One of my favorite places in the universe is the Abbey of Gethsemani in Nelson County. It is prayerful, peaceful and beautiful. I get my batteries recharged there every time I visit, whether for an hour, a day, or a whole week. I have accompanied many groups there for tours of the monastery and hiking trails. I especially like to watch and hear the reaction of the visitors on their awakening to the fruits of Gethsemani.
I remember one group of girl scouts I took there one day on a trip through our Catholic Holy Land. The 10-11 year old girls seemed to be enthralled by spending time in peaceful silence, praying the liturgy of the hours with the monks, walking around the holy grounds, and watching a video, meeting a monk, and learning about the history and the day to day activities of these men who have been chosen to live the stark and prayerful life of a Cistercian monk. However, there was one mother/ girl scout leader who could not understand it at all. This woman was and is a very active Catholic. She is in Church regularly, is involved in some very important ministries in her parish, and is prayerful and insightful in the matters of the faith. She lives her faith very well. But, she could not understand the value of why a grown man would want to leave "the world" and live a life of prayer in a monastery. I remember on the bus ride home talking with her. She was totally shaken by the reality of people choosing to live in prayer, study, common work, and community together. She thought that their willingness to pray for us and the world as a life time vocation was a waste. She argued that these men (and men and women around the globe who were similarly called) should be in the cities and churches, not hidden away in some cloister. She could not make sense of the possibility that they and their monastery stood as a visible sign of the importance (or necessity) of prayer and sacrifice in our world. God has chosen them to be a witness for our Church and world. They stand as a beacon for us that God is the reason and the answer for everything in the world. The life of a monk or cloistered nun is only for those whom God calls. But so is the married, single, religious and ordained life. All are valuable and necessary in the Kingdom of God.
Jesus' parables in this weekend's Gospel from St. Matthew talk about a merchant and a land prospector who sell everything they own to buy a pearl of enormous value and a treasure buried in a field. Most of the time I hear these readings I question if I am fully committed to God and the mission of God on this Earth. And, I should question my commitment regularly, so that I can make the needed changes to put God and His priorities as the center of my life. I need to soul search often to see if money, ego, sports, my own selfish motives, or many other things are trying to steal God's purposes from me.
But this week another thought struck me while reflecting upon the pearl of great price and the treasure hidden in the field. Rather than thinking about how I can do better as a motivation to practice this parable, I thought of what God has already done to live this parable. Hasn't God already sacrificed all He has for us. The Father gave His only begotten Son. His Son gave His life. Why? God gave us His all so that we could have life, be forgiven, be loved and to love as He loves. Are we the treasure in the field that God sold everything for? Are we the pearl that God has sacrificed all for?
My new motivation is that if the God of the universe is willing to lay it all down for me and you, then I can work on sacrificing a little more of my paltry concerns and selfishness for His sake. I hope I can bite my tongue when I'm tempted to complain about some driver that is driving too slowly in front of me. I hope I can say yes to someone's request for a little of my "precious" time. I hope He and thee become increasingly more important than me.
peace and blessings,
Fr. Chuck Walker
Friday, July 25, 2014
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Walker's Wanderings: Let there be WHEAT on Earth!
Walker's Wanderings: Let there be WHEAT on Earth!: On Teens Encounter Christ retreats "wheat" is a term that is used to describe tangible experiences of God's grace. "Wheat...
Let there be WHEAT on Earth!
On Teens Encounter Christ retreats "wheat" is a term that is used to describe tangible experiences of God's grace. "Wheat" can be a note of encouragement or gratitude, an unexpected gesture of kindness (smile, hug, pat on the back), a deed of helpfulness, or much more. On these retreats there is a support team that fixes meals, sets up the chapel, makes sure there is enough toilet paper in the rest rooms, and all of the other sundry chores that make sure the retreat runs smoothly. These indispensable people are called "Wheaties". These folks normally spend the whole three or four days of retreat in silence, offering their service as a silent prayer for the purpose of God doing His will for the retreatants and team of talk givers and chaplains. God bless the "Wheaties"!
