Hello friends,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks.
Welcome.
As we begin today,
I invite you to find a comfortable position.
To allow your body to settle into this time,
Into this moment.
Shoulders softening,
Breath slowing.
Knowing that there's nowhere else you need to be,
Or have to be,
Or have to do,
Except to be in this moment.
Today we begin a new journey together,
A journey into the stories,
The parables that Jesus told.
And the beauty of these stories is that they're simple enough for a child,
But they're deep enough to shape us for a lifetime.
So as you listen today,
There's no pressure to understand anything or everything.
Simply listen,
And simply receive.
Now our first parable is about soil,
But perhaps even more,
It's about change.
Often this parable is heard as a kind of judgment,
As if the soil is fixed,
As if we're one kind of ground and maybe always will be.
Hard path,
Rocky ground,
Thorn-filled soil,
Or good earth.
But you know,
If you're a gardener particularly,
That soil's never fixed.
Ground can be softened,
Stones can be cleared,
Thorns can be removed.
Even the hardest earth can change when tended with patience.
So maybe today,
As you listen,
The question isn't,
What kind of soil am I?
Maybe it's something more gentle,
Like,
What kind of soil am I becoming?
So gently hold on to that question as we listen.
And as we listen now to this story from Matthew chapter 13,
Simply hear it as it's told in this first reading.
That same day,
Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there while the whole crowd stood on the beach.
And he told them many things in parables,
Saying,
Listen,
A sower went out to sow,
And as he sowed,
Some seed fell on the path.
And the birds came and ate them up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground where they didn't have much soil,
And they sprang up quickly since they had no depth of soil.
But when the sun rose,
They were scorched,
And since they had no root,
They withered away.
Other seeds fell among thorns,
And the thorns grew up and choked them.
Other seed fell on good soil and brought forth grain,
Some a hundredfold,
Some sixty,
And some thirty.
Let anyone with ears hear.
So for now,
Just let the story rest in you.
You don't need to try and analyse it or explain it in any way,
Just allow the images to settle.
The sower,
The seeds,
The soil.
Now we'll listen again to the parable,
But this time,
Notice what draws your attention.
A word,
A phrase,
An image,
Something that seems to linger with you.
That same day,
Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there while the whole crowd stood on the beach.
And he told them many things in parables,
Saying,
A sower went out to sow,
And as he sowed,
Some seed fell on the path,
And the birds came and ate them up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground,
Where they didn't have much soil,
And they sprang up quickly since they had no depth of soil.
But when the sun rose,
They were scorched,
And since they had no root,
They withered away.
Other seeds fell among thorns,
And the thorns grew up and choked them.
Other seed fell on good soil,
And brought forth grain,
Some a hundredfold,
Some sixty,
And some thirty.
Let anyone with ears hear.
Now stay with what caught your attention,
And gently return to that word,
That phrase,
That image,
That place in the story,
And allow it to speak in its own way to your heart.
Now we're going to listen a third time.
And as you listen,
Notice where you find yourself in the story.
Where do you stand?
What soil feels familiar today?
That same day,
Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there while the whole crowd stood on the beach.
And he told the many things in parables,
Saying,
A sower went out to sow,
And as he sowed,
Some seed fell on the path,
And the birds came and ate them up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground,
Where they didn't have much soil,
And they sprang up quickly since they had no depth of soil.
But when the sun rose,
They were scorched,
And since they had no root,
They withered away.
Other seeds fell among thorns,
And the thorns grew up and choked them.
Other seed fell on good soil,
And brought forth grain,
Some a hundredfold,
Some sixty,
And some thirty.
Let anyone with ears hear.
Let the story settle deeply now.
Again,
Don't try and force a meeting or bring out any answers.
Just rest in the presence of the story,
Allowing the soil of your heart to be gently turned.
Now as we come to a close today,
Go with this question.
What kind of soil am I becoming?
Today,
Not yesterday,
Not years ago,
But today,
What kind of soil are you becoming?
And as you move into the rest of your day,
May patience soften the ground.
May grace clear the stones,
And may hope take root.
And may grace,
Peace,
And love go with you and remain with you today and always.
Amen.
Until next time,
My friend,
Go gently.
Peace be with you.
