Only 2 more weeks of Lent this year. During Lent, we’ve
looked at how the ‘starstuff’ shapes all creation from dust and rocks to all
life. We considered how we are light in the world. This week we’ll be looking
at how our journey through Lent and life makes us grow and change like a seed
in the ground.
Jesus talks about faith as being like a mustard seed. “He presented another parable
to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a
man took and sowed in his field;
and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is
larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air
come and nest in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32)
St. Paul refers to faith as the gift of God in Ephesians
2:8-9. He states, “For
by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is
the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Faith, then, starts out as a tiny thing, like a seed. Faith
is a free gift from God that brings us closer to God. We are saved and transformed
as our faith grows and we become more mature as Christians. Eventually, we
might be able to “say to this mulberry
tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.” (Luke
17:6) Like any growth, that takes time and as seedlings we cannot hope to
accomplish it. Only when we are deeply rooted and firm in the soil of God’s
grace can we expect to fully do God’s work.
Recently, on A Holy Experience, guest blogger Michele Cushate
shared an experience while scuba diving. She realized that too often her faith
was “in myself, more often than not….If I believe only in what I can see,
manage, and control, sooner or later something will come along and rock my boat…Instead,
I must secure my faith where it cannot be unmoored. In the One who controls the
waves and whose peace runs so deep we can find a way to sleep in the storm.”
I know I can relate to trying to control my circumstances
and to use what I do to increase my faith. As Michele states, we must instead, root
our self, our faith, deep in the soil of the Living God who planted us.
Consider what happens to a seed when you plant it. Does
anyone remember the science experiment in grade school where you took an
ordinary bean and some dirt in a clear plastic or glass cup? You kept the
cotton moist and you could watch the bean sprout roots and then a stem. It was
fun and fascinating to watch the little roots appear and then the tiny stem.
Finally there were leaves. Some of us took home the little plants and put them
in the ground. (As a side note, when looking for an image for this post, I saw
the idea of using K-cups as seed starters. Empty out the used coffee and put in
the seed. I wonder if you could even use the coffee grounds as the starter soil…may
be time for an experiment of my own!)
Several years ago I wrote a little parable about a seed,
imagining what it would be like to struggle through the dirt to get to the
surface of the soil. In summary: Penelope Pansy struggled through the dirt to
reach the surface of the ground, encouraged by a worm. There she met a
sunflower who was very proud of her ability to follow the sun. Even though she
tried very hard, Penelope couldn’t make herself into a sunflower. It wasn’t
until there was a terrible rainstorm during which Penelope was able to
encourage the other flowers, even the sunflowers, that she understood that she
had her own gifts.
“It has been hard,” Penelope remembered. “Popping out of the
seed was frightening and growing up through the ground was difficult. Now
though, I think it must have been worth it, for I have bloomed and helped the
others.”
Only be being planted deeply in the rich soil was Penelope
able to stand firm in the storm. Only when we are rooted firmly in our God can
we weather the storms of life. God has planted us. We grow in faith in God,
through nothing we do ourselves. We cannot grow faster or slower than we are
meant to, no matter what we might do.
This
week
- Meditate on where your faith is rooted. Are you trying to MAKE your faith grow, or perhaps trying to force a bloom? OR
- Plant a bean or other seed and watch it grow over the next couple of weeks, consider how your faith has grown and changed throughout your life OR
- Think about how to make your heart more fertile so God’s seed of faith can grow.
Next week we’ll come to the
Cross-the heart of Lent.
