Chapter One, Bearing Fruit Through Meditation

The verse accompanying this chapter is Luke 8:15. This verse is part of the explanation portion of the Parable of the Sower: “As for that in the good soil, they are those who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.” (NRSV)

If you are anything like me, when I’ve read the Parable of the Sower in the past I’ve sort of assumed, with relief, that I am a seed in good soil. Whew. I made it. I’m in. I’ve skipped over some key words in this verse dealing with the seeds in the good soil. Over the past week these key words struck me as vitally important: honest, good, and patient endurance.  The seeds in the good soil didn’t just happen to fall in the right place. The soil, or the heart, was honest and good. But even honesty and goodness necessitates patient endurance in order to bear fruit. 

In Chapter One, the author says, “ Memorizing the Word is like ingesting food, while mediating is digesting the food.” I don’t want to be just a consumer. I want to digest what I read, mull it over, take the time I need to absorb the things that are specific to my life and my journey.  That requires patience. And often endurance. 

I don’t often hear from people that they wish there was a way they could be more busy and tackle more challenges. Most of the time I hear people say they wish they could slow down, simplify, spend more time doing the things that are important to them. I’m no exception to this. Often I think my greatest weakness is my tendency to commit to more than is right. There are so many “good” things that draw me. But just because something is “good” doesn’t mean it is right for me or for my family. I truly want to cultivate stillness. How else can I hear the stillest and smallest voice? Cultivating stillness is a patient act, and largely unseen. 

When I was visiting my parents over Christmas, my Dad gave me an article to read titled “Contemplative Activism” written by: Phileena Heurtz. One of my favorite quotes from the article is this: “In the broadest sense of the word, contemplation means creating sacred space to be still, to rest in God, to reflect, to look inward, to attend to the inner life and simply to be with God in solitude, silence, and stillness.” 

I want my home to be a sacred space to be still, to reflect, to cultivate honest and good soil.