We have played among the wild flowers and laughed in delight. We have touched their softness and smiled at their allure. We feel the beauty of their pure being. “Which of you by worrying can add a moment to your lifespan?” “Consider the lilies of the field: They do not labor nor do they spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. As God cares so wonderfully for the grasses of the field, which bloom today and are gone tomorrow, so God cares so much more for you.”
We are, like flowers, an array of delight and grace, zestfully alive and beautiful in all our many colors. We are sandy, white, honey, cognac, red, ruddy, and brown. We are olive, pink, yellow, golden, black, bronzed, and rosy. We are Native standing together in tears and in strength. We are Syrian fleeing war and its terror yet filled with hope. We are Bangladeshi risking life and limb for the truth. We are, in truth and in story, white German nuns fleeing oppression. We are Black African American laborers free and generous with our love and skills. We are olive Mexican laborers and business owners living and working as family. We are ruddy Irish priests eventually humbled by the gifts and beauty of each lily we finally let touch our lives. We are all, in truth and in Oscar story, a history of color, the history of many colors each to be celebrated. We are The Lilies of the Field loved by God. We are learning, more and more each day, to love each other. We are as lilies of the field, wild and strong.
“Live! and have your blooming in the noise of the whirlwind. … know the whirlwind is our commonwealth. … Live and go out. … The time cracks into furious flower. … Conduct your blooming in the noise and whip of the whirlwind.” (Second Sermon from the Warpland – Gwendolyn Brooks
Prayer: Spirit, help us to remember, Beauty will save the world.
Question: Who are the people and what are the colors I have a difficult time loving?
February 26, 2017 Matthew 6:24-34 Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time