March 17 - Lenten Devotional

"These are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance."(Luke 8:15)

These words of Jesus explain the seed that falls in good soil. I think I've read them a thousand times in much the way I've gone through a green light on the way to work. 'Oh look - I get to go, all is well let's move on through to the next stop.' And yet... the way Jesus interprets his own words should give us pause - patient endurance. Maybe I ought to slow down - not simply take these words at face value and move on, but spend some time with them to get at what is truly good about this soil.

"hear the word"
I love the Hebrew word shema. It's the word you find in Deuteronomy 6:1-6, particularly:

"Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them (commandments) diligently... so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey... Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart... Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

Does this sound familiar? Almost makes you think that Jesus knew something about the Jewish faith!! What I love about the word shema is that while its primary definition is "hear" it also has a nuance that means to "hear with attention" to "understand" and even to "obey". Its not simply like turning on the radio and hearing music as we drive down the road - but its saying, "fix your whole attention on this thing I'm about to say, and as you attend to it make sure you also intend to obey it!" This isn't a passage to take at face value but something to sink roots into... to soak up... to absorb... to play with... and wrestle with... and finally to live with!

"honest and good heart"
I think almost always we hear the word sinner and we think, "bad". A sinner is not a good person. But what if being a sinner is not a statement of good or bad... but is a statement about honest self-reflection. "Hold it fast in an honest and good heart." We are created good... but err. We turn astray. We fall short. We just don't always manage to obey - sometimes we don't even hear. This doesn't change that we are God's good creation!! So... be honest: I'm a sinner. But remember: you are God's good creation - so be a good sinner!

"bear fruit with patient endurance"
I think one of the fascinating things in this parable is that the plants that yield fruit quickest don't last long. In a world of flipping houses, making a quick buck and weighing cost versus yield it's easy to fall into the trap of wanting to produce fruit quickly. But Jesus says these vines wither because they do not set down deep roots. Jesus asks us to follow - but not be too quick about moving from following to producing.

Just imagine the seedling for a moment. What must it be like to settle down in the earth - send out tendrils of little rootlings - begin to find nourishment and life - to take hold of a firm grounding in the stuff of life - and then... and only then to quest upward and outward to show forth good yield: to bear fruit.

Are you stopping yourself to hear... really - truly - deeply - attentively - hear Jesus?

Have you basked in the goodness of God's creation playing in the soil of your life with honesty?

Are you ready to quest upward and outward to show forth the good fruit God has given you?


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Nurturing God,
Let your word cut through our hustle and bustle and cause us to attend to you.
Guide us to plant ourselves firmly and lovingly in the good soil of your world.
May your blessings flow forth through us and beyond us.
Amen.