A few days ago, while searching for the last green beans on the vines in our garden, the importance of the act of harvesting occurred to me. Some of the older beans were large and would not be as delicious to eat. They had missed being picked earlier because they were hidden among the leaves of the vine. Other beans were young and still very small. But as a “killing frost” was expected any day, I harvested the young ones as well. While I was contemplating my little cup of beans, I became aware that each bean carried the seeds for a future blossoming vine. When I came in from the garden, I looked up the meaning of “harvest” and “harvesting.” According to my internet search, the harvest is “the time when you reap what you sow” or “claim the consequences of an effort or activity.” I recalled my experience of last year’s failed bean crop, because the seeds I planted were too old to germinate in the soil. I discovered, the hard way, the importance of live seeds for the promise of a fruitful harvest.

On the shelf in my study, I found a copy of Thomas Merton’s book Seeds of Destruction.  Published half a century ago in 1964, the seeds deadly to peace in our world remain the same: the insatiable drive for power, prestige and possessions throughout our world. James O’Dea in his book Cultivating Peace (2012) challenges those of us seeking to be peace makers to cultivate compassion in our own lives, while recognizing that “peace work is not about winning…it is about mastering one’s need to be the winner.”

Where can we find live seeds of hope for a world in which peace is possible? What old seeds do we need to discard, old ways of thinking, feeling and responding that we need to let go of? What new live seeds of hope do we need to plant lest we be caught in despair?