Last week Jesus told the parable of the sower who cast wheat into the field haphazardly, but eventually yielding a 30, 60, or 100 fold crop. Though he doesn't seem to really care where the seeds land the abundant yield more than makes up for His "carelessness". This week Jesus (and St. Matthew) give us the parables of the wheat and weeds, the good (?) mustard seed, and the the pinch of yeast that makes 100 pounds of flour rise. The emphasis of the Catholic Church this weekend is the first parable of the the weeds that is sown with the wheat, since it is the only parable that is in both of the liturgical options of long or short forms.
Points to remember about parables as Jesus used them are that they are all about the immensity of the power of God and the Kingdom of God, AND that there is always a surprise.
For us 21st century mostly modern and citified folks we may not get the "surprise" without a little nudging. But if you grow vegetables, flowers, tobacco or huge fields of soy beans weeds are always a bane. (I'm also discovering that the squirrels of Eastern Parkway are also the bane of tomato growers in Louisville!!!) Pesticides and pest resistant plants have "helped" modern agribusinesses, but most of us "gardeners" still have to hoe, pull or experiences a weedy, ugly, and less productive garden. The common practice then and now is to kill the weeds before they get a good start. In the tobacco fields that used to mean hoeing the patch regularly until the tobacco was at least head high and therefore less susceptible to the strangling effects of Johnson grass, thistles or vines. Hoeing is a pain in the back but necessary work for gardeners and farmers, but more so then than now. Hoeing is easier when the ground is soft or wet but more necessary when the ground is harder. If you hoe before a predicted rain you get to help your crop in two ways not just one. Hoeing before a rain helps eradicate weeds then but it also makes the soil more open to absorb the rain and water the roots of the crop that you are hoping becomes productive.
So, the surprise to me in this parable that the land owner tells his tillers that He wants them to let the weeds and the wheat to grow together until they are both mature. Any normal farmer or farm worker would be able to identify pretty positively what is a weed and what is wheat from the first sprig of green shooting out of the soil. Get rid of the weeds early and your crop has a better chance of receiving moisture and has less competition winning the battle of plant supremacy. Letting weeds grow as big as your wheat means that you won't have a wheat crop. Yet the land owner is the boss. His decision is THE decision. Most folks in the crowd in Jesus' day would have probably said, "This preacher doesn't know squat about farming."
Yet Jesus' point is about God not farming. God decides what is wheat and what is weeds when the time for harvest has come. The hired hands, tenants, and farm workers are asked to forget what they think they know about what (or who) is a weed and what is a stalk of wheat. Let the farm owner decide. Then He will harvest all to where each belong.
It is very hard for us not to judge others with our personal measuring sticks. We think we know who is good and who is bad, who is weed and who is wheat (and what they deserve). Yet over and over again Jesus tells us to let God decide and to try to be as forgiving and generous as God. The only opinion that matters in the end is God's.
We are all sometimes weeds growing in the wheat and sometimes wheat growing among the weeds. Thanks to the loving and generous mercy of God we are metamorphosed from our "weedy" actions, words, and attitudes into the abundant and fruitful "wheat" that God needs us to be. If God can show such mercy and benevolence to us while we are "weeds", He can surely change the most "weedy" of humans into the divine image in which all are made.
Peace and Blessings,
Fr. Chuck
Last week Jesus told the parable of the sower who cast wheat into the field haphazardly, but eventually yielding a 30, 60, or 100 fold crop. Though he doesn't seem to really care where the seeds land the abundant yield more than makes up for His "carelessness". This week Jesus (and St. Matthew) give us the parables of the wheat and weeds, the good (?) mustard seed, and the the pinch of yeast that makes 100 pounds of flour rise. The emphasis of the Catholic Church this weekend is the first parable of the the weeds that is sown with the wheat, since it is the only parable that is in both of the liturgical options of long or short forms.
Points to remember about parables as Jesus used them are that they are all about the immensity of the power of God and the Kingdom of God, AND that there is always a surprise.
