My Weird Personal History with the Parable of the Sower

It's been entirely too long since I last posted. I hope no one was holding their breath.

From http://catjuggling.com/new-illustration-parable-of-the-sower/

For most of my life, I've hated the Parable of the Sower. I think there was a children's book based on it floating around my church with sad-looking seeds withering on a path or being devoured by evil-looking weeds that made me think of it as rather cruel. Then, of course, the more I thought about it the more it just seemed like he was a terrible farmer. Who doesn't weed? Who doesn't know their land? Who would waste seed by throwing it on a path? What is he, an idiot?

I got a bit older and I could say I understood the metaphor of each bit of land, but I still hated the parable. It just seemed so inhumane. I blame the illustrator of that children's book; anthropomorphic seeds represented people to me, and I could never imagine God throwing people to the weeds or the rocks or the birds. 

Years went by before I really got it: love. Love, of course! The seeds weren't people, they were the Word! We are the soil! Dumb illustrators, ruining parables... The Word doesn't look like a little seed with a terrified expression on its face. The Word is courageous, compassionate, full of light and truth. It is given to us whether we have a heart of fertile soil or hardened path because God loves us.

By margauxeve http://uptowncollective.com/2012/04/06/instagramuptown-margauxeve/

I only had this revelation a few years ago, embarrassingly recent. It was such a huge epiphany I tweeted about it. That counts, right? Since then I have been walking closely with this particular parable. It comes out to hit me at the strangest times.

Just last week, we lost a member of our parish. This was a young man in college who died, along with his companions, in a canoeing accident. For their loved ones, the funeral at our parish was just one of four they would attend within a week. It was enormously sad and heart wrenching. I did not know him and his family had not attended church in a long time so I do not know them, either. I hope the rest of this post does not seem heartless, as I had another moment with this parable during the funeral and that is the focus of this post. What happened to those young men and their families is undoubtedly a tragedy, and I feel deeply for them. That is, however, not what I will be focusing on. Sometimes, two things happen at the same time.

I was asked to be at the funeral by our business manager to help with any support pastorally or as a staff member. I was able to get some more chairs out as our church was overflowing, and I was asked to distribute communion. This is not one of the regular ministries I perform, but I love doing it on occasion. It is special, intimate, and holy in a way I will not try to describe here. The funeral itself was beautiful. Our pastor's homily was perfect, not an easy feat, and every person was there to mourn and to celebrate his life. 

From http://stmatthewcatholic.org/extraord

As happens at most funerals, there were a large number of Catholics who had not been to church in a long time and non-Catholics. For those of you not in the know, to receive the Eucharist you must be a Catholic in good standing. This rule is not meant to be exclusionary, it is meant to emphasize what we believe about the Eucharist: it IS the Body an Blood of Christ. Not a symbol, but the real presence. The rule is meant to make sure that those receiving actually believe that. That being said, it does often feel exclusionary to visitors and is fairly impossible to enforce. You don't know every person who comes forward and even if you do, you don't know what is going on in their heart. Some public figures have run into trouble with this rule as their faces and views are widely recognizable, so some priests have withheld communion. 

This might not be everyone's approach, but I am not going to check each person's "Catholic card" when they come forward to receive communion. Particularly not at a funeral. There were some who obviously had not been to church in a long time and while I have no way of knowing for sure, some who were not Catholic and had no clear idea why they were in line. If you are a non-Catholic reader, the expected response to the minister's presentation of the host or cup and "The Body of Christ" is "Amen." I got a nearly comical range of different responses:

"Thank you"

"Thank you, Amen"

"Amen, Thank you"

"Peace be with you"

And from one teenage girl, "cool."

I mention the last one was a teen but I got these responses from every age. I had many very polite and slightly confused "thank you's" from boomers and gen Xers. (Could we please stop blaming millenials for everything? Really, the rest of you ruined it first and raised us, and I'm pretty sure boomers invented blaming your parents, so... /endrant/) 

So there I was, handing out communion in what was probably the most literal Parable of the Sower possible. I was handing Jesus to soil that could be fertile, rocky, full of weeds, or hard. Perhaps in that moment someone had an encounter with Jesus. Maybe they will laugh it off with their sarcastic friends later, or maybe they will ignore it completely. But maybe one person will decide to come back to church sometime this month. Maybe one person will come back this week and never return again. But they did have an encounter with Jesus. The love of God touched them, and I was lucky and/or blessed enough to help facilitate that encounter. What they do with that experience I have no control over, but being able to witness that was incredible.

