July 11, 2010

• Planting and harvesting

  Each of you has had the opportunity to plant a seed.  What do you know for sure will happen as a result of planting that seed?  What information would be helpful in knowing what to expect from the seed you have planted?  It would help to know what plant the seed came from, a flower, a vegetable, a fruit, a tree, or maybe a weed.  It would be good to know what kind of soil the seed needs and how much sun and water it needs to grow.  We don’t actually have to know any of these things to plant the seed or for the seed to grow on its own.  I don’t have to be a knowledgeable farmer to throw out some seeds and have them take root and bear some kind of fruit. 

   

  The seeds of our words and actions are the same.  We send them out and they land on the soil of people around us and they grow and they produce their fruit.  It really doesn’t take any work on our part to have them grow and produce.  The critical question is what kinds of seeds are we putting out?  Are we planting the seeds of beautiful flowers, words of comfort or actions of love and compassion?  Our words and actions have the potential to bring beauty into the lives of the others around us.  We can speak words of affirmation that allow the other person’s soul to blossom.  We can act in ways that lift the hearts of those around us so they soar like eagles.  We can plant seeds that will grow into beautiful flowers.  We can plant seeds that will bear fruits to bring others pleasure in the eating.  We can speak words of love to another that leave a sweet taste in their mouth.  We can dance for others so they spirits are set free to dance too.  We can wrap others in reassuring hugs that show them they are safe in this world.  We can plant seeds that will bear sweet fruit for those who receive them in the soil of their lives.  We can plant vegetable seeds in the lives of those around us.  We can give them sound advice that will ground them and guide them in ways that will nourish their lives.  We can give them words that will teach them how to care for themselves and for those who depend upon them.  We can act in healing ways that will give them the strength they require to go on.  Sometimes vegetables are not as much fun for us but we know we need them if we are to have healthy lives.  Sometimes we need to plant seeds that are not easy for the other to hear or receive but they are what they need to live as healthy and productive as God desire them to live.  We can just scatter these seeds and hope for the best.  But it is better if we take time to make sure they are planted in the right soil and get the right amount of sun and water.

   

  The best way to have our seeds produce beautiful flowers, tasty fruits, and nutritious vegetables is for us to tend to them regularly.  Coming back to the people in whose lives we have sown our seeds and check to see if the seeds are being fed and exposed to the light often enough for them to take hold and really root in the person’s life.  One encouraging word is good, one act of kindness is better than none, one piece of advise will help but it is so much better if we follow them up with more encouragement, more kindness, and reinforced advice.  The fruit of our words and actions will be greater if the seeds have been nurtured.  It is not always the one who plants the seeds that tends to it, or is around to see the harvest.  Sometimes we are asked to nurture the seeds someone else has planted.  Maybe they are seeds that were planted by a caring parent, or a good friend, or seeds that were planted by a total stranger.  We can nurture those seeds by exposing them to the light, reminding the person of what they have heard before and affirming the truth of the good things that are growing in them.  Nurturing the good things growing in someone else is one of the most precious things we can do.

   

  It is also true we can spread the seeds of weeds.  Weed seeds take root much easier and are much harder to get rid of once they have been spread.  We can spread the weed of gossip.  Gossip is very much like a dandelion, once spoken it produces billions of seeds and they are quickly scattered on the wind.  Once you have released the seeds of gossip it is impossible to get the seeds back again.  They will lodge in the minds of countless people who will believe what you said was true and that it was your story to tell.  You may try to fix the harm your gossip has done but you will never be able to pull out all the weeds that sprout from your careless words.  We spread the weed seeds of hate when we speak out of our prejudice or our bigotry.  It is amazing to see how easily a hatred plant will choke out the plants of love in a person’s life.  When we feel hatred or rejection, it is very hard for us to believe the words of love that have been spoken to us.  We can spread the weed seeds of discouragement.  We can criticize the work of another, we can go around and fix what they have done, and we can be quick to point out their shortcomings.  Unlike the good seed, weed seeds need little care to take root and grow huge.  I think it is in our human nature to focus on the weeds someone has planted in our lives, to nurture our insecurities. 

   

  God calls us to plant good seeds in the lives of those around us.  God also asks us to pull the weeds out of our own lives so we don’t have them available to produce weed seeds we cast out into the lives of others.  God wants us to produce only good fruits, we will be known by the fruits we produce and the seeds we plant in the lives of those around us.  Amen

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