13 July 2014 - game of thorns

13 July 2014 - game of thorns

so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
my word shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.

The Word of God will accomplish that for which it comes.  He himself is the one who makes the earth fertile and fruitful.  So why do read about paths, rocky ground, and thorns, places where seeds cannot grow?

Seeds that are sown on the path represent a lack of understanding.  Paths are transitions, they are temporary.  There is no depth in which we can grow.  We should be grateful for the deep soil of the Church.  We should be weary of novelty, lest it prove shallow.  As we spread the word, we spread it not on paths of argument and superficial curiosity, but instead into the deep need of every soul.  In this need true understanding can blossom.

Seeds that are sown on rocky ground represent a falling away in the midst of trial and persecution.  We do this because we only engage the word in a superficial way.  If we don't let it break up the rocks in our hearts it will not have the roots it needs.  God wants to take away our stony hearts and give us hearts of flesh.  But this means being more open to compassion and love.  It means being opened to the world beyond ourselves.  We can heed Paul's admonition to "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep."  It is safer to stay within ourselves.  The stakes are low.  And so when we are persecuted and the time comes to choose whether we put the kingdom first we find that we are reluctant.  We find that we rather than living the commandment of love for God and neighbor we are instead trying to use the kingdom as a vehicle for self-help.  We fall away.

Seeds that are sown among thorns represent choosing the empty promises and concerns of the world instead of the kingdom.  In this case, we hear the word, we acknowledge it, but we don't actually allow it deep inside.  It is just one among many aspects of our lives.  In this context the word will not grow.  It feels itself to be insufficient, to be choked, because it should not be growing alongside these worldly concerns.  It bears no fruit.

The thing to realize is that God is generous.  He scatters the word everywhere.  He knows that in some of us it won't bear fruit.  But he offers his invitation nonetheless.  He is willing to do all that is necessary to make the seeds grow.  He is willing to make our soil fertile.  He is willing to give us places of deep soil.  He will break up the rocks and pull up the thorns.  He will send his word to water us in our aridity and to give us life again.

In the beginning God put Adam in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it (cf. Gen. 2:15).  Adam fails and now the ground bears thistles and thorns (cf. Gen 3:17).  But God is planting the garden of a new paradise in the Church.  And Jesus himself is the gardener (cf. 20:15), just as Mary Magdalene supposed.  The fruit toward which this garden grows is the true tree of life, blossoming from the cross in the sweetness of the Eucharist.

His word really won't return to him void.  It will achieve the end for which it is sent.  All we have to do is welcome it.

Paul knows "that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us."  Thorns and thistles can't touch someone who knows this.  Why is his soil so fertile?

but we ourselves,
who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
we also groan within ourselves
as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

It is the Holy Spirit that transforms dry and barren deserts in fertile soil for the kingdom.  We receive the Holy Spirit through a word which is always effective, a word spoken in baptism and confirmation.  But to really be transformed, we have to welcome him every day.  We have to fan into flames the gift we have received.  When we do welcome him he rains down on us, breaking up clods, softening us, and blessing us to yield fruit "a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold."  Fruit not only nourishes but brings the sweetness for which we long.  The world has been hungry long enough!  Come Holy Spirit!  Rain down on us!

What the psalmist imagines of the natural order is even better when the seed is the Word of God.

You have crowned the year with your bounty,
and your paths overflow with a rich harvest;
The untilled meadows overflow with it,
and rejoicing clothes the hills.