JERUSALEM CROSS GARDENING...OF SOIL AND SOUL: Radiance of Son and Sunflower

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Radiance of Son and Sunflower

Weekly Readings.............................................Daily Reading

Autumn Leaf Fe

stival comes to our town (Leavenworth, WA) the weekend of September 26. Plenty of visitors will attend the annual parade on Saturday and enjoy the fall colors of our beautiful valley. A buzz of visiting bands, parade floats and animals will fill the streets of our town. It is always a joyous occasion for the town and an opportunity for th

e people of God to give thanks for another harvest year.

Which is what we do! We will gather on the Sunday for our annual Autumn Leaf Harvest Sunday. Thanks will be given to God the Creator for the gift of a good earth which gives us all we need to live healthy lives.

In preparation I have been on a "pilgrimage" to members' gardens this year. And I have witnessed how many green thumbs there are amongst us. Dawn Darling's garden featured some of the tallest and largest sunflowers I have ever seen. There is nothing quite so celebratory and bright as the radiance of a sunflower on a sunny day. Which reminds me of the transformation worked in us by Christ Jesus as we grow in Him, something Jerusalem Cross Gardening of soul is all about. Through a disciplined turning to grace, we can become that "light on a hill," no longer "hidden under a bushel," that points to a festival and purposeful life because it is grounded and rooted in Him who is the Light of the world.

Come join us this year at the sixth annual Autumn Leaf Harvest Sunday. Bring produce from your garden as your own thanksgiving offering to decorate the church.
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Community United Methodist Sacred Space (prayers and journal entries can be offered here)
Learn more about the Way of Christ (methods of prayer and take a spiritual types test)

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About Jerusalem Cross Gardening

In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.

(James 1: 21. The Message)

Jerusalem Cross Gardening...of Soil and Soul

...of Soil (Pleasure)

Cilantro. Basil. Mint. Garlic. Planted in the four little crosses of my raised-bed in my potager garden, these herbs will add flavor to family dishes - think picante sauce, pesto and hummus - bringing taste and pleasure to our meals.

...and of Soul (Purpose)

But there is more. The same four little crosses reminds us of the four acts that deepen faith - acts of devotion, worship, compassion and justice - flavoring the pleasures of life with divine intention.

Just as the herbs flavor our meals, regular engagement of the four acts help flavor our witness to the way of Christ in the world, bringing purpose (Bread of Heaven) to pleasure (bread of the earth) and a holy spice to lives God uses to "landscape" the world.

Jerusalem-Cross-Gardening for Small Groups:

To spice up your life, consider joining a weekly small group. Meet regularly with friends for contemplation, reading scripture, and fellowship. Allow the Word to landscape your life. Share how you have "witnessed to Jesus Christ in the world through the acts of devotion, worship, compassion and justice under the guidance of the Holy Spirit" each week as a way of mutually encouraging one another in your spiritual walk.

We're all invited to the divine dance. Join the journey. Jerusalem-Cross-Gardening-of-soil-and-soul invites us onto the "Trinity-mapped" playground of God where Christ plays in creation (Father), history (Jesus) and community (Holy Spirit). (Eugene Peterson).