windosill of my room july 26 2006

 

chair from my room july 26 2006

 

handmade cedar cross july 26 2006

 

rainlilytaken2005

 

july 27 2006

Jer 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13 This word of the LORD came to me:Go, cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear! I remember the devotion of your youth,how you loved me as a bride,Following me in the desert,in a land unsown. Sacred to the LORD was Israel,the first fruits of his harvest;Should any presume to partake of them,evil would befall them, says the LORD.When I brought you into the garden land to eat its goodly fruits,You entered and defiled my land, you made my heritage loathsome.The priests asked not,“Where is the LORD?” Those who dealt with the law knew me not: the shepherds rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal,and went after useless idols.Be amazed at this, O heavens,and shudder with sheer horror, says the LORD. Two evils have my people done: they have forsaken me, the source of living waters; They have dug themselves cisterns,broken cisterns, that hold no water.

Ps 36:6-7ab, 8-9, 10-11R. (10a) With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.
O LORD, your mercy reaches to heaven;your faithfulness, to the clouds.Your justice is like the mountains of God;your judgments, like the mighty deep.
R. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.
How precious is your mercy, O God!The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings.They have their fill of the prime gifts of your house;from your delightful stream you give them to drink.
R. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.
For with you is the fountain of life,and in your light we see light.Keep up your mercy toward your friends,your just defense of the upright of heart.
R. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.

Mt 13:10-17 The disciples approached Jesus and said,“Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?”He said to them in reply,“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people,they will hardly hear with their ears,they have closed their eyes,lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted and I heal them.“But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

They will have closed eyes and not see. They will have ears and not hear. The parables are a way to try to reach the crowd who have no idea of the mysteries of the kingdom. The disciples are blessed because they have been able to see and hear what the prophets and righteous people have longed to see and hear. To those who have more will be given and to those who have not more will be taken away.

In the sense that the believers who see the kingdom and the world throught the eyes of faith and hear the words with the love of God will continue to be given to in abundance. Those who are not able to hear or see the Lord will continue to lose more of what they have. To see the world through the eyes of faith is a grace from God, not something earned or "deserved"

The psalm tells of the Lord as the fountain of life. "For with you is the fountain of life,and in your light we see light." This is very much aligned with what I am learning this week about Hildegard of the 12th century's vision of God. God as the light of life. God illumines life and is life. God is love flowing in abundance.

The first reading unites the theme of God as light and lifegiving flowing waters. Jeremiah tells of God as the source of living waters. The prophet also tells of those who have forsaken God. The prophet calls the people to remember the devotion of their youth. The people have left their God and worshiped others digging worthless dry wells.

I know for my experience, my love for God as a child was ferverant. I loved to hear the Word of God before I could read. When I finally could read I spent entire summers reading the Bible led only by God in my readings. I loved to hear the old hymns in my tiny church and gather with the church families for old fashioned picnics, for choir and for holiday celebrations. My life as a child was always prayerful especially each night before sleep. From a young age, I would pray each night before sleep for all who were sick or in need of any kind then for God's continued protection.

The God of my youth was a loving God, the protector, the nourisher, the giver, the source of wisdom and love. I needed for most of my adult life to return to the pure and strong faith of my youth which I had drifted from in my early adulthood. The coming home to the Church and God was for me an embracing, enlightening experience with joy and yes ears thatwere reopened and eyes that could see again. God gives in abundance and my trust is in God. God is my rock and salvation that I cling to through any of the greatest storms. God is the fountain of healing, life and love...all goodness.

This morning I pray a prayer of thankfulness to God for my faith and pray for continued trustand steadfastness in my love and belief.