For us 21st century mostly modern and citified folks we may not get the "surprise" without a little nudging. But if you grow vegetables, flowers, tobacco or huge fields of soy beans weeds are always a bane. (I'm also discovering that the squirrels of Eastern Parkway are also the bane of tomato growers in Louisville!!!) Pesticides and pest resistant plants have "helped" modern agribusinesses, but most of us "gardeners" still have to hoe, pull or experiences a weedy, ugly, and less productive garden. The common practice then and now is to kill the weeds before they get a good start. In the tobacco fields that used to mean hoeing the patch regularly until the tobacco was at least head high and therefore less susceptible to the strangling effects of Johnson grass, thistles or vines. Hoeing is a pain in the back but necessary work for gardeners and farmers, but more so then than now. Hoeing is easier when the ground is soft or wet but more necessary when the ground is harder. If you hoe before a predicted rain you get to help your crop in two ways not just one. Hoeing before a rain helps eradicate weeds then but it also makes the soil more open to absorb the rain and water the roots of the crop that you are hoping becomes productive.
So, the surprise to me in this parable that the land owner tells his tillers that He wants them to let the weeds and the wheat to grow together until they are both mature. Any normal farmer or farm worker would be able to identify pretty positively what is a weed and what is wheat from the first sprig of green shooting out of the soil. Get rid of the weeds early and your crop has a better chance of receiving moisture and has less competition winning the battle of plant supremacy. Letting weeds grow as big as your wheat means that you won't have a wheat crop. Yet the land owner is the boss. His decision is THE decision. Most folks in the crowd in Jesus' day would have probably said, "This preacher doesn't know squat about farming."
Yet Jesus' point is about God not farming. God decides what is wheat and what is weeds when the time for harvest has come. The hired hands, tenants, and farm workers are asked to forget what they think they know about what (or who) is a weed and what is a stalk of wheat. Let the farm owner decide. Then He will harvest all to where each belong.
It is very hard for us not to judge others with our personal measuring sticks. We think we know who is good and who is bad, who is weed and who is wheat (and what they deserve). Yet over and over again Jesus tells us to let God decide and to try to be as forgiving and generous as God. The only opinion that matters in the end is God's.
We are all sometimes weeds growing in the wheat and sometimes wheat growing among the weeds. Thanks to the loving and generous mercy of God we are metamorphosed from our "weedy" actions, words, and attitudes into the abundant and fruitful "wheat" that God needs us to be. If God can show such mercy and benevolence to us while we are "weeds", He can surely change the most "weedy" of humans into the divine image in which all are made.
Peace and Blessings,
Fr. Chuck
Friday, July 11, 2014
Sower, Seed or Soil? (Matthew 13: 1-13.)
While in Israel last September, our tour guide took us to the bank of
the Sea of Galilee, in a location probably pretty similar to the shore
where Jesus spoke the parable of the sower and the seed. It was not a typically touristy place. In fact it was sort of primitive even by Israeli standards. Within an arms length of each other were a hard
packed path, very rocky ground, thorns and very fertile soil. I could
visualize Jesus pointing these places out as He told His listeners this
parable. I realized then Jesus probably used "show and tell" to help His first listeners get the point.
The parable of the sower and the seed is one that appears in different forms in the first three Gospels. So it seems that is one that the Gospel writers remembered as important to their readers and hearers. These first disciples were inspired enough by this parable as to live it out. They were definitely the seed that landed on good soil. Because of their willingness to let the Word of God take root and grow within them, they spread His love, acceptance and forgiveness to every corner of the world. All of the Christians and their churches throughout the world are a testimony to the those Christians who have lived before us willing to be the seed in good soil. They have helped God produce a hundred fold multiplied by countless generations.
BUT, I have a problem with Jesus' explanation of the parable in the last part of the reading we have for this Sunday. He explains to the disciples that the seed that landed on the path didn't take root, that the seed that landed on rocky ground barely took root and was short lived, and that the seeds that fell among the thorns eventually got choked out by them. Only the seed that fell on good soil produced abundantly. I understand that. But, what if you are in thorny, rocky or concrete hard circumstances in your life? Is there no hope to be productive evangelizers in the tough circumstances of your life? Many of the saints of our heritage have definitely been God's heralds and compassion in some very awful life situations. St. Vincent de Paul saw babies, children and mothers barely living and often dying in 17th century France. He was even imprisoned and made a slave for a while because of his commitment to being good seed in awful soil for the sake of helping God's hopeless millions. He is just one of thousands of saints who were able to produce "a hundred fold" times hundreds while in rocky, thorny, or impossible places.
