1537AFC091115 – Flower of Faith
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Mark 8:34-38 – 34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the Gospel, will save it. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
These are white almond blossoms. They are so beautiful to look at, and can you imagine being in an orchard filled with these beautiful flowers? I hope you’ll take a minute to go here and read up on almonds. Fascinating stuff!
So, why did I choose a picture of blossoms? Ah, well that was the “Healing Word” not too long ago. That word, blossom, has a lot of connotations. “He has really blossomed as an artist.” “She’s a blossom in a garden of roses.” “First the blossom, then the fruit.”
A blossom is a confirmation of fruitfulness. It means that the tree, or flower, or plant, or species has successfully prepared to be propagated. A blossom is the flower of a seed-bearing plant, so even grains have blossoms. It is the peak of development for the process of propagation and the beginning of the process of fruition. When we blossom, we go through something of the same process.
Remember the adage, “Bloom where you’re planted.”? When we remind one another about that, we are saying, “Make the best of your current situation. Bring your work, your life, your hopes, and dreams to fruition right where you are.” When we blossom or bloom we enter a state or time of beauty, freshness, and vigor, a state or time of high development or achievement. “His career is in full bloom.” We produce “flowers” and when we do, we are ready for the next step, producing fruit and seed. Fruit of the earth, fruit of the vine, fruit of our labors, fruit of the Spirit, fruit of endeavor; all of these come from our flowering. On this Earth we have “every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it” as an example of blossoming. (See Genesis 1:11, 29)
As humans we can make a choice about the environment. We can adapt ourselves to our environment – be adaptable – or we can alter the environment for ourselves – be adaptive. Plants cannot normally do that in a way that is easily discernible to us. We can also choose to make adaptive choices about the environment that ruin it for everyone else. We have heard much about that of late. We can even be adaptable in ways that are unhealthy for us.
And so it is that we carry within us not only the seeds of fruition, but also the seeds of destruction. When you are transplanted, which seeds do you hope will come from your flowering? Did you know even thistles have flowers? Well, you do know that what you sow is what you reap, so if you sow thistles you won’t get sweet peas! And if you sow your wild oats, you won’t get grapes … or much of anything else but trouble, perhaps.
Still, in our human lives, we can generally choose to become something different from the way we began our lives. We can come over or be overcome. We can become a part, or come apart. We can blossom like a rose, or bloom like a thistle. We have been empowered to choose between life and death, blessing and curse, fruition and destruction. So if you are going to decide to bloom where you are planted, also choose what seeds you will bear. Will you be the wheat or the tare? (See Matthew 13:27 and 1035AFC082710) Not all thorns have roses, and not all roses have names. Not all blossoms/flowers produce seeds either, and not all seeds produce blossoming plants.
“Bloom where you’re planted” is more than just a cute saying for one’s self-assurance. It is a summary of the challenge to live a productive life, one that is of use to oneself and to others. It means finding the seeds you want to plant, planting and nurturing them, and bringing them to fruition so that the cycle of life continues. Where are your seeds? What are your seeds? And what does it take to make a seed from a blossom? Must a seed come from within your very self?
Think about these things this coming week. Please remember that if the only place you go to find your self is inside yourself, it could be that all you will find is your real self. Beloved, there is so much more to life than that! And remember that though you are one blossom in an orchard, you are part of the crop – the community of blossoms.
So what does all of this have to do with the excerpt from the Gospel of Mark? To answer that, we have to go back to the Book of Numbers, Chapter 17. In thirteen verses we learn that Israel was grumbling about Moses and his service to God that brought them out into the desert. God tells Moses to get one staff – walking stick and scepter for them – from each of the twelve tribes. Each staff was to have the name of the tribe’s leader written on it. They were to be placed in the Tent of Meeting before the Ark of the Covenant. The staff belonging to the tribe God chose for leadership would bud. Aaron’s rod was from an almond tree. Not only did it bud, but it blossomed, and produced almonds!
We can be like Aaron’s rod. We can place our very self in the presence of the Lord. We can commit to his New Covenant in Christ Jesus. We can blossom and bear fruit when we surrender to Jesus’ Lordship in our lives. We can live unashamed in his Word. We can give our only life to Christ. I want you to think about something here. You know the Internet short-speak YOLO? It means “You Only Live Once.” But here’s the thing: It’s FOREVER. Your life will last forever. Do you want to spend forever in the glory of his Father with the holy angels? Every human life has an earthly end but is spiritually eternal. When Christ comes again, when the New Heaven and the New Earth are manifest, when all earthlings are resurrected, some will spend the rest of Eternity with God; some will not. The deciding factor is the content of each life, the way each life was used to honor God by serving others. We will be known – and judged – by our fruit.
Choose something in your life that will blossom and bear fruit. Love, joy, peace, patience and perseverance, gentleness, goodness, faith, kindness, humility, self-control, are all attainable in your own life. Choose them all that your joy may be full. And where do we find all these? In Jesus, of course.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved!
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
THERE WILL BE LOTS OF COVERAGE TODAY ABOUT THE ATTACK ON THE WORLD TRADE CENTER. TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO SAY A PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO DIED, THOSE WHO SURVIVED, THOSE WHO WITNESSED IT, AND THOSE WHO COMMITTED THAT HEINOUS CRIME.
