Today we continue our exploration of the kingdom by going to the UNICEF web site. To examine the status of immunization in the world. Find other sources of information on this topic and consider the pros and cons. What does Jesus say to us about immunizations especially for children? How does God’s Spirit move us to celebrate humanity and those who call us to care for the children?
Tomorrow, the promise of the kingdom.
Click on the image above to explore how to save lives and why one in five children are denied vaccines. Discover what science has to tell us about eradicating polio and other devastating diseases.
If we want to find another parable that Jesus tells us while exploring this idea, we may want to use a parable index like the one at http://www.ccel.org/contrib/exec_outlines/pa.htm This is a tool to sort through the stories Jesus tells us and you may have another that you want to recommend in a comment.
Today we continue our exploration of the kingdom by going to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UnitedNationsweb site. Find other sources of information on world hunger and consider the pros and cons. What does Jesus say to us on this subject? How does God’s Spirit move us to celebrate humanity and those who call us to sow and reap a harvest for the poor?
Click on the image above to discover what may endanger the Mediterranean diet, the diet long considered the world’s healthiest and most sustainable regimen. Discover what science has to tell us about the factors that affect hunger.
Tomorrow, another challenge from the kingdom.
If we want to find another parable that Jesus tells us while exploring this idea, we may want to use a parable index like the one at http://www.ccel.org/contrib/exec_outlines/pa.htm This is a tool to sort through the stories Jesus tells us and you may have another that you want to recommend in a comment.
Today we continue our exploration of the kingdom by going to the United Nations web site on climate change to examine the topic. Find other sources of information on this and consider the pros and cons. What does Jesus say to us on this subject? How does God’s Spirit move us to celebrate science and those who bring us their discoveries?
Click on the image above to explore the NASA Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet and discover what science has to tell us.
Tomorrow, another story from the kingdom.
If you want to find another parable that Jesus tells us while exploring this idea, you may want to use a parable index like the one at http://www.ccel.org/contrib/exec_outlines/pa.htm This is a tool to sort through the stories Jesus tells us and you may have another that you want to recommend in a comment.
Today we continue our exploration of the kingdom by going to the United States FDA web site and examining the topic of genetically engineered animals. Find other sources of information on this topic and consider the pros and cons. What does Jesus say to us on this topic? How does God’s Spirit move us to celebrate science and those who bring us their discoveries?
Click on the image of the mosquito above to read an article from the BBC asking if the world is ready for work in this arena.
If you want to find another parable that Jesus tells us while exploring this idea, you may want to use a parable index like the one at http://www.ccel.org/contrib/exec_outlines/pa.htm This is a tool to sort through the stories Jesus tells us and you may have another that you want to recommend in a comment.
Today we continue our exploration of the kingdom by going to the World Health Organization web site and examining the topic of genetically modified crops. What are the pros and cons? What does Jesus say to us on this topic? How does God’s Spirit move us to celebrate science and those who bring us their discoveries?
Tomorrow, another facet of the kingdom.
If we want to find another parable that Jesus tells us while exploring this idea, we may want to use a parable index like the one at http://www.ccel.org/contrib/exec_outlines/pa.htm This is a tool to sort through the stories Jesus tells us and you may have another that you want to recommend in a comment.
Jesus says: This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.
With our high-tech science in which we manipulate the very substance of plant and human DNA; and we establish pros and cons explaining how we are helping or harming the planet. These are discussions that did not occur with Jesus’ contemporaries yet Jesus is with us still today, guiding us. If only we might make ourselves full citizens of the kingdom. If only we might awaken to the word of God and the movement of the Spirit. If only we might follow Christ.
Jesus says: Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come”.
Jesus uses this and other parables to bring home his thoughts to his audience. Two thousand years ago Jesus used the mystery of the grain in the harvest to call workers to the kingdom. Today, what parable does he use? Perhaps it is the story of genetically modified crops. We may not be aware that Jesus is present as we make decisions that affect the world for generations; yet Jesus’ word is as important to us today as it was to ancient peoples.
Harvest Reapers
Jesus says: To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, is springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth branches, so that the birds of the ski can dwell in its blades.
Jesus uses parables with us today, but do we apply the lessons he is teaching? Do we explain away the kingdom with our scientific prowess which, when we pause to think of it, is a gift from God in itself? Are we open to the mystery of the kingdom and our world? Do we call others to partake of this mystery? And do we celebrate the gift of Jesus’ presence in every moment and every space of our lives?
The disciple Mark says: With many such parables he spoke to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
Women Reaping
As followers of Christ and readers of God’s word we have become his disciples. Jesus speaks to us in our hearts, explaining the mysteries that puzzle us and healing the wounds that cripple us. When we spend time with scripture we spend time with Christ. Read varying versions of today’s citation . . . and listen for the word of God. For Jesus speaks to each of us so that we might better understand the mysteries of our world, so that we might better comprehend the miracle and gift of this elusive gift of kingdom that we seek . . . but that we already possess and enjoy.
