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THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

June 14th Sermon

Mark 4:26-34

I would like to lead you through a guided meditation this morning.  It is similar to a kind of meditation developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola.  I used it with my lay school students this spring.  It provides a way of imaginatively entering the scriptures.

So, I’d like to begin by inviting you to become comfortable in your seat.  Lay aside anything you might be holding in your hands, like a bulletin or a hymnal.  Sit up straight – not rigidly so, but enough to support your breathing.  If your feet will reach, you might find it helpful to put them both flat on the floor.  But no matter how you sit, remain relaxed, but alert.

I invite you now to turn your attention to your breath.  Feel it as it comes in through your nostrils.  Feel your chest rise and fall.  Feel your belly expand and contract.  Feel your breath as it moves out through your nostrils.  Take a moment and simply be aware of the fact that you are breathing.

Now in your imagination I want you to travel to a distant land – a place on the other side of the world that is far from here in both time and space.  You are walking down a road in the hills of Galilee .  The hills themselves are dry and rocky.  In the distance you see a lake.  It is not large, but it is deep.  It is quiet now, but it holds great strength. 

As you descend, you notice that there is more and more green – green grasses, green bushes, green trees.  You also notice that you are not alone as you walk.  There is someone walking with you, someone with strength and calm, someone with power and peace, someone with compassion. 

And you realize, “This is the Galilee of ancient times, the Galilee of Jesus, and it is Jesus who is walking beside me.”

You are not alone as you walk.  There are many others who are following Jesus.  But your attention is fixed solely on him.  And you sense that you are the only person that matters to him right now.

As you walk, you see a man walking through a field.  He dips his hand into the bag at his side and then throws handful after handful of seed out across the ground. 

Jesus stops and says, “Look!  A farmer is spreading seed!”  So you also stop and watch.

The farmer, you notice, is walking along a path.  He is not alone either.  There are birds that are following him.  Some of the seed that he is spreading naturally falls on the path.  As quickly as they fall to the ground, the birds are eating them up.

It seems so wasteful.  But then you think back on your walk with Jesus.  How many of the words that he has spoken do you remember?  How often were you distracted by other things around you?  How many of his words were simply lost in your mind?  How many of his words remain in your heart?

Take a moment and ask God for a more focused mind in attending to the Word.

Now you notice that Jesus still has his eyes on the farmer.  The farmer continues to spray seed this way and that.  Some falls on the path.  Some falls on ground where the soil is very shallow.  It has many rocks, so many rocks that you wonder how anything can grow there.  And in your mind’s eye you can see small green plants springing up, but then fading in the heat of summer.

You wonder – where has my own faith lacked staying power?  When have I taken up some effort and lost steam?  When have I felt a rush of passion or joy that has faded in my day-to-day life?

Take a moment and ask God for a more sustained will in living the Word.

Still Jesus has not moved.  He still watches the farmer.  The farmer continues to spread seed, casting it in generous handfuls out over the ground.

Some seed, you can see, falls on ground where weeds have already begun to establish themselves.  They will provide stiff competition for the seeds and their plants.  As the plants grow, they are likely to be choked out of water and sun and soil, the things they really need to mature and bear fruit. 

What are the weeds in your life?  What are the worries that you have about the present or about the future?  What are your concerns about things you have to do or things you have to get?

Take a moment and ask God for a more anchored heart in the Word.

Now it seems you cannot take your eyes off the farmer.  He is oblivious to where he casts his seed.  His only concern seems to be that he cast as much seed as he can everywhere without thought to where it lands – hard soil, rocky soil, weedy soil.

At last you can see that some seed falls on good, rich, dark soil.  There the seed will take root.  There the seed will be fed and nourished.  There the seed will sprout and grow and bear fruit.  It will produce a harvest so large you can barely imagine it.

Where is that place in you that is receptive and nourishing to God’s Word?  Where has the Word borne fruit in your life?  Where would you like to see the Word come to maturity?  Where do you hope to see a bountiful harvest in your life?

Take a moment and ask God for a more trusting spirit in the Word.

You look around.  You see the farmer continuing to plant.  But Jesus is no longer looking at the farmer.  Jesus is looking once again at you.  He may be looking at everyone, but you feel as though you are the only one that matters to him right now. 

He says to you, “Listen to this: I am the Word.  I live in your heart.  I have taken root.  I am sprouting and growing.  And, whether you can see it or not, I am bearing fruit for you, for others, and for the whole world.  Listen and believe.”

Now you begin to withdraw from this place.  You can return whenever you want, but for now it is fading from view.  You are now aware of your body as it is seated.  You are aware for your presence in this room.  And, when you are ready, I invite you to open your eyes.