As ministers, we are asked to be trusting farmers and spread the seeds of God's love wherever we can. Like the farmer, we are supposed to trust the power of the Word instead of forcing and hovering. One of my favorite books about youth ministry is The Godbearing Life: The Art of Soul Tending for Youth Ministry by Kendra Creasy Dean and Ron Foster. In it, the authors remind us that we are not Jesus and we cannot be Jesus for others. We do not save people. Jesus saves people. What we can do is bring Jesus to others, to be Theotokos, God-bearer, like Mary. We have to remember in the midst of finding enough chaperones and honing a talk just right that the work done in the hearts of those we minister to is not done by us. We bring Jesus so that God can do the work in their hearts, something we do when we distribute communion, sing in church, hug a friend, pray for a loved one's intention, or any other use of our gifts for others and the glory of God.   

I look forward to the other ways the Parable of the Sower surprises me in the future. 

The Sower, Vincent Van Gogh. from http://counterlightsrantsandblather1.blogspot.com/2008/08/van-gogh-sower.html

Last Year's Advent Musical Reflections

Here they are, all my musical reflections from last Advent. Use them again, or refresh your memory. This year's start tomorrow!

Advent Musical Reflection #1 :: 1st Week: "Generations" Fr. Kent O'Connor (music)

It's not on YouTube, it's too new and awesome, so if you're not buying Fr. Kent's Advent album (which can be found on iTunes, Amazon, and CDBaby), I recommend you go to Spotify and listen to it.

This is a rare song that makes a jam out of the genealogy from Matthew. I mean, rare rare, because I've never heard of anyone else doing it. Then again, I haven't been following Danielle Rose too closely, and she's the only other person I can think of who could pull it off. (Yes, this is the kind of promotion you get when you're friends with me. It's even free.)

I chose this song for the first week of Advent because it's the beginning. And as the song goes, "We'll start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start." The story of the coming of Jesus does not start with an angel appearing to Mary. It starts with Abraham, the father of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. All three peoples recognize the story of God working in our lives. Christians call it "salvation history," the history of God saving us, person by person. The story spreads and more people come to follow. So as Advent begins, look back on the rest of the calendar year: What brought you to this point? Who brought you to this point? What is your salvation history? As you look forward as the new liturgical year begins not so far from the calendar year, How do you want to move forward? How have you seen God's promise "that all will be fine," come through this year? If nothing seems fine this year, do you have hope in that promise for the future? Jesus is coming - look for hope.


Advent Musical Reflection #2 :: 2nd Week: "Laughing With" Regina Spektor

For this week I chose "Laughing With," probably the most theologically correct pop song out there. I would rank it higher than quite a few Christian songs, too. I like this song because it asks you to look at your image of God, to ask yourself if and when you think about God. There's not a lot of frills in this song, it's very to the point. "No one laughs at God in a hospital, no one laughs at God in a war." To put it plainly and politely, stuff is real.

It might be a silly thing to say about life, but it is most definitely real. There is no time when it seems more real than the painful times, all the times Spektor lists in the verses and any other times that come right to mind. In those times, we tend to lean on God, or blame God, find comfort in God or cease to believe. What she's saying here is to pay attention to how you see God in the bad times and "when you're at a cocktail party and listening to a good God-themed joke."

Advent is a very short season, less than four weeks. We don't have much time to ease into it, so stuff has to get real fast. What are we preparing for? God getting real - the Incarnation, the birth of the second person in the Holy Trinity as a screaming, eating-and-pooping baby. If you've spent any time with babies, you know they are terribly real. Our God, the unknowable, all-powerful wanted to make sure we understood him in a real way, not just as a good punchline. After all, Emmanuel means "God with us." So, in your preparations this week, think about how you think about God. Is God real to you? Have you ever thought of our Lord and Savior as a baby you hold in your arms? As someone you would go do a very real activity with, like go on a hike or to a baseball game? As the friend who's shoulder you cry on in painful times?

Advent Reflection #2.5 :: Fiesta de Virgen Edition: Excerpt from Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather

The scene: The old Archbishop felt called to pray in the church that night, and found Sada, the old Mexican woman kept as a slave by an American family, had come to pray as well. She was not allowed to come to Mass.

