Seed Bearers

I saw these pods hanging from a tree on a walk the other day.  They were so translucent in the sunlight that you could see the seeds through the outer skin.  It was mesmerizing.  

It got me thinking of seeds...

Seeds come at the beginning of things.  They need to fall into the ground and die for life to happen.  But they also come at the end of things.  When the tree is about to finish its cycle and sleep for the winter.  It must release them.  

If we are baptized as infants, our "seeds" are planted for us.  Our parents put our fallen human nature in the "ground" and it comes forth as a new plant in the Kingdom of God.  Their parenting and sacrifice water us, help us to grow straight, and show us how to produce fruit.  But once we are at the fruit stage, we must begin to choose for ourselves when and if the seeds will fall to the ground.  It is up to us to let our seeds go. No one can do this for us now.  And that is rather frightening.

We hold so many seeds tightly  inside ourselves:  our faults, our sins, our accomplishments, our talents, our fears.  They need to fall to the earth and die. All these things that we think make us who we are.   Those pods need to open and let them out.  It is prayer that does it.  It is letting God loosen the pods with confession, meditation, communion.  We are so afraid to be scattered to the wind, to have our accomplishments perhaps trampled in the dirt of misunderstandings, to have our sins in full view, to find out how small we really are and how big our vocation to bring Christ to others is.  We are afraid to be scattered!! 

But Jesus seems to be so gently insistent to our fearful souls.  He repeats over and over in our hearts: "Unless, unless, unless....the seeds fall to the earth and die.......and we seem to insist back, "Isn't there another way?"  And we know there is not.......

We are seed bearers for others, we must be scattered that others may be fed with our fruit, our seeds must fall and be planted for others to find refuge in.  To be a seed bearer.  THIS is who we are.  

Once in awhile, when we have the grace, we DO let the pod open and the seeds fall. They fall into the hands of Jesus.  And he scatters us where He will.  We learn to trust that He knows where to plant us best and we learn to choose to let other seeds go.  

And we must not be afraid to be sown.