15^th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer

God of all creation;

Make me good rich soil for planting

        so Your Word may settle in and grow!

May I find You in each experience

        even when I must face rocky ground or thorny bushes!

Help me reach and stretch each new day

        to put forth great fruit, worthy of the kingdom!

AMEN!

Journal/Reflection Questions

Isaiah 55:10-11

• What is the purpose of fertile ground? What elements are needed in order to make the ground fertile?
• Explain how this scripture can be a metaphor for God’s purpose for you.

Romans 8:18-23

• Share an example of how good can come from suffering.
• How do you live in expectation of God? What can you do to be more open to the present instead of the past or the future?

Matthew 13:1-23

• Who are you in the parable? The flower? The sun? The rain? The one who tramples? The one who chokes? The one who scorches? The birds? The thorn? The rocks? The one who blocks the roots? The one who plants the seed? The fruit? (Consider reflecting on when you’ve been all of them)
• Are there things in your life right now which choke or prick at you, causing you to not grow? Are there rocks on the path, which you are unable to navigate around? Where do you see weeds pop up in your life?

General Questions for Journaling

• Have you ever contemplated the changing of the seasons? What never ceases to astonish you each time a new season passes into another?
• Compare the cycle of rain to the cycle of life. How do they differ? How are they similar?
• Share a time when you experienced the feeling of freedom in the beauty of nature.
• Is it possible to avoid suffering and pain? What are the benefits of avoiding it? What are the benefits of living through it?
• Where do you see growing pains in the world?
• Is it possible to prepare for pain? Why or why not?
• How do you cultivate the goals in your life? How do you fertilize them?
• What is the significance of rain, sun, soil for the success of a seed? How does this compare to the success of your own life?
• If your heart was a garden, what would it look like? What would be growing there? Consider the types of flowers, bushes, trees, fruit, vegetables that your heart would grow and why.
• When was the last time you listened to your heart? What does it sound like? How do you know what your heart desires?
• Do you think God is concerned about quality or quantity? Give a reason for your answer.

Closing Prayer

Leader:  God of heaven…

ALL:  conquer my fears.

Leader:  God of earth…

ALL:  make straight the path.

Leader:  Jesus, human…

ALL:  teach me to love.

Leader:  Jesus, divine…

ALL:  wash away my sins.

Leader:  Spirit of life…

ALL:  bring comfort and strength.

Leader:  Almighty Spirit…

ALL:  tend to my weary soul.

Leader:  Holy Trinity…

ALL:  be mine forevermore!

Challenge for the Week:  God put so much thought into the changing of the season and perfected the dying and rising of each element of nature.  Spend time this week meditating on Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring; they are very different but also very similar.  How do you relate to each of the seasons and why?  What emotions does each season evoke in you and why?  What significance do the seasons have in your life?  Do you identify with one season more than another?  Which one and why?  What do you think God intended for us to learn from the seasons?  What can they teach you about God?

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