Blessing for a Church Garden

Leader: Holy Creator, in the beginning,

People: You created light and made the sun, moon, and stars.

Leader: Holy Creator, in the beginning,

People: You created the earth and made the rivers, lakes, and clouds that water the ground.

Leader: Holy Creator, in the beginning,

People: You created the grass of the field and made the trees and vines that produce fruit and seed.

Leader: Holy Creator, in the beginning,

People: You made the first human out of dirt and placed them in the garden.

Leader: Holy Creator, we thank you for the gift and responsibility that you have given us to be caretakers of this your creation. Bless this our garden and the dirt therein

People: That it may bear much fruit for the nourishment of bodies.

Leader: Bless this our garden and all who work therein

People: That we may bear much fruit for the nourishment of bodies.

Leader: Bless this your church and all who find shelter here

People: That we may bear much fruit for the nourishment of souls.

Leader: Bless, O God, the work of our hands, the words of our mouths, the thoughts of our minds, and the meditations of our hearts that the entirety of our lives might be a garden, bearing fruit for the nourishment of the world. We ask this in the name of Jesus, who tends the soil of our spirit as we tend the soil of the earth,

People: Amen.

the baptism

Naked,
Wading into the current,
Mud squishing between toes,
Strong hands support,
Take hold while gravity pulls,
Down,
Into the waters.

Death.

A brief second,
An eternity,
In Sheol, till
The prophet’s strong,
Arms pull,
Up,
Giving life,
Freedom,
Resurrection.

Honking,
A wild goose lands,
A Holy Spirit,
Tapping her bill on his chest.
A sudden tug on the soul,
Feelings of joy,
Callings for justice,
Overflow,
In all hearts.
Abba,
Is pleased.
The goose,
She is gone.

The Son leaves (the) Jordan,
Dons his cloths,
And walks,
Into the wild,
Baptized.

the rich man and a cup of tea

Mark 10:17-22*

17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” 20 He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money[a] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

I have often heard these instructions from Jesus and the wider passage in which we find them and wondered if I should just sell it all and go follow Jesus (though I’ve never been sure what the following would look like in that case). This thought occurs regardless of whether one thinks this command is meant for all followers of Jesus or just a few. The question for me has always been, is this what Jesus is telling me to do? I have mulled it over and at this point I think it would actually be unhealthy for me to sell all my stuff, for if I did it would end up serving as a form of escapism and would not address my relationship with stuff at its core. So if a literal reading is not how I should be looking at this passage of scripture, then how should I or any of us read it? Perhaps we will see this story in a new light if we read it in tandem with a story about a cup of tea.

A Cup of Tea**

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era, received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!” “like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculation. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”

When reading the story of the rich man through the cup of tea we can see that it may be less about physical wealth and more about what we bring with us when we come to follow Jesus (be that physical, mental, spiritual, emotional). If we come to learn at the feet of Jesus already full, what can we gain? Christ tells Nicodemus in John 3 that one must be born again or anew, perhaps to empty our cup is to be born again. For the rich man an empty cup might look like sold possessions and an empty bank account. So what does it look like to approach Christ with an empty cup? What takes up space in your cup that keeps Jesus from filling it?

* (NRSV)

** (Source unknown to me)