Genesis 25:21-34
Psalm 119:105-112
Romans 8:1-11
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Please go to http://charistis.blogspot.com/2008/03/receiving-word-as-spirit-and-life.html to find ways to receive the Word as spirit and life--for yourself. Then compare notes with others who are doing the same. One example follows.
July 5 prayer for receptivity
Spirit and life are always and only Your doing. Not even receiving Your Word as spirit and life is my doing. Make my heart the soft, strong place where receptivity can thrive, please God.
Genesis 25:21-34
"Isaac pleaded..." (vs. 21)
"the children struggled..." (vs. 22)
"'If all is well, why...?' So she went to inquire of the LORD." (vs. 22)
"Isaac loved Esau..." (vs. 28)
"Rebekah loved Jacob." (vs. 28)
"Esau was weary and said..., 'Please feed me...'" (vss. 29, 30)
"Jacob said, 'Sell me your birthright.'" (vs. 31)
"'...what is this birthright to me?'" (vs. 31)
What a mingling of desires.
Consider the desire each one felt, and what each did about his or her desire.
What made each desire what it was for each one in this family?
"And the LORD said to her:
'Two nations are in your womb,
Two peoples shall be separated from your body;
One people shall be stronger than the other,
And the older shall serve the younger.'" (vs. 23)
Consider how the Word of God affected and influenced the people and events in verses 21-34. How did each receive and act on that Word?
Ponder what it is to stay with God's Word, completely confident it will happen, without trying to make it happen?
Psalm 119:105-112
"Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path." (vs. 105)
Consider how this was so, and how it could have been more so, for Rebekah and the whole family.
"Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever,
For they are the rejoicing of my heart." (vs. 111)
Desire and a rejoicing heart relate to each other. Explore the path from desire to rejoicing and back to desire. What has that been like for you? What increases the desire and rejoicing cycle; what keeps both desire and rejoicing expanding?
Romans 8:1-11
"...in Christ Jesus...walk according to...the Spirit." (vs. 1)
"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit." (vs. 5)
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
"'But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit..." (vs. 23)
Understanding the word--being a good ground hearer--is a basic human capacity. It begins very early. In The Religious Potential of the Child, Sofia Cavalletti wrote:
We should not be afraid to approach the greatest themes with the youngest children... As long as we are able to stay on a plane of essentiality, the children will listen to us, enchanted, happy, and never tiring; as soon as we leave this level, their attention will abandon us. Maria Montessori gave as a rule for her teachers the words of Dante: "Le parole tue sian conte," "Let your words be counted." May our words be few, but great in weight, above all with the youngest children. It is necessary for us to concentrate on a few, essential themes, not only to respond to the children's needs, but also to give them something that is able to grow along with them; that is, a vital nucleus that can open itself to ever widening horizons...
What is good for children remains good for the child in each adult. If our attention abandons us, we can return to receiving what is essential; we can recognize and explore the vital nucleus. We can give our inner child what is essential, the vital nucleus that opens to ever widening horizons. Respecting our inner child will help us receive the Word as spirit and life, as a lamp and light, and the rejoicing of our hearts.
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