Presence

God, You are nearer than I dare believe, closer than my own breath. I am blessed by Your Intimate Nearness, and I need not fear.

Freedom

I need to close out the noise, to rise above the noise:
the noise that interrupts, that separates,
the noise that isolates.
I need to listen to God again, in stillness and quiet.

Consciousness

Conscious of Your presence, Lord,
I look over my recent past.
Let me be honest with myself about how I’ve been
and what I’ve done,
because I know You love truth in the heart
and accept me just as I am.

The Word of God

²⁴He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field, ²⁵but while everybody was asleep an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and then went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. ²⁷And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ ²⁸He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹But he replied, ‘No, for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both of them grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”

Inspiration

One seldom finds oneself playing on a perfect pitch, but we may gain insights and learn something of your methods, Lord, if we keep our eyes firmly on the Master homesteader and how he instructed his servants to go about their crop planting. His advice to them was to keep their eye on the task at hand. Don’t get distracted or disenchanted.  

Conversation

On reflecting on today’s Gospel, is there anything I believe God wants me to hear or know at this time? What truth does He want to speak into my life today?

Conclusion

I thank God for these few moments we have spent alone together and for any insights I may have been given concerning the text.

Amen