"Teach us to care and not to care." (Eliot)

Devotional Reflection, Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Proper 11, the week of the eighth Sunday after Pentecost

The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.

Key phrase for reflection from today’s reading:

26 He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, 27and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.

Today we celebrate the Feast of Elizabeth Katy Stanton, Elizabeth Bloomer, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Ross Tubman. (See below.)

Daily Office Lectionary readings

AM Psalm 45; PM Psalm 47, 48

1 Samuel 25:1-22; Acts 14:1-18; Mark 4:21-34

Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer

Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer

Daily Office Gospel, Mark 4:21-34

21 He said to them, ‘Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? 22For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. 23Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’ 24And he said to them, ‘Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. 25For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’

26 He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, 27and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. 28The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’

30 He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? 31It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; 32yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’

33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; 34he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

David's Reflections

T. S. Eliot in his poem "Ash Wednesday" wrote these lines:

"Teach us to care and not to care."

What a line! Are there times when Christians care and other times when we do not? It feels more to me like we are to care while being “care - less.” That is, we are to show our concern for others and for God by our efforts. Yet, our trust in God is to be such that we can care without being “overcome by cares” about those people for whom we care or about those challenges, issues, and values that ultimately concern us.

What a tension! On one end apathy and despair. . . . On the other anxious striving that overdoes because it cares so much. Living in the tension between, living on that edge feels like the call. One of the parables in today's Gospel gets at that tension, the parable of the seed growing on its own (Mk. 4:26-34). The farmer cares--he sows and harvests. Yet, in between he cannot force the issue of growth. That happens without his aid and beyond his understanding.

What a parable! This little parable occurs only in Mark. It presents us with this tension between human action and the lavishness of God's fruitfulness. The farmer's role as sower is barely mentioned, unlike yesterday's parable of the sower. And, nothing is said about the cultivation process. All that we learn about the farmer is that he maintains his daily routine of sleeping and rising and that he observes the seeds sprouting on their own (the word is the Greek root of our English "automatic") and he knows not how it happens.

What a harvest! Yet, when the wheat matures, the farmer springs into action. And, the language here emphasizes that the farmer's response is determined by timing other than his own. "When the fruit allows" is the literal rendering of the phrase "when the grain is ripe."

What a challenge! Never in my ministry have I known anxiety comparable to that involved in launching a new church, All Souls Episcopal in metro Richmond, VA. And, those who joined in that adventure understood that anxiety. Like that farmer, we could sow, we could invest effort, prayer, and hope in sharing our witness and in doing the foundational tasks. Also, like the farmer, we were forced to wait and watch the mystery unfold "we know not how."

What a tension! Yet, we cannot merely be passive, watching and waiting for results. When those moments of ripe opportunity allow, we can risk exerting ourselves to "harvest," to invite again those people whose interest suddenly awakens after seeming disinterest. I Richmond, we could take the risk of joining in the adventure even as the church was taking shape and was not fully formed. We could risk investing our time and energy and money in a vision of a community only barely yet in view. We could care enough to risk without being so full of care that we rush frantically or that we feel paralyzed and do not act.

What learnings! New church development can instruct us in established churches about the mysterious, life-giving power of the Christian message, the Gospel. And, we can take pages from their book about risk-taking, experimentation to find what works, and anticipation of a rich harvest when the results seem initially meager. The seed sprouts “we know not how.”

"Teach us to care and not to care."

Collect of the Day, Proper 11, The eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, 231)

Today we celebrate the Feast of Elizabeth Katy Stanton, Elizabeth Bloomer, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Ross Tubman, Pioneers of women's rights and black rights.

http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Womens_Rights.htm

Collect of the Feast of Elizabeth Katy Stanton, Elizabeth Bloomer, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Ross Tubman

O God, whose Spirit guides us into all truth and makes us free: Strengthen and sustain us as you did your servants Elizabeth, Amelia, Sojourner, and Harriet. Give us vision and courage to stand against oppression and injustice and all that works against the glorious liberty to which you call all your children; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Collect for Peace

O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 99)

For those in the Armed Forces of our Country

Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 823)

A Prayer for Light

Grant us, Lord, the lamp of charity which never fails, that it may burn in us and shed its light on those around us, and that by its brightness we may have a vision of that holy City, where dwells the true and never-failing Light, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 110)

A Collect for Mission

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. (BCP, 100)