Eleventh Sunday in ordinary time

Scripture: Ez 17:22-24 2 Cor 5:6-10 Mk 4:26-34

Jesus

• Was no dummy -was a smart preacher with a sixth sense
• Knew how to get people’s attention – He trusted the power of stories
• He looked around and talked about familiar things to his audience
• He talked about sheep, shepherds, fishing boats, nets, soil, seeds, vineyards and weddings banquets

Saint Cardinal John Henry Newman of England

In both life and the classroom, you go for the heart. The heart is commonly reached, not through reason, but through the imagination, by means of impressions, by the testimony of facts and events, by history, by description. Persons influence us, voices melt us, looks subdue us, deeds inflame us. (Grammar, 92-3).

Another Agricultural Story – Three Women Living Along a Desert Caravan Route

• They bought and sold trinkets – All wanted to be a gardener – But it was the desert
• A master gardener appeared – Maybe to make their dreams come true – Spoke to each individually
• First woman realized she wasn’t committed enough to make her dream come true
• Second woman didn’t follow through on master’s directions – she didn’t believe – called the master a fraud
• Third woman followed directions diligently even though she didn’t understand – garden blossomed through dried, cracked earth – water followed
• Third woman said it happened naturally as I persevered and trusted

Jesus encourages us

To make connections in stories with something more that may not be obvious

Some suggested connections

• Faithfulness is required in friendship with the Lord
• Set aside ten-fifteen minutes for silence and solitude
• Be committed – not hit and miss
• Trust that something will happen- Jesus is close to you
• Don’t control – surrender – Don’t plot day by day
• Planting seed requires patience
• Just because something is hidden doesn’t mean nothing is happening
• A seedbed is powerful-mysterious. It is a hope-filled dynamo for something new

Allow me

Garden Prayer: Planting the Seeds of Your Inner Life by Wayne Simsic:

Here’s a closing prayer for our reflection today from this book.

God, my courageous guide,

lead me into the mysterious garden

where I can find refuge

and freely explore

the deepest dreams and hopes

that shape my life.

Forgive me for forgetting

an innocent faith

and allowing worries to consume

my heart.

Teach me to trust

the childlike voice that

directs my life.

Questions for reflection

• What impacted you from the readings/homily?
• How easy is it for you to trust, surrender and believe that the seeds of your dreams will bear beautiful fruit? Can you name a time when it happened that way?
• Are you able to sit with Jesus for five or ten minutes every day?

Live Connected

Take note of the deepest dreams and hopes in your life. Take them to your garden or a garden setting and present them to God.