"Never, as he afterward told Father Vaillant, had it been permitted to him to behold such deep experience of the holy joy of religion as on that pale December night. He was able to feel, kneeling beside her, the preciousness of the things of the altar to her who was without possessions; the tapers, the image of the Virgin, the figures of the saints, the Cross that took away indignity from suffering and made pain and poverty a means of fellowship with Christ. Kneeling beside the much enduring bond-woman, he experienced those holy mysteries as he had done in his young manhood. He seemed able to feel all it meant to her to know that there was a Kind Woman in Heaven, though there were such cruel ones on earth. Old people, who have felt blows an toil and known the world's hard hand, need, even more than children do, a woman's tenderness. Only a Woman, divine, could know all that a woman can suffer.
---
..."'O Sacred Heart of Mary!' She murmured by his side, and he felt how that name was food and raiment, friend and mother to her. He received the miracle in her heart into his own, saw through her eyes, knew that his poverty was as bleak as hers. When the Kingdom of heaven had first come into the world, into a cruel world of torture and slaves and masters, He who brought it had said, 'And whosoever is least among you, the same shall be first in the Kingdom of Heaven.' This church was Sada's house, and he was a servant in it."

Advent Musical Reflection #3 :: 3rd Week Gaudate Sunday: "Get Happy/Happy Days" Pink Martini fr. Rufus Wainwright

Of my favorite liturgical season, this Sunday is my favorite day. On Gaudate Sunday the priests' vestments are pink, (they insist on calling it a manlier "rose," but we all know it's pink) hence our song from Pink Martini. I like to celebrate by wearing pink every day this week; if you know me, you know that's not hard.

I love this day because it's about joy. Joy is deeper than happiness or delight, and it has to come from something more than a good piece of chocolate or your favorite tv show. Joy breaks through the status quo to bring you to a new sense of self. In C.S. Lewis's spiritual autobiography Surprised by Joy he defines joy as almost an event that changes his perspective. It's the Holy Spirit making itself known in his life.

Last week, I talked about the "realness" of the season. That's another reason I love this Sunday: it's a reminder that in all this drudgery there is joy. Hope. We ARE looking forward to something, remember? This season is about the coming of Jesus! Rejoice! It is so easy to forget in the crunch time before Christmas. There are only 10 days left to finish your shopping, your crafts, your baking, your travel plans, and for students add finals. It is so easy to forget what, in this season of preparation, we are preparing for. The other important thing to be said about joy is that it is not exclusive. You can have joy AND be sad, or mad, or any of those emotions we like to not talk about. Joy does not have to deny suffering to exist; joy is found in those nuggets of hope that persist when everything else is pushing down. That pink candle is saying that the day isn't here yet, but it is coming. You are allowed to take a breath, discover your hope, and be joyful.

So here is Gaudate Sunday, dressed in pink, to say to you that the one who conquers death is coming, the one we've been waiting for, the New Star, the Light of the World, the Savior of Nations, yes, THAT guy. C'mon get happy, happy days are here again! That's right, "Forget your troubles, happy days, c'mon get happy, are here again, you better chase all your cares away, the skies above are clear again, shout Hallelujah, so let's sing a song, c'mon get happy, of cheer again, get ready for the judgement day, happy days are here again."

Advent Musical Reflection #4 :: 4th Week: "I Found a Reason" Cat Power

For this week, I picked a short song as this is a very short week of Advent! I specifically chose the Cat Power version, which is as much based on the Velvet Underground original as Disney's Pocahontas. (Confession: I knew this one first, thanks to a great mix from Elise Keeney.)

This song is simple, pared down, with only voice and minimal piano. We're at the end of our Advent journey; we've discussed, reflected, hosted parties, baked cookies, shopped, sang O Come O Come Emmanuel for four weeks. My reflections have gotten longer and longer, too - did you think you'd ever get to the end of last week's? Here I am saying, ignore the rest. This is it. At the end, intellectual posturing and grandstanding are meaningless; it's just you and God.

The Nativity is almost here. Last week I listed off names for Jesus that are grand and glorious. This week, I say just think of the baby, lying in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes. The baby Joseph was told in a dream to love. We might use that fancy-to-us sounding name of Emmanuel, if we remember all it means is "God with us." You and God.

So, as we approach Christmas, use this song as a prayer. Say that you Found a Reason. Put all your hurt, joy, love, pain, peace into these words: "I do believe in all the things you say. What comes is better than what came before. And you better run run, run run to me. Better run, run run, run run, to me. Better come, come come, come come to me. You'd better run."

#YesAllWomen, Feminism, and Christianity

A few weeks ago Twitter exploded with #YesAllWomen. If you’re unfamiliar, I’ll try to be brief for all of you who are well-aware. The #NotAllMen was started as a response by men to women discussing the trials of being female in a patriarchal society. Well-meaning, defensive men popped up with “not all of us! Some of us are nice!” To which women said, “Duh. Thanks for once again underestimating our intelligence and making this discussion about you.” While #NotAllMen are misogynists, #YesAllWomen suffer from misogyny. Then, the shooting in California happened and the discussion became so much more than internet comments. And the #YesAllWomen the movement was born, and women all over the world shared their 140-character stories about fear, rape, sexual assault, microaggressions, professional slights, sexualized comments and actions. You can read some great ones here. 

