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