Memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs
Here is a little meditation for you:
“One day when I was sitting on a bench in a quiet, sunny courtyard, looking at a fuchsia bush. It was late August, and the bees were constantly visiting the fuchsia. They would land very gently on those flowers that were fully open to receive them. They made no attempt to enter a closed flower or to force the petals in any way. When they found an open flower they crept into its depths to extract the nectar. In doing so, of course, they also carried the pollen from flower to flower, bush to bush, thus ensuring further fruitfulness.” (excerpt from Inner Compass by Margaret Silf)
This lovely little meditation describes a moment when the author experienced great clarity about the concept of detachment and balance—taking what is necessary and leaving the rest. I was reminded of this short but poignant excerpt while reflecting on today’s Scriptures. The Gospel reading is a parable most often referred to as ‘the rich fool’, a parable found only in the Gospel of Luke. The farmer, finding himself with an unusually productive harvest, decides to build bigger barns and ‘rest on his laurels’. There is no mention of sharing the plentiful harvest, only making provisions for its preservation for his benefit and security; In relating the parable, Jesus is very stern: “... God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you!’” The contrast between the farmer and the bee is rather obvious. The farmer seems greedy and self-satisfied (in addition to coming off as self-righteous), while the bee works on and on, taking only what is necessary for its survival and reproduction and, in this God-ordained process, ensuring the future of the fuchsia plants that nourish it. There are few of us who identify solely with one or the other, but we can most assuredly look at our lives and recognize a bit of each.
This Scripture, this parable is a personal invitation from God for each and every one of us. We are invited to take the time, even if only for a few moments, to examine how our lives reflect either the foolish farmer or the bee, God will surprise us with what He reveals to us. We may not be pleased with what we see—but that is a VERY GOOD THING! It is a definitive sign of the love and mercy of the One Holy God we worship. It is hard evidence that God’s love for us is so deep and wide and endless that God will reveal exactly how, through His grace, we can change the way we are living so as to move always closer to Him. Not only that, but the Spirit of God will do the work for us...we need only be open and willing.
--Gail Lyman
“The Lord remembered us in our low estate, for his mercy endures forever.” PS 136:23