The Lorax
In the context of the Berkeley Tree-sitters my sister, Meghan, just reminded me of The Lorax by Dr Seuss who speaks "for the trees, I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues..." https://bdwc.wikispaces.com/message/view/Progress/4793405 The Lorax has been connected with activism many times before but I haven't seen it connected with the UC protest yet.
E'beth
On another note, the big sister, Miriam, of an earliest friend, Elizabeth, from way back in my childhood just made contact because I attempted to connect with her Mom, Leta, through Facebook. Very psyched about that.I'm going to read at Epworth this Sunday
Various other versions are standard but I may use the New Oxford Study Bible (below) for the "approved" first reading this Sunday and then do my own storytelling version of the same scripture for the second reading.
Matthew 13:1-9 The Parable of the Sower
Listen to this passageView commentary related to this passage
The New Oxford Annotated Bible (NRSV w Apocrypha)
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!
here is my version of the story... :-)
Jesus spent a lot of time walking around and talking to everyone he met about what it would be like to live in a world where people are in love with God and each other. Sometimes he argued with people who wanted to argue, and told stories people knew well but in new ways and with questions in them to make people listen and think at the same time. If you listen carefully, you can hear how this is a story...about story telling.
One sabbath, when absolutely everybody was observing the law to take a rest from work, Jesus and his friends started (what would be a really long day) in a field picking grain for their breakfast. When the people who had serious doubts about Jesus gave him a really hard time about that, he said straight out that he was more important than the law. This made them really angry because the law was almost the most important thing in the world to them.
Then he went straight to City Hall, in front of everybody, and did the "work" of curing a man's withered hand, and argued with them even more. All this made them so upset they talked privately about having him killed. Jesus made it out of there but crowds of people followed him. He cured all of them too, but then asked them to keep all this a secret, and as the day went on he kept walking, curing people who needed it, arguing with angry people, and ended up at a friend's house next to the Sea of Galilee. He even refused to speak to his mother and brothers who were trying to get a word about all this with him in private. After a while he went out of the house and down to the sea shore {point toward the altar}, where so many people swarmed around that he got into a boat and told them stories from there.
"Listen! A farmer went out to plant. And as she sowed {demonstrate casting seeds}, some seeds fell where people walk a lot so the ground was packed hard {center aisle}. Birds came and ate every seed. Other seeds fell on rocky ground {pews} where their roots couldn't reach the good soil and, though they grew quickly, when the sun came up they dried up and died. Other seeds fell into the thorny weeds which grew up and smothered them.
Other seeds fell into good soil {altar area} and yielded tons of grain, some making even a hundred more plants for every seed, some sixty, some thirty.
Anyone with ears can not only hear what I say but also can listen to what the story means!
Labels: daily
| posted by Unknown @ 7/10/2008 06:15:00 PM
