about our lives. John says, “…the reason why I came…was that he might be made known.”

All of this reminds me that our lives are connected to that great chain of being and that we have within us the stories of all who have gone before throughout our history – of our ancestors in faith through our parents or whoever appeared in our lives to help us recognize our call to be servants of God. Today it seems possible for me to reach back for the wisdom of the ages and to reach down to the core of meaning for the grace to continue the stream, so that I might be a witness to the God who is always revealed as the great ocean of Love.

Cancellation

Just a note to those of you who might be thinking on the last minute to come to our centering prayer reflection day. We’ve decided to err on the side of caution and cancel because of weather. Look for notice on the homepage of the website for a rescheduling of this event.

Good News!

Today the gospel has good news for all of us when we are feeling unworthy of being chosen by God. Jesus calls Levi the tax collector to follow him. Tax collectors were (and still are for many people) not very well thought of but Jesus was making a point, emphasized even more by his frequent fraternization with “tax collectors and sinners.” When he heard people grumbling about this habit of his, he said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.” I’d  say that category includes all of us from time to time, so today is a day to breathe a sigh of relief!