Jesus said our lives could be like either of two plants: one desolate and one thriving.

Thursday, 2/5/15

Our first reading, thinking of one who trusts entirely in Lord, compares him or her to a tree that stretches out its roots to water. Its leaves remain green. But, thinking one  who does not put trust in God, the reading compares such a one to a barren desert bush in a lava waste, a salt and empty earth.

One day, I was thinking to illustrate this Sunday’s homily with two plants that resembled the ones in Our Lord’s parable. I stopped at that nursery on Herschel where a young worker approached me, asking what I needed.

When I said “I don’t know if you can help me,” he answered, “I know every plant here. What can I do for you?”

I told him I needed two quite disparate plants to illustrate a homily, and he said, “I’d better go get the boss.”

But for mow staying with Our Lord’s parable, one who can avoid the depths of despair only with loans from friends and pills from the druggist,  is like a barren bush in a lava waste; while one with a clear conscience and a secret line to God is like a thriving bush planted near living water