Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Cycle A
Reflecting on Matthew 13: 1-23
Don’t ask us what we were thinking. In this challenging economic climate, and with big chains just blocks from us, my pharmacist-husband Ben and I bought a beautiful retail space and opened up an old-time drugstore/coffee shop.
Ben Lager & Kathy McGovern
I’m not sure I could really articulate why we needed to do this until the other day. I looked around and saw neighbors who live just houses away from each other finally meeting and enjoying their children together out on the front sidewalk.
Some generous and kind new friends from the neighborhood sat outside, talking to another friend and me about the bitterness they feel when religion is forced on them, when people carry Scripture signs to football games, when businesses put religious quotes on their billboards. Now, I actually like these things, and was getting ready to say so.
But a dear and wise friend of mine happened to be in the store right then. She moved closer to them and said, “Tell me more about your pain. Tell me why you resist faith. Let me help you touch your wounds.”
And then the floodwaters opened, and all their frustration, and feelings of isolation, and confusion and resentment poured out.
A few days later they returned to the store for a prescription. Jane (not her real name) hugged me and said No one has ever asked me about my loss of faith before. That conversation was more healing than three years in the religious setting of my childhood.
And it happened just because some faithful sower took the time to plant a seed in fertile ground, to listen, and then to be brave enough to invite strangers into the intimacy of their own struggles.
And I’ll bet that seed bears fruit and yields a hundredfold.
In what ways have you seen the fruits of the seeds sown in your life?
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I have come to light a fire on the earth; how I wish it were already burning (Lk.12:49).
That is a great experince you shared Kathy! There have been blessed so many times when some brave person mustard up the
nerve to shine a light on some religious conflict stirring with in me. It’s not any one time that I have been given it’s the total some of eye opening, heart melting and conversions of faith that shows me how the Lord calls me back over and over again. I stand in complete awe when I see how He invites us to allow Him to work through each one of us, for the healing and caring we all at one point or another need in life, if we just could do it with the care that your friend did. The soft voice and calming warmth that settles the inner anger is a healing grace that bring the wondering lost soul home again and may be again!
Congratulations. What about adding a few spiritual and religious books? I have often thought that a coffee shop and a religious bookstore would be a nice combination.
Dan
http://www.eCatechist.com
http://www.faithAlivebooks.com
What a beautiful story of recovery! It reminds me of a friend who returned to church after a long absence. When she told the pastor of the absence, his response was “Where have you been?”, in a way that evoked guilt and shame. Her hoped for response from him was, “Welcome home!” My friend is certainly a good kind person, and had just faltered a bit in her church membership duties. How sad that the pastor’s response pushed her further away….for she never returned to that church. Instead of a sower, he was disking things under!
What is the address of your new shop?
Sometimes, the seeds that have been sown in my life produce good results in my ability to speak the Good News to others or to say a comforting word when someone needs it.
At other times, the weeds choke out these seeds, and I find myself in Confession to “weed my garden.” Jesus never fails to take those weeds and plant new seeds in their place, making me able again to be His friend in this world.
Then, new weeds come along, and the cycle begins again.
Dear Kathy and Ben, congratulations. You say you don’t know why you opened the pharmacy, it is the work of the Holy Spirit. So is the response of your dear friend. You and Ben live your lives in ministry. The Holy Spirit is always working in us,, whether we know it or not. Otherwise, how would you and I meet. I have known about you for a long time, and wanted to meet you. The Holy Spirit, through Karen, made that happen and my life is forever enriched and my Faith enhanced. I will be calling Ben son, to get my prescriptions transferred, Con mucho amor, LaMamacita
Dear Kathy and Ben, congratulations. You say you don’t know why you opened the pharmacy, it is the work of the Holy Spirit. So is the response of your dear friend. You and Ben live your lives in ministry. The Holy Spirit is always working in us,, whether we know it or not. Otherwise, how would you and I meet. I have known about you for a long time, and wanted to meet you. The Holy Spirit, through Karen, made that happen and my life is forever enriched and my Faith enhanced. I will be calling Ben soon, to get my prescriptions transferred, Con mucho amor, LaMamacita
Congratulations on your new venture. No doubt much fruit will be borne in the coming years. In the world of evangelization. sometimes these little acts of faith speak louder than signs at football games.