Sparrows

Matthew 10:27-31

What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. ²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. ³⁰ And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

You are worth more than many sparrows.

Henri Nouwen - Love will Remain

Love Will Remain

Hope and faith will both come to an end when we die.  But love will remain.  Love is eternal.  Love comes from God and returns to God.  When we die, we will lose everything that life gave us except love.  The love with which we lived our lives is the life of God within us.  It is the divine, indestructible core of our being.  This  love not only will remain but will also bear fruit from generation to generation.

When we approach our deaths let us say to those we leave behind, "Don't let your heart be troubled.  The love of God that dwells in my heart will come to you and offer you consolation and comfort."

The Cup

Emptiness and Fullness - Henri Nouwen

Emptiness and fullness at first seem complete opposites.  But in the spiritual life they are not.  In the spiritual life we find the fulfillment of our deepest desires by becoming empty for God.

We must empty the cups of our lives completely to be able to receive the fullness of life from God.  Jesus lived this on the cross.  The moment of complete emptiness and complete fullness become the same.  When he had given all away to his Abba, his dear Father, he cried out, "It is fulfilled" (John 19:30).  He who was lifted up on the cross was also lifted into the resurrection.  He who had emptied and humbled himself was raised up and "given the name above all other names" (see Philippians 2:7-9).  Let us keep listening to Jesus' question:  "Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?" (Matthew20:22).

A Solitary Place

¹³ When Jesus heard 

what had happened,

he withdrew 

by boat privately 

to a solitary place.

Yeast

³³ He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds^[b] of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

Sowing Seeds

The Parable of the Weeds

²⁴ Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.²⁶ When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

·      The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ 

·      The field is the world, and

·      The good seed stands for the people of the kingdom.

·      The weeds are the people of the evil one, ³⁹ and

·      The enemy who sows them is the devil.

·      The harvest is the end of the age, and

·      The harvesters are angels.