A 15th Sunday after Pentecost Thought to Start the Week Off Right
"You reap what you sow." At first blush, in a practical sense, it seems obvious, doesn't it? For example, if you're lazy and don't work hard, chances are you won't advance in your career. The opposite seems to hold too: Word hard, reap your rewards. Not that it's a hard and fast rule. You may find yourself in a job where hard work isn't paying off. I've been in situations like that. I changed my job.
The saying has its roots in Scripture: "What things a man shall sow those also he shall reap." But here, the meaning isn't the same. The focus here isn't material gain. Instead, it concerns our spiritual life. A lot's at stake, and the ultimate consequences last for all eternity.
Here's what The Inner Life of the Soul has to teach us about "What things a man shall sow those also he shall reap":
"As we read this, sitting in the calm and quiet of our homes, does no pang like an arrow pierce our secret souls with the barbed question: And what things are they that I sow? Am I sowing in the Spirit, that in the Spirit I may reap eternal life? Charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity - these are the fruits of the Spirit: are they also mine?"
How many of us, if handed a checklist of these 12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit, could check them all? Most? Half? Less than half? Depending on how we answer, some of us will be encouraged, others not so much. If the latter, given what's at stake here, any shortfall needs to be addressed forthwith - don't you think?
"Let us go, quietly and alone, to our crucifix; kneel there, and look up steadily at the Sacred Heart. In the wound of that heart is the nest of the Dove. In Jesus Christ, our perfect pattern, the Spirit's fruits are found abundantly and in their full perfection. What do we see in Him?"
Our busy world doesn't afford us the quiet time we need for our spiritual life. We have to make that time. And if the week just flew by and you didn't make that time, well, it's Sunday. Surely you can find a few moments for God on Sunday? Do it now. What might you find?
"Ah, my brothers! it may be that gazing upon Him in silence, away from the world and the loves and cares of the world, with the awful fear of judgment upon us, we cannot look long for weeping. Thank God if He grants us tears, when we gaze upon the Crucified! Yet, bid the eyes of our souls gaze steadily, and center our hearts upon him; then ask: Is my life patterned on His life? Am I living the life of His Spirit?"
If such words fail to move you, you're one of those who've been lulled to spiritual sleep. If so, wake up! Some day - and it may be soon for some of us - we'll reap what we sow.
And for those of us who may have had experience in our work lives of sowing without reaping rewards, here's some encouragement:
There's a key and critical difference between the practical and the spiritual sense of "You reap what you sow." While the practical sense might find some of us at times sowing like crazy and reaping very little, that's not the case with the spiritual sense. We know that if we sow as we should, our reward will follow. We won't be cheated, or given short shrift.
The saying has its roots in Scripture: "What things a man shall sow those also he shall reap." But here, the meaning isn't the same. The focus here isn't material gain. Instead, it concerns our spiritual life. A lot's at stake, and the ultimate consequences last for all eternity.
Here's what The Inner Life of the Soul has to teach us about "What things a man shall sow those also he shall reap":
"As we read this, sitting in the calm and quiet of our homes, does no pang like an arrow pierce our secret souls with the barbed question: And what things are they that I sow? Am I sowing in the Spirit, that in the Spirit I may reap eternal life? Charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity - these are the fruits of the Spirit: are they also mine?"
How many of us, if handed a checklist of these 12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit, could check them all? Most? Half? Less than half? Depending on how we answer, some of us will be encouraged, others not so much. If the latter, given what's at stake here, any shortfall needs to be addressed forthwith - don't you think?
"Let us go, quietly and alone, to our crucifix; kneel there, and look up steadily at the Sacred Heart. In the wound of that heart is the nest of the Dove. In Jesus Christ, our perfect pattern, the Spirit's fruits are found abundantly and in their full perfection. What do we see in Him?"
Our busy world doesn't afford us the quiet time we need for our spiritual life. We have to make that time. And if the week just flew by and you didn't make that time, well, it's Sunday. Surely you can find a few moments for God on Sunday? Do it now. What might you find?
"Ah, my brothers! it may be that gazing upon Him in silence, away from the world and the loves and cares of the world, with the awful fear of judgment upon us, we cannot look long for weeping. Thank God if He grants us tears, when we gaze upon the Crucified! Yet, bid the eyes of our souls gaze steadily, and center our hearts upon him; then ask: Is my life patterned on His life? Am I living the life of His Spirit?"
If such words fail to move you, you're one of those who've been lulled to spiritual sleep. If so, wake up! Some day - and it may be soon for some of us - we'll reap what we sow.
And for those of us who may have had experience in our work lives of sowing without reaping rewards, here's some encouragement:
There's a key and critical difference between the practical and the spiritual sense of "You reap what you sow." While the practical sense might find some of us at times sowing like crazy and reaping very little, that's not the case with the spiritual sense. We know that if we sow as we should, our reward will follow. We won't be cheated, or given short shrift.
Happy Sunday!
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