Week of Oct. 29, 2017
The Scripture ~ “Remember [God] how you brought a young vine out of Egypt, cleared out the brambles and the briers and planted your very own vineyard? You prepared the good earth, you planted her roots deep, the vineyard filled the land.” Psalm 80:8-9 The Message
The Spiritual Focus ~ Love is the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth. M. Scott Peck
The Breath Prayer ~ God is Love, Christ is Love, Spirit is Love …
The Devotion ~
Today we revisit the original scripture from the beginning of this devotional series on spirituality and religion, paying special attention to the closing phrase, “the vineyard filled the land.” Spiritual growth is both personal, born out of personal experiences and global, meaning for the sake of the world around us that God created and loves. The image of the abundant growth of a ‘vineyard that filled the land’ is a metaphor for spiritual growth. Spiritual growth isn’t a destination, it is an outcome when we ourselves realize the love of God and God’s infinite, persistent nature. Spiritual growth is witnessed when we emulated Christ in the world, extending love to one another as we have realized God’s love ourselves. This is the mission of Jesus, Jesus showed us God as love and showed us how to love one another….so that the “vineyard” would grow in love and have new life.
Sometimes spiritual landscaping is painful, growing spiritual roots is challenging, accepting the transitions of growth can be downright frightening but when we trust God and participate in the process, we grow. We grow in love for God, self and each other, and the growth can not be stopped because it is God’s will that we grow in loving relationship.
Vineyards are particularly beautiful this time of year. The color, the scents, the processing of new wine, growth and new life is everywhere. Maybe that is one reason the fires in Northern California were particularly devastating. While however devastating, there are wineries still open and welcoming guests. There are wineries that are open helping other wineries that were destroyed or damaged by fire. And out of the burnt out rubble, new growth, new life can already be seen and is being nurtured and guided into a new vineyard.
Such as it is with spiritual growth, so it is with growing our yoga and faith practice. The perfect pose is not the destination. The destination is to be aware of God’s promised presence. The practices of breath, movement, balance and rest all draw us closer to being aware of the sacred space of God’s love and prepare us to grow spiritually and to be a part of the vineyard.
