“I have tasted the fruit of the earth, O God.
I have seen autumn trees hang heavily with heaven’s gifts.
I have known people pregnant with your spirit of generosity.
Let these be guides to me this day.
And may Mary who knew her womb filled with your goodness
teach me the wisdom that is born amidst pain.
May I know that deeper than any fallowness in me
is the seed planted in the womb of my soul.
May I know that greater than any barrenness in the world
is the harvest to be justly shared.”
~J. Philip Newell

Yesterday morning I began my day with these words from Celtic Benediction by J. Philip Newell. This small, beautifully illustrated devotional book is one I return to over and over again. My experience of it yesterday did not disappoint.

You see, one of the scriptures read this past Sunday was the parable of the sower and the seeds. For those unfamiliar with this story, it is one in which Jesus once again uses imagines and experiences common to those first hearers of his good news. He tells of a sower, a gardener, who goes out to sow the seeds of his garden. Some of his seeds fall on soil in which they cannot find a home and the birds make quick lunch of them. No fruit or veggies to be born from those seeds! Some of the other seeds were thrown into soil that was rocky where their roots could not find the depth they needed to grow deeper as well as taller. The sun drew them out but then scorched the plants they bore and, again, there was no harvest. Still some other seeds fell into an area where there were lots of thorns and the thorns choked what ever had been able to grow. Finally, some of the seeds found a home in soil that was just right…..soft enough to burrow into, not surrounded by plants that would hinder their growth, in the place where there was enough sun and moisture to grow into their fullness.

This is a story that has a myriad of interpretations. The number of sermons preached on this text must be astronomical. I tend to believe this is one of the reasons Jesus’ lessons to us tended to be through storytelling. Depending on wherever we are on life’s path, no matter the circumstances, we can find a morsel of truth or challenge or hope that seems directed specifically to our life’s situation.

That is just what happened on Sunday when an unusually small number of people showed up for our 11:00 worship service. Rather than trying to continue on as if we were a mighty number, I had people pull their seats closer together and we spent time reflecting on this story and what it might have to offer our lives and our world. Reflecting conversationally about times we had planted seeds that grew well, we gave thanks for those seeds that matured, usually through little effort on our part as seeds are wont to do. We also took time to talk about the times when we had planted seeds that had failed and what lesson that might have offered us.

Finally, we prayed for the seeds that we believe need to be planted in our world. Those that will bring about healing, hope, justice, compassion, love. Each person had a sense of the deep needs of our nation, our neighborhoods, our families and our faith communities. We firmly held to the belief that ‘deeper than any fallowness in me
is the seed planted in the womb of my soul.’ Like all gardeners we were reminded that there is a movement of Spirit that is pure Mystery and we’d be served well to connect with that which we cannot see,but certainly feel, as often as possible. It is then that we can gently touch, and be touched by, ‘the harvest to be justly shared.’

What seeds are longing to be planted in your soul this day? What seed do you have to offer the world, for its healing and for your own? Each of us is a part of this powerful on-going story of planting and harvesting. May the One who is the Great Gardener walk with us showing us the finest and richest soil in which to plant the seeds that only we can plant.