The Greening
Is there any better metaphor of hope than a newly
planted farm field? All the work and
investment with the expectation that if all is done correctly, and the weather
holds and enough rain falls, but not too much, and the sun shines, but not too
much – then there will be a harvest that will make all the work and worry
worthwhile.
I pass a spring-planted cornfield on my morning
walk. While the surrounding hayfields
have greened for weeks and will soon be ready for a mowing the cornfield has
lied in wait. Then one morning I noticed
it – the greening. Even though the
cornfield is a half mile away I could see a green haze across the field and I
knew that the sprouts had worked their way up to the sunshine. Around the corner I passed another cornfield that
is right up to the road and confirmed my observation as I saw the rows of corn
about five inches high. The farmer no
doubt is pleased but he knows there is much that lies ahead yet.
We tend to think of our sacraments as a whole growing
season in one experience. I know that I
have. My wife and I were young when we
got married, but we were exceptionally mature for our age. If you would have asked me at the time, I
would have told you that in all sincerity.
We were ready. In my mind our love
was in full bloom. I didn’t have a
clue. I didn’t appreciate that marriage
is a continued lived experience.
The reality is that when we encounter God in any of
the Sacraments it is much more like that newly planted field. There is the spark of life to be sure. There is all the hope and all of the promise
to be sure. But our faith must
hold. Even in the times that seem too
much. In life, we grow from, we grow
into the richness of the Sacraments. We
look at the calendar of our life and the seasons come and gone and think that
the best has already passed by. We
forget that the God we encountered in Sacrament is eternal. There is always more to learn, always more to
experience. That’s because God is love
and love is always growing, always giving, and always sharing more.
My wife Michelle and I are celebrating 40 years of
marriage on June 14th [2020]. We could not have anticipated what our
life together has brought – both in terms of struggle and blessings. We have grown into the sacrament of matrimony
together through these years. Others,
including our children and grandchildren no doubt look at us and see a love in
that is richly ripening. I don’t know
what life’s calendar holds for us – how many pages, how many seasons there are
still to come. But I better appreciate
now that in the Sacrament of marriage God truly became the source of our love
for each other. And I know that our love
is not full flower, not ripening, but that we are still and always will be - in
the greening.
His Peace,
Deacon Dan
Photo by Craig Cooper on Unsplash
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