"Nothing lives but that something dies. And conversely, nothing dies but that something lives.
George Maloney - Alone With The Alone
In his book, "Alone With The Along", Fr. George Maloney speaks about the basic law of growth that applies to all human development: "Nothing lives but that something dies."
This natural law of human development is reflected in the book of Exodus of the Old Testament. The people of Israel are dying of starvation in the desert, and they are beginning to complain to Moses. God hears their cry, and instructs the people to prepare themselves - how? By holding themselves in readiness for the happening of a certain event. God promised to provide meat by way of quails in the evening, and bread by way of manna in the morning. In the evening, the quails flew in and covered their camp, and the people had plenty of meat to eat. In the same manner, manna congealed like due on the grass in the early morning hours.
Nothing lives but that something dies.
In the Gospel of Matthew, we are familiar with the Parable of Sower. We have the generous sower scattering seeds everywhere. Some fell on the edge of the path which the birds ate. Some fell on rock but died from lack of soil. Some fell among thorns where they chocked out by the thick growth. But other seeds fell on rich soil where they sprouted and produced a hundred fold.
In both stories from the Old and New Testament, God is the generous provider, and the people are the recipients, but only when they are properly prepared to receive the bounty that comes from God. Even in that respect, nothing new lives unless something dies.
In preparing ourselves to receive God's abundance, we have to let go (or let die) those things that are obstacles to receiving the New Life that comes from God.
In our Catholic Christian faith tradition, this preparation is done through the Sacraments, those encounters with Christ that draw us into a relationship with Him. Eucharist becomes the manna given to us, as the Israelites in the desert, to give life, to sustain our growth, causing us to grow in Christ's likeness. Yet even with Eucharist which gives us life comes to us at the cost of death; Jesus' own death on the cross.
The question we can ask ourselves is: What are we letting go of (letting die) in our lives in order to prepare ourselves for the New Life that comes from God's abundance? Are there things that we cling too that may be preventing God's abundance from breaking through? Do we see that dying, in all its different meanings, is not necessarily a loss of something that we have to fight for and preserve at all costs, but are often passageways to a more abundant and fruitful life with God.
There is a basic law of growth that applies to all human development: "Nothing lives but that something dies"
Showing posts with label kingdom of god. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kingdom of god. Show all posts
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Experiencing God - Do we understand 22
"Jesus said: It has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom, but to others, it has not been given. To those who have, more will be given, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear."
Chapter 13 of Matthew is full of Jesus' parables. We find there the parable of the sower, the parable of the weeds among the wheat, and several of the parables that give us insight into the Kingdom of God.
"The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds, but when it is grown, it is the largest of all shrubs, and the birds of the air find comfort in it and nest in its branches."
When Jesus was asked by His disciples why He spoke in parables, He gave them a rather unusual answer: It has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom, but to others, it has not been given. To those who have, more will be given, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear."
Even the answer Jesus gives is somewhat of a parable. Do you know the secrets of the Kingdom? We know, we perceive, and we understand through faith. Without faith, Jesus' words fall on deaf ears. Many hear the words, but they do not understand them, or at least, they fail to act on what they hear.
We live in a world that largely does not listen and understand what Jesus is saying; so they follow other voices.
Lately on the news, we have heard a lot about the web site "backpage.com" that is under investigation in the United States and Canada. It is a site that advertises in the sex trade, particularly with under age children. This site makes millions of dollars per month on this type of advertising. I was listening to a woman who was being interviewed in this morning's news, a twenty-six year old who advertises on this site. She said that she wishes she had discovered the site years earlier because she can make in excess of $1,000 per week as a result of her advertising. This, she says is more than sufficient to pay for her education and living costs.
Do you think that this woman and the people who run this site understand Jesus' parables on the Kingdom of God? If they continue to be deaf to God's word, then even that which they have now will be taken away from them.
In another of the parables found in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus is saying: "The Kingdom of God is like a treasure hidden in a field, which someone finds and hides. Then in joy, they go and sell all that they have and buy the field.
Is the Kingdom of God your treasure? Are you willing to sell off or let go of all the other things, which pale in comparison, in order to possess that treasure?
Where your treasure is, there also you will find your heart. If your treasure can only be found in the transient and temporary things of this life, like $1000 per week illegally earned to cover education and living costs, or $1,000,000 a month in illegal advertising fees, then even the little that you have will be lost. Our true treasure can only be found in God, and the life that God has prepared for us now, and to come.
"Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear."
Chapter 13 of Matthew is full of Jesus' parables. We find there the parable of the sower, the parable of the weeds among the wheat, and several of the parables that give us insight into the Kingdom of God.
"The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds, but when it is grown, it is the largest of all shrubs, and the birds of the air find comfort in it and nest in its branches."
When Jesus was asked by His disciples why He spoke in parables, He gave them a rather unusual answer: It has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom, but to others, it has not been given. To those who have, more will be given, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear."
Even the answer Jesus gives is somewhat of a parable. Do you know the secrets of the Kingdom? We know, we perceive, and we understand through faith. Without faith, Jesus' words fall on deaf ears. Many hear the words, but they do not understand them, or at least, they fail to act on what they hear.
We live in a world that largely does not listen and understand what Jesus is saying; so they follow other voices.
Lately on the news, we have heard a lot about the web site "backpage.com" that is under investigation in the United States and Canada. It is a site that advertises in the sex trade, particularly with under age children. This site makes millions of dollars per month on this type of advertising. I was listening to a woman who was being interviewed in this morning's news, a twenty-six year old who advertises on this site. She said that she wishes she had discovered the site years earlier because she can make in excess of $1,000 per week as a result of her advertising. This, she says is more than sufficient to pay for her education and living costs.
Do you think that this woman and the people who run this site understand Jesus' parables on the Kingdom of God? If they continue to be deaf to God's word, then even that which they have now will be taken away from them.
In another of the parables found in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus is saying: "The Kingdom of God is like a treasure hidden in a field, which someone finds and hides. Then in joy, they go and sell all that they have and buy the field.
Is the Kingdom of God your treasure? Are you willing to sell off or let go of all the other things, which pale in comparison, in order to possess that treasure?
Where your treasure is, there also you will find your heart. If your treasure can only be found in the transient and temporary things of this life, like $1000 per week illegally earned to cover education and living costs, or $1,000,000 a month in illegal advertising fees, then even the little that you have will be lost. Our true treasure can only be found in God, and the life that God has prepared for us now, and to come.
"Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear."
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