Dear St. Mary’s,

This week's Godly Play lesson is The Parable of the Good Shepherd.

I wanted to share something that came up for me during my retreat that I hope is also helpful for you.
This is from Thomas Merton’s Dialogues with Silence:

“Our Eden is the heart of Christ.
Let grace come, Jesus.
Your name is on my heart.
Your Holy Name is on the tower of my heart.
Let grace come and let this world pass away,
Jesus, You Who are living in my exhausted heart.”

I don’t know the last time I resonated with a single line of writing so much as “my exhausted heart.”
I wonder if your heart has ever been exhausted?

The Parable of the Good Shepherd reminds us that the ordinary shepherd lets the sheep scatter, but the Good Shepherd leads them to the green grass, to the cool clear water, and even through the dangerous places. And, if one sheep is lost, the Good Shepherd goes back and finds the tired, weary sheep, puts it on his shoulders, and carries it home. But surely that becomes tiring work, and I wonder if the Good Shepherd's own heart has ever been exhausted?

The gospel reading the day I read the Merton quote happened to be about Jesus trying to get away and rest from the crowds. People figured out where he was going and they got there first. The story says that Jesus’s heart was “moved with compassion” because the people were like sheep without a shepherd. And so he sat with them and taught them.

The good shepherd understands our exhaustion and our weary hearts (even Jesus needed rest) but he never wearies of us.
The good shepherd brings his sheep to the green grass—to his compassionate heart.

I wonder where the Good Shepherd is leading you today?
To compassion? To grace? Maybe to simply slow down and take a deep breath.
May you find rest in the Eden of the heart of Christ.

Peace,

Flo

Dear St. Mary’s,

This week’s Godly Play lesson is The Parable of the Great Pearl.

I love this parable so much because of how dynamic it becomes when considering all of the different perspectives: Is the pearl the Kingdom? Is the pearl a person? Are we giving up everything for the pearl or is heaven giving up everything for us? Or can it be some of all of that? I wonder if it could be something else, too? And what would happen if we saw ourselves as precious as the pearl that One would give everything up for? I wonder if we would be much more willing to give of ourselves for each other?

In Life of the Beloved, Henri Nouwen talks about the idea of being blessed—not in the hashtag way that the word has been co-opted to mean: “everything is working out for me,” but the truth that God is always telling us, “You are my beloved Child, on you my favor rests.” Our belovedness is our blessing. It can be hard to accept and see in ourselves, but once we do, it changes everything about how we see the Kingdom and each other.

Nouwen also writes, "I must tell you that claiming your own blessedness always leads to a deep desire to bless others. The characteristic of the blessed ones is that, wherever they go, they always speak words of blessing. It is remarkable how easy it is to bless others, to speak good things to and about them, to call forth their beauty and truth, when you yourself are in touch with your own blessedness. The blessed one always blesses."

I love how The Parable of the Great Pearl helps me recognize and receive my own blessing of belovedness and how this leads to greater compassion, empathy, and love for those around me. I hope it does the same for you. May we all seek and find the pearl in ourselves and in each other.

Peace,

Flo