Following Pentecost, the liturgical calendar moves us into Ordinary Time: an ordered sequence of weeks between the major feast days of the Christian year which allow Christian communities to reflect on the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, to embody the mission of Jesus, and to grow in our discipleship.

JULY: Grounding

As the grey weariness of winter starts to settle within us, July’s readings call us gently into the kin(g)dom life of sharing burdens, cultivating “good” ground, practising neighbourly care, and trusting in God’s slow and subtle transformation.

Genesis 25:19-34; Psalm 119:105-112; Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9,18-23

The texts invite us to examine “the ground of our being:”

• instead of blessing, the legacy of Isaac and Rebekah’s favouritism seems to be rivalry, scarcity, and contest over inheritance;
• Psalm 119 holds God’s Word as a lamp in the real and uneven terrain of life; guidance for feet that search to walk in a particular way;
• Paul proclaims liberation from condemnation and a new way of living “in the Spirit” so that we are no longer captive to past compulsions;
• and Jesus’ parable of the sower invites a communal examination of what hardens the ground? What chokes growth? What gets trampled? What helps the fragile take root?

A broad reading of these texts invites consideration of the social and material conditions of the overworked, traumatised, indebted, and marginalised who are often expected to be endlessly “receptive” while enduring inequity.

As God scatters grace with startling generosity, we are challenged to cultivate rhythms that soften what is hardened and clear what chokes life.

PrayerPoem

Sower of seeds and keeper of seasons,
we are not always good ground.
Some parts of us are packed hard by hurry and hurt.
Some parts are crowded with thorns
— anxiety, debt, resentment, the constant buzzing of not-enough.

Yet you keep scattering grace with a generosity that startles.
So teach us, Spirit:
formation is not grit and grind;
it is tending.

Give us lamps for the path
your word for real feet on real roads –
especially when our stories feel
like Jacob and Esau’s scrapping for blessing,
afraid there won’t be enough love to go around.

Free us from condemnation.
Train our attention toward life.
Help us notice what hardens and what softens,
what chokes and what nourishes.

Make our church a place where soil is cared for:
just structures, patient practices, truth spoken without crushing.

Teach us to compost our failures into wisdom.
And when your seed takes root,
let it become food that is shared
so the most burdened among us find room to grow.

Downloadable handout

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