Deuteronomy 30:9-14
Colossians 1:1-14
Luke 10:25-37
"Savoring the Green Fruit"
Maybe it's the time of year that made me so conscious of all that fruit! We're just almost there, aren't we?-just coming to the point when we will begin to see ripe tomatoes and vegetables from the garden and then, later, tree fruits. Mmmm! I don't know about you; I can hardly wait!
But when I say that, I'm brought up short. I'm stopped by the question: what am I doing while I'm waiting? When I was little and I was counting the days and hours and minutes until something-Christmas, a birthday, a special trip, a visit from someone-my mother used to say: "you're wishing your life away." That didn't seem like a big deal then, but at this stage in my life it sounds a loud alarm in my head!
In these days my mood is more one of wanting to savor all that is, while it is, without thinking of what will become of it. I realized this while I was at seminary this past year. Almost everyone there was heading for ordination: doing what they had to do so that they can become priests and deacons in the next year, or two years, or three years. So was I. But along about the beginning of Lent I was overcome by an enormous feeling of gratitude for where I am now, without thinking of who I hope to become. (Now, if the Standing Committee stops me in my tracks in September, my mood could change. It's one thing to be happy with the green apples on the tree and not be too anxious for them to ripen; it's something else to have someone come along and cut down the tree!)
Isn't it too bad, though, if we are so eager for the apples that we can't enjoy the apple blossoms? Can we, just now, take time to enjoy the slow swelling of the green fruit, and not be planning already how many quarts we will can? My friend Jim Forest tells of sitting under a tree with Thich Nat Hanh, the great Vietnamese Buddhist philosopher, eating an orange. Thich Nat Hanh watched him for a while, then asked: why are you eating so fast? You are putting another segment in your mouth before you have savored the one before it! And it is, really, the story of how we live our lives.
Part of it is about accomplishment: we are so intent on bearing fruit, through our own doing, that we forget that it is God, it is Christ, it is the gospel that is bearing fruit in us, in their own time, at their own pace. Even the Collect for today tempts us in that direction: we are going to pray "to know and understand the things we ought to do" and for the "grace and power faithfully to accomplish them." Somehow I kind of wish we could pray for the knowing one week and the doing the next-or maybe for the grace first of all to be who we are called to be, before we think about what that means in terms of doing. The doing will be there, inevitably-but one thing at a time, God! Living the life that God has dreamed for each of us, bearing fruit in God's own season, is like having a baby: you really can't hurry it, and there's not much you can do about it along the way. Cooperate, keep calm, do your exercises, eat right-and wait for God to bring everything to fulfillment. That's all there is, really.
Forgetting that truth is what's really wrong with those fellows in the story-the priest and the Levite. The priest is in a hurry to get to Jericho. He's on important business; maybe he's going to receive an offering for a sacrifice from someone who's seriously ill and needs prayers and comfort. That's important! Or maybe he's just coming home from Jerusalem after reaching the great high point of his life: his turn to offer sacrifice in the Temple. His life is already fulfilled, and nothing he ever does again will match it. Either way, picking up some bum at the side of the road is not part of his plan; it's not important, compared to the great things he is doing, compared to the rich fruit his life is bearing. He's called to be a priest, right?-not a social worker! He's been praying "to know and understand the things he ought to do," and he thinks he does know. He's about God's business, and he's not to be turned aside. It's the same with the Levite: he's on important business for the synagogue, and wasting time on the road will just upset the whole pastoral plan!
The Samaritan, apparently, is not in such a big hurry-or even if he is, he has a different set of priorities. There's this thing that has to be done now, and never mind what the future holds. His life's blossom turns into fruit as he stoops to pick up the mugged stranger. He is living in God's moment, without even thinking about it, just doing the neighborly thing for someone who needs him, and that was what was asked of him, and all that was asked of him-all that is asked of any of us.
What's that saying? "Life is what happens while you're making other plans." A certain amount of planning and hoping and getting ready is good-but don't let it keep you from opening your eyes to what is around you now, what is at your feet or at your side. . It could just be someone who needs your attention this very minute-maybe even you!
The Spirit of the Heartland team is ripening toward fulfillment. . All the hard work of the last several years is showing promise of bearing a rich harvest: candidates now, deacons soon, priests soon after that; others moving toward certification in their different roles. It's glorious to look forward to. But I hope that none of you will lose the glory of these days, of this time of growth, this time of waiting, of being held in the dark like the seed in the womb of the earth. The time to be joyful is now. Amen.