Seeds Of Love

From Rev Sue Ann Yarbrough

​Scripture: Mark 5:26-29
Then Jesus said, “This is what God’s kingdom is like. It’s as though someone scatters seed on the ground, then sleeps and wakes night and day. The seed sprouts and grows, but the farmer doesn’t know how. The earth produces crops all by itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full head of grain. Whenever the crop is ready, the farmer goes out to cut the grain because it’s harvest time.”
 
Meditation
I visited a skilled nursing community yesterday, and when I opened my Bible, this parable surfaced. I have always loved this text because I love road trips when my husband and I can drive through well tended farm land.

Little else speaks to me so fully of God's abundant love. Yesterday was warm and sunny, so it was easy to imagine a field of wheat opening up to the sun's radiance and reaching upward until such time when the farmer senses it is time for harvest.

​I know farming is not easy, but yesterday I simply enjoyed my time with the people and the sunny day. For a while I could forget the work I still needed to do. 

I could forget Covid, and the drought seemed far removed. 
​
That is the way God works. If we stay alert, we can savor these moments of Sabbath that God so freely offers. Yes, it is easy to fret about the future and regret the past. Sometimes things seem so serious. That is when a God moment happens. That moment could happen when we look out the window, or receive a phone call from someone we care about. It can happen when we find ourselves laughing unexpectedly. 

All we need to do is to give these moments time to unfold, and then remember to harvest them. That is, may we remember to experience them, and yes, to reach out with a prayer of gratitude. 

Prayer
I leave you with the lyrics of the first two verses of the wonderful hymn, "For the Beauty of the Earth": 

"For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, 
for the love which from our birth over and around us lies, 
Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.
 
For the beauty of each hour of the day and of the night, 
hill and vale, and tree and flower, sun and moon, and stars of light, 
Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise."
Folliot Pierpoint, 1864.  Chalice Hymnal

May we always celebrate the gift of our earth and the gift of one another.

Let us give thanks. 
 
Blessings, 
Sue Ann
 --
Rev. Sue Ann Yarbrough, Associate Pastor
San Lorenzo Community Church, United Church of Christ
www.slzchurch.org 
www.hearthpsalms.blogspot.com