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Matthew 9:36—10:8

If you Google ‘Harvest Festivals’ you will get 14 billion hits; there’s that much information about acknowledging and celebrating the time to harvest! This could be because ancient people understood that harvesting crops meant food would be available which meant survival. Harvesting crops has been a big deal since our species became agriculturally savvy.  

Harvesting is typically a reference to fruits and vegetables, of course, so what’s the spiritual equivalent to salad? If the Lord’s business is cultivating the goodness of the human souls who comprise the Body of Christ (which is potentially everyone, only He knows the who), what grows within us to assist with the Lord with His business of growing goodness within others? 

I used to jump right into ideas about skills and talents, understandings and insights, as produce that the Lord has planted within us, which grow and are ready to be harvested. In fact, the first draft of this reflection include lots of those sorts of questions. However, after writing to pray on this gospel passage for weeks (you may have noticed I’m late with my posting), I think its lots simpler… and harder… than skills and talents.

The harvest is abundant… this implies a readiness for whatever is next. Harvesting crops implies a fulfillment of intended purpose, a transition from becoming to fulfilling, from growing to fullness, from incomplete to completeness. It implies a traverse from using nutrients for personal growth to providing nutrients for others to grow, a crossing over from self to others. 

According to lots of biblical passages and Catholic doctrine, performing good works, noticing the needs of others and helping them, being empathetic and compassionate… these are the seeds that the Lord has planted and wants to cultivate. At the end of the day or the growing season, perhaps the Lord just wants us to be kind to the other souls He’s taken the care to create. Perhaps it is as simple as that.

Reflection Questions

1. Looking at your life as a garden, and your skills and talents as that which grows, reflect on the following questions: (Yes, I kept this question; it’s still worth reflection). a) What has grown like a weed, choking out the viable, edible, nutritious plants? b) What have you intentionally planted, cultivated and nurtured over the past year or few? c) What might be ready for harvest?

2. Looking at the Body of Christ as a garden, what projects or endeavors are you engaged in that are ready for transition from growing and developing, into taking care of others and fulfilling their intended purpose?

3. If, as I suggest above, that which the Lord has planted and is wanting to harvest, is simply goodness, how do you measure or know if you are ready for harvest? How does goodness manifest itself in your life? Are there people in your life who are role models for you as far as being good? 

Letter of James, 1:17-27, Gospel of Mark, 7:1-23

Our society is so bent on its belief in humanity as a higher power, that we often mistake faith as a belief in God, regardless of how we characterize God or what our attitudes towards the Lord are. But according to the Fortress Commentary, James’ letter states, “Trusting in God’s unvarying goodness is the essence of faith.” Faith therefore means, not that we believe God exists, but that He’s Good.

The New Interpreter’s Bible characterizes the portion of text that these verses are from as an ‘essay on quick listening.’ It goes on to explain that quick listening means to promptly put into action God’s word and truth. Listening and hearing God’s word has not really happened unless speaking and doing follows right away. James reminds people that the word of God is implanted within and that it unifies God’s will with that of the individual (Fortress). Because the Lord is good, when our actions follow listening to His Word, our speech and deeds are also good. These good works need to be urgently and quickly, according to James. 

We have opportunities in this Covid world more than ever to do good— to be gentle and generous, compassionate and empathetic, understanding and non-judgmental. The saints used to pray for hardships because it would afford them greater opportunities to be virtuous. I can explain best by way of an example. When I was in college, I used to review performances for the campus newspaper. I was at a performance for Evita, although not slated to review it. The performances were terrible. I said to the reviewer, “Can I do it instead? There’s so much to say!” He replied, “Yes, it is always much more to say when its bad!”

That’s true in our Covid world too; because so many people are suffering finically, psychologically and physically, there’s much more opportunity to do good. There are many things we can do too to help others, from simply not complaining when we want to, to getting the vaccine and wearing a face mask, to monetarily supporting those suffering finically. There are so many people who seem frustrated and agitated with the ongoing nature of the Covid crisis. By simply modeling patience and acceptance we can make a difference for good. 

This is easier said than done, however. The gospel reading reminds us that things from outside ourselves are less apt to defile us than things within. In other words, Covid is less apt to do me harm than my own grumpy attitudes, harsh judgements and negative words towards others. If we allow the grumps to take us over internally, then our wills are no longer connected to God’s will to do good. To do good, we have to silence and dismiss the negative within our minds and hearts. These readings, together, remind us that our internal and external worlds need to be in harmony for us to be able to help others also find peace and joy. 