So, how do I make since of the explanation found in Matthew's Gospel? It helps to know that the first versions of the parables given by Jesus did not include explanations. Explanations came later, probably by the evangelists, to help their communities to get a point that they were trying to make for the faith communities that they were writing the Gospels for. Almost all scripture experts agree to this. Jesus didn't explain the parables. He just sowed them. Where they landed, they landed. The people got them and were probably shocked by them. Mustard seed was a weed. There was no way that it could be big enough to provide shade and homes for birds. Jews were forbidden to use leaven in their dough. No good Jewish woman would even think of adding it to their bread. Seed never produced thirty, sixty or a hundred fold. A yield of ten times would have been a bumper crop. So, this and most of the parables are about the power of God and the Kingdom of God. God CAN make something out of nothing. God can make weeds perform as if they were trees. He can turn something forbidden and "evil" into good. And God can grow lots of wheat any darned place He wills it!
God's fertile soil can be anywhere. Even if we think our lives are thorny, rocky or hard God can still do amazing things with us. What we perceive as impossible situations and circumstances, God can make abundant and full of life. Yes, some of us live in awful situations and face seemingly impossible difficulties. But the compassionate power of God is bigger than the crap we may be facing.
Allow your mind, heart and life to be open to God's possibilities!
The parable of the sower and the seed is one that appears in different forms in the first three Gospels. So it seems that is one that the Gospel writers remembered as important to their readers and hearers. These first disciples were inspired enough by this parable as to live it out. They were definitely the seed that landed on good soil. Because of their willingness to let the Word of God take root and grow within them, they spread His love, acceptance and forgiveness to every corner of the world. All of the Christians and their churches throughout the world are a testimony to the those Christians who have lived before us willing to be the seed in good soil. They have helped God produce a hundred fold multiplied by countless generations.
BUT, I have a problem with Jesus' explanation of the parable in the last part of the reading we have for this Sunday. He explains to the disciples that the seed that landed on the path didn't take root, that the seed that landed on rocky ground barely took root and was short lived, and that the seeds that fell among the thorns eventually got choked out by them. Only the seed that fell on good soil produced abundantly. I understand that. But, what if you are in thorny, rocky or concrete hard circumstances in your life? Is there no hope to be productive evangelizers in the tough circumstances of your life? Many of the saints of our heritage have definitely been God's heralds and compassion in some very awful life situations. St. Vincent de Paul saw babies, children and mothers barely living and often dying in 17th century France. He was even imprisoned and made a slave for a while because of his commitment to being good seed in awful soil for the sake of helping God's hopeless millions. He is just one of thousands of saints who were able to produce "a hundred fold" times hundreds while in rocky, thorny, or impossible places.
So, how do I make since of the explanation found in Matthew's Gospel? It helps to know that the first versions of the parables given by Jesus did not include explanations. Explanations came later, probably by the evangelists, to help their communities to get a point that they were trying to make for the faith communities that they were writing the Gospels for. Almost all scripture experts agree to this. Jesus didn't explain the parables. He just sowed them. Where they landed, they landed. The people got them and were probably shocked by them. Mustard seed was a weed. There was no way that it could be big enough to provide shade and homes for birds. Jews were forbidden to use leaven in their dough. No good Jewish woman would even think of adding it to their bread. Seed never produced thirty, sixty or a hundred fold. A yield of ten times would have been a bumper crop. So, this and most of the parables are about the power of God and the Kingdom of God. God CAN make something out of nothing. God can make weeds perform as if they were trees. He can turn something forbidden and "evil" into good. And God can grow lots of wheat any darned place He wills it!
God's fertile soil can be anywhere. Even if we think our lives are thorny, rocky or hard God can still do amazing things with us. What we perceive as impossible situations and circumstances, God can make abundant and full of life. Yes, some of us live in awful situations and face seemingly impossible difficulties. But the compassionate power of God is bigger than the crap we may be facing.
Allow your mind, heart and life to be open to God's possibilities!
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