AMC Spirituality: Rooted in the Ground of Our Being

Rooted in the Ground of Our Being

BY GINNY SCHAEFFER

God is the ground of our being. —Paul Tillich

Even though I grew up in a rural, farming area and, to this day, love flowers blooming in my yard, I am not much of a gardener. I do know that plants can be picky about the type of soil in which they can grow. Sometimes it is the ph level. Other times it is the composition—is it sandy and does it drain well, or does it tend to stay moist or even wet? It is also about location, location, location—full sun, partial sun or shade can determine a plant’s health. Plants want to grow, but they need what they need to do so.

Jesus knew this, too. He saw the farmers around him trying to feed their families and squeak out something of a living by what they could grow. He often used stories about seeds, planting, weeds and harvesting to teach lessons about God’s ultimate reality. One such story is about a farmer casting out seed on his fields. Some of it fell on hard ground and was immediately devoured by birds. Some of the seed fell on gravel and sprouted but was not able to put down roots and withered away under the sun’s heat. Some fell in the weeds and were choked back. Finally, some seeds fell on good earth and did what seeds are supposed to do, and produced a great harvest for the farmer. (Mt 13:3-9)

I can almost imagine that ah-hah moment when Jesus first realized these lessons that he later shared with us, lessons about the condition of our hearts and how receptive and fertile the soil of our hearts might be.

I know, for myself, there are places in my heart that have been hardened by the wounds I have experienced. They are dried out and depleted by the searing heat of the pain and suffering caused by these wounds. What has hardened your heart?

There’s another plot of ground within my heart that is full of rocks and stones made up of core beliefs about myself and others that prevent the deep roots from developing. Some of my personal stones are perfectionism, procrastination and avoidance of conflict, just to name a few. How would you name yours?

Then there are the weeds that grow up with the young plants, vying for the same sun and nutrients needed to grow. For some reason, it seems that the weeds always win this battle. Worry, anxiety and fear are the weeds that grow and spread throughout my heart and look and sound a little bit like: What if this or that happens? What if I don’t have enough? What if I fail or disappoint? What if I’m not enough? What about you? What do the weeds in your heart look and sound like? Finally, yes finally, there is soil within my heart, within all of our hearts, that is free of rocks, stones and weeds, soil that is moist, open, soft and full of what is needed to allow what is planted to grow and

bear fruit.

Paul Tillich, a 20th century theologian, tells us that the Creator of the cosmos is “… the ground of our being.” It is the essence of the Divine in our hearts that receives, nurtures and allows the seeds of our lives to grow.

There is nothing other-worldly about these seeds. They are the innate gifts, talents and passions with which we are born. They are the seeds of love and life, compassion, kindness, acceptance and understanding. They are the seeds that make us more fully human by allowing the Divine within us to bear fruit.

But what of the hardened, stone and weed infested ground in our hearts? Do we just forget it and chalk it all up as a loss?

Of course not. Any farmer or gardener worth their salt knows that earth can be reclaimed and restored to

There is nothing other-worldly about these seeds. They are the innate gifts, talents and passions with which we are born. They are the seeds of love and life, compassion, kindness, acceptance and understanding. They are the seeds that make us more fully human by allowing the Divine within us to bear fruit.

its life-giving essence. It needs attention—to be cared for and nurtured. Sometimes it needs to rest. Other times it needs to be turned over, watered and nutrients restored.

We do this with our hearts by cooperating with its Creator. We stay connected to the One in whom “...we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28) through the usual practices of prayer, meditation, reflection, ritual and reading sacred texts.

But wait, there’s more. In Philippians 4:8, St. Paul encourages us to fill our minds, and thus our hearts, with what is true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious— the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly, things to praise, not things to curse. When we focus on these things, we eventually discover that there is not as much room for rocks and stones and weeds, and that our hardened hearts once again become soft, receptive and full of what is needed to bear fruit to share with the world.

Upcoming AMC Spirituality Events:

Prayer in the Spirit of Taizé: Second Monday of the month 7:00 pm Ursuline Motherhouse Chapel 3115 Lexington Road Sept. 12, Oct. 10, Nov. 14 and Dec. 12

Sabbath Moments: Saturdays, 10 am–12 pm Ursuline Motherhouse 3115 Lexington Road Sept. 10, Oct. 8, Nov. 12, Dec. 10

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