We have looked at the mystery of God, Jesus, he Spirit, power, rendering, resurrection and incarnation. This week we pause to spend time with scripture, looking for the kingdom that is already ours as explained by Jesus to his followers, and as found in the words of the Old and New Testaments. Today we begin our journey as we use the scripture link of this citation from Mark to compare texts . . . and to listen for the Word of God.
Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.
This is perhaps the most difficult of mysteries to comprehend. Richard Rohr, OFM posts this meditation on June 7, 2015. When we reflect upon it today, we begin to discover what it is we already have forever. We begin to understand this mystery that is reckless, real and eternal.
“Jesus himself exemplified and also taught us the path of descent, which Christians have often called ‘the way of the cross.’ The path downward is much more trustworthy than any path upward, which only tends to feed the ego. Like few other Christians, it was Francis of Assisi who profoundly understood that.
“Authentic spirituality is always on some level or in some way about letting go. Jesus said, ‘the truth will set you free’ (John 8:32). Once we see truly what is trapping us and keeping us from freedom we should see the need to let it go. But in a consumer society most of us have had no training in that direction. Rather, more is supposed to be better. True liberation is letting go of our false self, letting go of our cultural biases, and letting go of our fear of loss and death. Freedom is letting go of wanting more and better things, and it is letting go of our need to control and manipulate God and others. It is even letting go of our need to know and our need to be right–which we only discover with maturity. We become free as we let go of our three primary energy centers: our need for power and control, our need for safety and security, and our need for affection and esteem.” (Rohr)
When we allow the seed of our old selves to pass away and die we find that we are reborn into a newness of peace that blossoms amidst turmoil and anxiety. When we allow ourselves to let go to fall down the well of our former self, we discover that the dreadful bottom we fear hitting is the very narrow gate of life that we so earnestly seek. This is a mystery that we will want to explore. In and with Christ, it is a mystery that we experience daily.
Compare different versions of these verses and listen for the promise of this mystery of resurrection.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, The Art of Letting Go: Living the Wisdom of Saint Francis (Sounds True), CD. This simple tri-part distinction has been affirmed by many psychologists in many different ways, and is also used by Fr. Thomas Keating in his understanding of the entrapment of the human person.
The Feast of Corpus Christi is a celebration of Christ’s presence in the world in a very special way. Today we read and reflect on how Jesus – he who is the son of the living God – prepares for and celebrates a day when God has saved us all. We might forget this easily unless we remind ourselves often that we need not struggle with the world. Our only struggle is with our own stubbornness or willfulness when we refuse to hand over our suffering to God.
Some of us think of our meeting with God as taking place in some foggy future just after we die; there are many stories, novels, plays, films and poetry about how we humans shed our mortal skin and meet with our creator to make an accounting of all that we have done – or not done – on earth. We forget that God is with us constantly, seeing all that we do, available for a conversation, able to give advice, loving us into goodness. We ought not hesitate in preparing a chair for God, a bed for Jesus, a meal or conversation to share with the Spirit.
Everything we have heard about the story of our salvation is good news; yet we hesitate to believe.
Everything we have seen about the story of our rescue is about our new freedom; yet we hesitate to hope.
Everything we have known about the living presence of the Christ is immediate and irrefutable; yet we hesitate to join God in this union of love.
We must prepare a place today in which we can find Christ and spend time with him in an honest, authentic dialog about both our worries and joys. If we have a special place where we find God’s presence readily, let us remain a few moments longer than usual . . . and let us thank Christ for the gift of mystery that keeps us close and questioning. Let us thank God for the gift of life that brings us eternal peace. And let us determine more than ever to live as fully as we might in the Spirit. For all of this, let us prepare ourselves to accept this miracle of Corpus Christi, this mysterious, wonderful, singular dwelling place where for each of us in our own time and in our own way . . . body and spirit are one.
Tomorrow we continue our reflections on mystery with The Mystery of Resurrection.
Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.
These words seem oh so simple . . . and yet they contain such a depth of wisdom that a lifetime of reflection will not uncover all that Jesus wishes to tell us.
God says: When you are perplexed by the world, remember that your confusion comes from believing that there are two worlds you want to reconcile. There is only one world and one life. That world and life are me. Render your confusion to me. You will reap clarity and wisdom. When you are disappointed in the relationships you have forged, remember that no one’s opinion but mine matters. Others who pose and cajole you are speaking only on their own behalf. Truth comes from love and love comes from me. Render your lives to me. You will reap life eternal. When you are hurt and damaged by the hypocrisy around you, remember that integrity is the hallmark of my discipleship. I will deal with the lies and deceptions. Stay away from deceit and it will not ensnare you. Render your fidelity, hope and love to me. You will reap peace and serenity.
Spend time with these verses today. Use the scripture link to compare differing phrases and lexicon. Determine what it is that Jesus is saying when he answers a question with his own question. Decide what it is that Jesus is asking us to give over. And then consider what it is we gain by this rendering.