Since Twitter trends of this magnitude make the internet explode, there were blog posts everywhere, and I voraciously read each one. I wrote some of my own #YesAllWomen tweets, which you can read @DeathsharkMcGee. I like to send a few links each week on my parent newsletter, with hot topics in parenting, faith, technology, and/or teenagers. I was looking for something good on #YesAllWomen from a Christian perspective, and all I got was one feminist rant by a Christian and one anti-feminist rant by a Christian. I was looking for, of course, a Christian feminist rant.

Wait! I hear you call – Christian feminist? That’s a thing? I thought all feminists were man-hating atheists! I will admit to you all that in my college conservative phase, I disavowed the word “feminist,” not understanding its true definition. Now I’m trying to make up for my lack of judgment. I am going to posit to you something shocking: that to be a good Christian, you must be a feminist.

Let’s review the definition of feminism, since it seems to have taken on a completely different connotation than its denotation these days:

Feminism: “both a coordinated set of ideas and a practical plan of action, rooted in women’s critical awareness of how a culture controlled in meaning and action by men, for their own advantage, oppresses women and dehumanizes men.” – Joann Wolski Conn

Hopefully, now, the picture of what I am trying to say is taking shape. One of the most paramount fixtures of Christianity and particularly Catholicism (which names herself universal) is community. In the Gospels and in Paul’s writings we are constantly told to take care of the community and that much like the armed forces or poorly designed education legislature, no one is left behind.

• Matthew 25:40 “‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” (If you don’t think women count as “the least,” read some more #yesallwomen tweets)
• 1 Corinthians 12:24b-26 “But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” Read the whole passage and tell me not to take care of 50% of our body.
• Galatians 3:26-28 “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
• And as the ever-liturgical musician, I am going to point to the most universal of English-speaking Catholic songs: “One Bread, One Body” which is dripping with communal language.

I have been thinking about this blog post for a long time and avoiding the actual writing, but now I’m glad I waited this long. This past Sunday was Trinity Sunday, where we contemplate the mind-boggling mystery of triune monotheism. Three persons, one God... a community. Yes, even our God is a community in a constant dance visceral love. #YesAllWomen and feminism is not just about women. It’s about being a community of love. If one part suffers, the whole body suffers. And we just witnessed thousands of tweets testifying to the fact that not one part, but half the body is suffering. More than that, if you consider the male and female children of a mother who is not being paid the same wage as her male counterpart. More if you recognize the ugly suffering that causes someone to perpetrate a crime of hate and control, which is what sex crimes are. More when a boy is teased and called a “girl” or a couple of other rude words I will not dignify by typing here. More when a boy is told to “be a man,” and he learned. So yes, the whole body is suffering.

There is more I could say, like if you want to bring up Ephesians 5 I’m going to make you read me the passage again and ask you to tell me how loving and laying down your life for your wife means that you are supposed to own her or the Catechism passage that reads “Man and woman are both with one and the same dignity ‘in the image of God,’” (CCC369) but I’m sure you’re ready to stop reading this and start being a Christian feminist.

Since my initial search, I tried again and found a smidgen more posts about Christianity and #YesAllWomen. They are definitely worth reading. 

• I put this one at the top, because it’s also about the Trinity: #YesAllWomen: Love, and the Destruction of Hierarchies
• Elliot Rodger, #YesAllWomen, and Loving Victims of Hate
• Christian Man Reflects on #YesAllWomen and Male Sexual Entitlement
• incredibly moving: How does the church respond to #Yesallwomen?
• really well-written: #YesAllWomen Should Have the Church on Their Side
• If you’re into complementarian theology: #YesAllWomen: How Complementarian Theology Speaks to the Latest Internet Meme
• #YesAllWomen. The girl who cried wolf and other myths.

And that’s the best from the first two pages of Google. Beyond that, I get nervous. (support net neutrality)

How This Will Start

I figured the best way to start this blog would be to go back to where I got the idea, my Theories of Religion class. So I am going to start by going through what I found most interesting from the class, offering a Catholic viewpoint to many of the theories we discussed. I will be using the text from the class, Ivan Strenski's Thinking About Religion, as my guideline and main reference for my posts. I hope you find them interesting and please, comment away!