A Measuring Stick

Gospel: Matthew 13: 1-9

The Parable of the Sower is the only one where an explanation is provided afterward by Jesus.  All the other parables are left alone to be pondered and discerned.  It is likely that this parable too was originally like all the others, and that an explanatory note was added afterward.  The explanation of the parable can be seen as deterministic - that we are born a certain way with a certain outcome of our lives already preset.  But such is not the case.

The parable as it is provides us the opportunity for reflection and examination throughout our lives.  At this moment in my life, what is the state of my soul? At times we find ourselves choked off by thorns.  At other times we feel flashes of growth only to see it wither, while still other times we feel no growth at all.  We rejoice at the moments in life where we do sense real depth of progress.  And it may be that various parts of our spiritual life may be experiencing different things simultaneously.

The Parable of the Sower can then be used as a measuring stick to gauge our progress.  It is a parable for us to return to again and again to see if the Beatitudes have taken root in my life, if the flowers of mercy, meekness, purity of heart, peacemaking, righteousness, and patient suffering have emerged and grown.  God has generously strewn these seeds in the garden of our souls.  It is for us to continually check the garden for growth and progress. 

Acknowledgements

Gospel: Matthew 10: 24-33

What does it mean to "acknowledge Christ"?  We are told from the preachers that it means to assert faith in Christ, accepting him as our personal Lord and Savior.  The priests will tell us that to acknowledge Christ is to recite a creedal formula written and decreed by the approved theologians.  But the idea of such verbal assertions about an ethereal idea of a heavenly being or our abstractions about Jesus from the historical past seem hollow and unrealistic in the face of mounting body counts and victims of religion.

No.  To acknowledge Christ is not to participate in any of these stage performances.  Rather, to acknowledge Christ is to recognize the presence of Christ in another person, in all persons.  It is to regard others as another Christ and to treat them with dignity and respect, to extend mercy and care for them in feeding them, providing them drink, sheltering them, clothing them, visiting them in their sickness and imprisonment, and in welcoming them in all people.  

We can continue to engage in religion as playing house, i.e. in pretending to be real with our scripts, play acting, and fineries.  Or we can actually be in the house engaged in the real undertaking of the household.  The former is easy and requires little from us.  The latter is much more challenging, for it is the work of Jesus himself, who sat in the houses of others engaged in the needs people have - in healing them, liberating them from demons and fear, and nourishing body and soul.  This is to acknowledge Christ.

The Posture of a Christian

Gospel:  Matthew 10: 16-23

In today's Gospel portion we are provided with the blueprint for the Christian's demeanor in the world.  Jesus states that we are sheep in the midst of wolves.  Sheep are not aggressive or predatory animals.  They are the hunted, as is the Christian.  We are to flee from town to town in the face of persecution.  We are not to employ the angry or vindictive word.  When the time comes we will be given what to say before the teeth of the enemy.  

If one is confused by this image Jesus provides, that is understandable.  Notably absent is the appeal to weaponry and violence.  There is no quarter to be found in political parties or governments.  No use of the wiles of modern media and its propaganda.  All the things the modern Christian avails themselves are utterly rejected by the Lord Jesus.  Firmly rooted in the tradition from which he came, Jesus echoes the Psalmist - from where shall come my help?  My help is from the Lord.

The atheist is not the one who rejects God and does not attend church.  The atheist is the modern Christian who claims belief in God but does not live such.  Most Christians of modern times do not believe in God.  They believe in the strong man, the money and power, the propaganda machines of the media empires, the political power and influence they have cultivated like bitter grapes.  Today is a day for us to follow the example of Jesus, who lived his own teaching at his arrest, trial, and death.  Our help is from the Lord...