Exercises

• Write three short short stories, 500 words or less, in which someone is doing ‘good.’ How do the other characters react? 
• Looking back at your three shorts, what threads can you see running through them? What do these commonalities show you about your own, real life?

Resources

I use the same resources repeatedly. In this reflection, I used the Fortress Bible Commentary and the New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary. There is a page of references on this site, to indicate which editions and to provide information about the publishers. 

Luke 24:35-48

We think of witnessing as either a legal term involving crimes and court, or a religious term, involving raised hands and shouts of Amen. The root word, wit, in English is old, and links the idea of seeing and knowing and understanding together as one act. You need to have been there and experienced the situation or event firsthand. It’s not enough to be there though. The dictionary then says you have to describe what you saw and heard. 

I’m sure this has happened to you… you hear someone else describe an event or situation that you also witnessed and you think, It didn’t happen like that! While we may be exposed to the same initial stimuli, our brain has to interpret it in one way or another in order to make sense of it. If not, the event or situation would fall out of our head because it would have had nothing to stick to. That’s when stories start to differ. 

In Luke’s Gospel account today, He opens the minds of His disciples so they can understand all they heard and saw. Similarly, to accurately understand what we physically see and hear, we need the Lord to open our minds. I don’t know about you, but I tend to ask the Lord for help in understanding a situation after I have misunderstood it and subsequently, botched it up. 

When I do remember to ask Him for clarity of vision, I tend to realize that there are many factors of the event or situation that I cannot see and do not know. This knowledge somehow helps me detach from my own perspective, an action which is required for an open mind. When we comprehend that we are viewing an incomplete picture, we realize our reaction and interpretation is yet another element which contributes to the overall work. Experience tells me this leads us to judge less and respond in a more loving and compassionate way. 

Journal Questions

• Recount a time when you botched things up because you did not accurately interpret what you had seen and heard. Recall a time when you asked for the Lord’s help to understand what you had witnessed. 
• Compare and contrast your understanding and emotional responses to the two experiences you just explored, focusing on nature and character of the Lord’s help your ability to understand most fully. 

Gospel of John 20:19-31

Lots of people I know are struggling right now. One more drop, one more to-do, one more surprise, one more disappointment will force their bucket to tip over. The contents will spill out into a huge heap of indecipherable refuse at their feet. In other words, many folks are not experiencing internal peace at the moment.

In the gospel reading, Jesus is clear. He is the source, the spring of such internal peace. However, because we are the Body of Christ, we have a responsibility to our fellow humans to somehow participate in helping them find internal peace. That is the only way we too can personally discover the fountain of inner peace within our own souls.

There are a few things we all know we can do. Firstly, let us do no harm… let us hold our tongue when what we were going to say is not uplifting… let us walk towards, not away from someone in distress… let us not complain or whine when someone else isn’t doing their part of a project. Secondly, we can pay attention and help someone in need when spontaneous opportunities spring forth.

Thirdly, let’s go out of our way to connect and stay connected to the people already in our lives. I ask myself, “If I find out later that this person was struggling right now, will I feel sad that I didn’t make more of an effort to connect in this moment.” Perhaps we should assume everyone we know is having a hard time and go from there. Cards, email, text, phone calls. Something. Anything. I figure I should do everything that occurs to me. The ideas are probably not mine, but the Holy Spirit’s.

While a phone call or a card may not seem big enough to change someone’s world, it is because the Lord is already working within that individual’s life. Think of each person you know as a painting, and the Lord has given you one color with which to add to each painting He has put in your life. You don’t have to paint the entirity of each picture, only pay attention to each, and fill in here and there with your brush as the Spirit moves you. 

Journal or Write:

• If there was a scale in which ‘struggling to survive each day’ scored a one and ‘experiencing consistent internal peace’ scored a ten, what number would you give yourself right now? Why? 
• Sometimes we try too hard to identify our unique gifts and talents and yet those in our lives make it clear they like being with us. What do people tell you they like about your company? What do they miss about you when they’ve not been around you? 
• If you actually ask friends and family why they like being with you, explore in writing any surprises. If not, recall what people have said in the past.
• How would you characterize the color and style of the color medium that you’ve been given to add to the Paintings (peeps) the Lord has placed into your life? Would you describe your contributions as watercolor/acrylic/oil, thin/thick, gloppy/watery, light/heavy, etc?