Homily, The Speed of Poetry, The Speed of God
The Fourth Sunday after the Pentecost, Proper 6B, 2024
Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Tequesta, FL
The Rev. Derek M Larson, TSSF
Today’s Lectionary Readings:
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13
Psalm 20
2 Corinthians 5:6-10,[11-13],14-17
Mark 4:26-34
In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
“This virus is slowing us down to the speed of poetry.”
In the early days of the pandemic, one of my favorite poets, Billy Collins, began live-streaming on his Facebook page to share his poems (and the poems of others) with the world. They were simple and informal broadcasts, but for many of us, stuck in our homes for weeks at a time, tuning in each afternoon to hear his poetry was the highlight of our day. I can remember tuning in one day on the back porch of my in-laws’ rural Georgia home, my attention being captured by a spur of the moment phrase on Mr. Collin’s lips, “this virus is slowing us down to the speed of poetry.”
“What a clever phrase,” I thought. For all the chaos and suffering the pandemic caused, it did, for a time, cause us to slow down, which, of course, is a prerequisite for poetry. The art of poetry is the art of careful and creative observation, which can only be done by slowing down and paying attention. Paying attention, for example, to the way the water drips off the wing of a bird in the rain. Paying attention, for example, to the way a child grabs their father’s hand in the grocery store. Paying attention, for example, to the way our body tenses up or relaxes at the mere mention of an important memory.
Poetry teaches us that there is a lesson, or a beauty, or a secret hidden in every moment for those with eyes to see it. And so in the midst of the uncertainty of a new sickness around us, Billy Collins invited us into the world of poetry, a world slower than what we are often used to.
It occurs to me that parables play a similar role in the teachings of Jesus, and, in fact, at times could be seen as a type of poem. Take the first parable in today’s gospel reading for example:
The kingdom of God:
as if someone would scatter seed on the ground,
and would sleep and rise night and day,
while the seed quietly sprouts and grows—
revealing not its secrets.
First, from the earth is birthed
it’s stalk,
then, its head,
then, its grain.
And now, ripe for the sickle,
the harvest has come.
It’s poetry. It observes a simple and everyday image from nature; it clothes it with marvel and curiosity; and it leaves for us, hidden in its words like the seed in the ground, a lesson for us to harvest.
In this parable—this poem—the sower goes about his daily life, rising in the morning and laying down in the evening, while all the time a quiet, imperceptible, yet miraculous thing is happening all around him. The seed is growing. Indeed all his life and work is dependent upon this hidden thing that happens all around him. A thing he has very little control over. A thing which he could so easily take for granted. A thing that could be so easily be missed in the day-to-day if he wasn’t paying attention.
And Jesus says, that’s what the presence and work of God—the kingdom of God—is like in our lives. It permeates and undergirds our existence. We’re dependent upon it, and have little control over it. It’s happening in every moment all around us. But as we rush through our lives, keeping our minds busy with tasks and worries, rising in the morning and laying down in the evening, we can so easily miss the miraculous presence of God around us. We can so easily take for granted the work of God in our lives.
And thus the message of the parable, both through in its poetic form and in its content is to slow down and pay attention. Billy Collins invites us to slow down to the speed of poetry; Jesus invites us to slow down to the speed of nature, the speed of a seed growing—the speed of God.
And we’ve talked about slowing down before. Just a couple weeks ago we reflected on the importance of rest in our lives. But the message here is slightly different from that slowness. The slowing down of poetry and parable—the slowing down in the message of this parable—is not necessarily a slowing down of our work, after all the man rises each morning to go about his day. No, today we’re talking about the slowing down of our awareness—of our attention—so that we can notice slow and subtle things, even as we work.
The presence and the work of God is all around us. As our minds rush from one worry to another, from one to-do list to another, from one judgment to another, the presence of God permeates the world around us, like the powerful, yet subtle, beauty of the seed that grows in the ground. We may not notice it everyday, but our lives depend upon it. Will we slow our minds to pay attention?
Towards the end of our passage this morning it says that Jesus spoke in many such parables, as they were able to hear it. So the question is are we able to hear it? Are we able to hear and notice the presence of God not only in this parable but in the world around us when it is slow and subtle but pervasive? Jesus speaks in parables to increase our capacity to notice God in the world around us.
The work of God is as slow as poetry. As slow as nature. As slow, even, as watching grass grow. But it is in it’s slowness that we see its beauty and power. So pay attention, and slow down to the speed of poetry, the speed of nature, the speed of God. Amen.
Resources for Further Reflection
Livestream: The Poetry Broadcast by Billy Collins
Billy Collins continues to read poetry for the world on his Facebook page every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30pm. Join him at the link above.
Poem: “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins
This classic poem of Collins draws a distinction between approaching a poem as something to be solved or unlocked rather than poetry as something to be playfully and creatively experienced. I think we are often tempted to read parables the same way. Rather than playfully turning our attention to them, we become too academically rigid in our approach, expecting there to be some single correct answer or solution to the parable.
Book: Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
This book was written in the 16th century by a Carmelite Friar and is a classic. The book speaks about cultivating an awareness of God’s presence in every moment, even in (and especially in) the mundane.
Book: Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zin
This book, from outside the Christian tradition, teaches some of the basic concepts of mindfulness meditation and the art of paying attention. First published in 1994, it has become a consistent best-seller in the area of spiritual practice and living well.
Thoughts on Faith 