Romans 8:1-11
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 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 set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason, the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law--indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!" "Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."
The above is last week’s readings. Last week I was struggling in the rocks, weeds and thorns trying to find my way back to the good soil. You see I lost a family member. The first of my generation, and it hit us all hard. I needed to step away. I needed to be mad and angry at the circumstances that prevented his immediate family from being right there with him for the last two months. I needed to meditate my way back to Christ. This past Thursday while receiving an iRest Meditation Dyad (one on one session) I found my way back. Not to a place of evenness but to a place of understanding of life and peace (please read the italics parts of the above readings). Peace in Sanskrit is the word Shanti. Om is the universal everything or life. One popular mantra puts these together “Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.” Shanti is said three times once each for mind, body and spirit, a trinity like father, son and holy spirit. I sometimes equate these in my personal theology father = mind, son = body, holy spirit = spirit.
So if we translate this mantra in Sanskrit – Om Shanti Shanti Shanti it could mean peace to the mind, peace to the body, peace to the spirit. This is at the heart of the Roman’s reading above “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace…But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you” Even though my family member’s body is gone and there are the crashing waves of war and sadness still present in my heart, if we set our mind to his spirit he lives on, and this brings us peace.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
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