Today's first reading from the Book of Isaiah uses an interesting image: A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom (Isaiah 11:1).
Sometime last week, I planted some seeds. I found some plant pots, carefully placed small rocks in the bottom of each pot (to allow for proper drainage), and then filled each pot about half way with some potting soil, the kind that has vermiculite and fertilizers mixed in. I then placed a couple of seeds in each pot, and covered them with more soil. After tapping the earth into place, I made sure to water them, and then place the pots in a winidow so that there would be enough light. Each morning, I check the soil, water it if it's dry and wait.
It seems strange to be planting seeds as the winter months are just beginning. In other parts of the world, where weather is much more forgiving, there are indeed growing seasons that allow for planting and germinating of seeds at this time of year, but ours is not one of them. Yet, the scriptures for today speak of shoots sprouting from the stump of Jesse. It's a curious image to think of new green growth sprouting while all else in the world of bottany seems to be lying fallow, yet all things are possible for God (even new life in the midst of ice and snow).
I wonder what surprises are being prepared for each of us during these days of Advent. As we await the coming of Christmas, and the festival that celebrates the birth of Him who came to live among us, we too are being prepared. We too should be on the lookout for tender green shoots, sometimes in the form of new discoveries of God's tenderness and mercy, sometimes in the form of new discoveries about ourselves and about the light of faith that has been kindled within.
A shoot shall sprout. I wonder what form it will take.
Sometime last week, I planted some seeds. I found some plant pots, carefully placed small rocks in the bottom of each pot (to allow for proper drainage), and then filled each pot about half way with some potting soil, the kind that has vermiculite and fertilizers mixed in. I then placed a couple of seeds in each pot, and covered them with more soil. After tapping the earth into place, I made sure to water them, and then place the pots in a winidow so that there would be enough light. Each morning, I check the soil, water it if it's dry and wait.
It seems strange to be planting seeds as the winter months are just beginning. In other parts of the world, where weather is much more forgiving, there are indeed growing seasons that allow for planting and germinating of seeds at this time of year, but ours is not one of them. Yet, the scriptures for today speak of shoots sprouting from the stump of Jesse. It's a curious image to think of new green growth sprouting while all else in the world of bottany seems to be lying fallow, yet all things are possible for God (even new life in the midst of ice and snow).
I wonder what surprises are being prepared for each of us during these days of Advent. As we await the coming of Christmas, and the festival that celebrates the birth of Him who came to live among us, we too are being prepared. We too should be on the lookout for tender green shoots, sometimes in the form of new discoveries of God's tenderness and mercy, sometimes in the form of new discoveries about ourselves and about the light of faith that has been kindled within.
A shoot shall sprout. I wonder what form it will take.
1 comment:
When the Mass was complete, one parishioner came into the sacristy to tell me that her grandson and his mother had planted the garlic in their garden just yesterday. Now the waiting for the spring sprouts has begun.
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