Ezekiel 17:22-24 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 Mark 4:26-34
Two parables in today's gospel. Two stories about seeds.
In the first parable, a farmer sows seed in the ground and God does the rest. How the seed transforms into a plant that yields food is a mystery. The farmer "knows not how” it happens. Oh, there are scientific explanations about the process but why it happens… why the seed doesn't just lie there, but lives and produces fruit is a mystery.
And even the mustard seed in the second parable produces something. Though the smallest seed, according to the parable, it grows into a large plant, large enough that "the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade. “
We are surrounded by common place miracles, tiny seeds that go largely unnoticed. The sun comes up every morning. Minute by minute, hour after hour, our heart pumps, our lungs expand, we hear sound and see color… all without any effort on our part. In the grocery store we smile at a stranger and they usually smile back. We enter a roundabout and most drivers take their turn.
Our lives are filled with miracles and we seldom notice. Our psalm today reminds us of our need to give constant praise and thanksgiving to God for all God has given us. But first we need to notice. We need to pay attention. We need to develop the habit of recognizing the hand of God in our lives in even the smallest, ordinary way.
Many spiritual writers suggest that our prayer life would grow immensely if we simply ended our day writing down or calling to mind three things for which we are grateful each day. It is a habit that encourages us to pay attention to the movement of God in our lives.
Could you, right now, close your eyes and name three blessings you have received from God already today? I bet you could.
by: Pat Schnee
Comments