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Scripture Text (NRSV)
Matthew 13:24-30,36-43
13:24 He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared
to someone who sowed good seed in his field;
13:25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat,
and then went away.
13:26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.
13:27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow
good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?'
13:28 He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' The slaves said to him, 'Then do you want
us to go and gather them?'
13:29 But he replied, 'No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along
with them.
13:30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell
the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the
wheat into my barn.'"
13:36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached
him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field."
13:37 He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;
13:38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the
weeds are the children of the evil one,
13:39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and
the reapers are angels.
13:40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end
of the age.
13:41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all
causes of sin and all evildoers,
13:42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
13:43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let
anyone with ears listen!
Comments:
Rick in Canada, eh?
Hi all.
Ah, Matthew's love of apocalyptic imagery. The
problem is that our love of being
"right," of being "insiders,"
of being "safe," gets in the way of our
reading of Matthew, so what we hear just might not
even be there.
This is a parable about waiting, about God's
incredible patience, about not rushing to snap
judgements, about letting God decide who's
"in," and learning to recognize that we
don't usually recognize who that is.
But we are so IM-patient, so bad at waiting, so
awful at letting God be God, that we can't hear
the good news (in fact, we refuse to listen to
it), and actually WANT to rush to the bad news of
destruction, revenge and punishment.
Which, of course, ends in a party in which we tell
ourselves how fortunate or wise or
"blessed" we were to figure out how to
be on the inside, and isn't it great how we aren't
like "those people."
Pardon my cynicism, but I just read yet another
article about "the church's" reaction to
Eugene Peterson, and his reaction to that
reaction, and I'm just really aware of the weeds
right now.
And when all one can see is weeds, it's pretty
difficult to be patient....
latts
Rick in Canada: Good to hear from you again. I
have been fighting Cancer tumor for seven month
and thought I was winning with all the prayers
storming heaven. 18 infusions reduced to cancer
from 21.5 cm long to 7, and City of Hope cut it
out. Now I'm cancer free but to keep it from
coming back I had four infusions of two immune
therapy, and then I got sicker when my immune
system cells attacked the thyroid. I was falling
asleep all the time, no energy, I thought the
cancer had come back, but no, the system therapy
was working too well. So my scheduled infusion
was put off. So I read your comments with great
pleasure. Rev. Smith in Lacy. Good comments.
Mark in Spokane: I don't believe we have met.
Thanks for your contribution.
hustpean
'for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the
wheat along with them.' I have been drawn to this
line.
We ask ourselves why God doesn't 'do something'
when bad things are happening, why 'bad people'
seem to get away with things. Get those weeds now,
and if you get a few plants along with them, a
little collateral damage is allowed.
But God loves us all, and wants all of us to
turn/return to him.
As much as it frustrates me when bad things happen
(specially when they happen to me) God wants us to
wait - we just might be getting the wheat - wait
for it to develop. Early thoughts.
rev smith Lacey IA
The children of the evil one. It would be easy for
us to assume that the children of the evil one are
simply those who are not saved. What if the
children of the evil one includes cancer, war,
pestilence, drought, or any number of those things
in our lives we ask God to rid us of now?
As I remember this lesson from before I recall
that the weeds are tares and not just any weeds
but weeds that strongly resemble the good wheat.
It is only after the heads of grain are fully
developed that they can be distinguished with
ease.
As a kid we spent many hours in the garden pulling
weeds. We began learning to distinguish the good
plants from the weeds by waiting until the weeds
were big enough to easily tell the difference.
Eventually we learned to distinguish the weeds
from the good plants as soon as they sprouted, but
we still made mistakes.
I remember one year I pulled half a row of
radishes before someone stopped me. If I had
waited until the right time I would have been able
to tell the difference.
Mark In Spokane
I Love both these ideas. That we are all too
often reluctant ( or flat out refuse) to grow
anywhere but in our safe sanitary church walls or
communities. I love that there is an assumption
that the "good" seeds will continue to
grow and ultimately bring about something to
harvest even in the midst of weeds!
Also love the idea that its hard to tell the weeds
from the crop until they bloom. I have seen time
after time the church itself sow seeds that they
thought were crops only to find out that as they
bloom they were in fact not what God called us to
harvest!
Older Comments:
When I was in college, my church did a
production of "Godspell" (yes, I know this
dates me!) During the intermission, I would
come out on stage and tell this parable.
"Judgment belongs to God," I would say, "so
it's not up to us to get rid of the weeds in
our little garden." I would start to walk off,
then stop and say, "Besides, if we get rid of
the weeds, we will miss something even more
important in the will of God -- conversion,
for God can turn the weeds into wheat!"
OLAS
Several years ago I was in a pastoral support
group which included a rabbi. For some reason
we got to discussing Jesus's use of parables
and this particular story came up. The rabbi
told us that there is a similar parable told
by one of the rabbis recorded in the Talmud
and that there is a midrashic gloss on the
story in which, during the next planting
season, the Master's steward stays up at night
to see who comes and sows the bad seed. To his
surprise, it is the Master, walking in his
sleep as if a dead man! The rabbinic use of
the tale, thus, is to focus attention on how
we have to accept at least some responsibility
for both the good and the bad that occurs in
our lives.
Blessings, Eric in KS
I get so tired of people telling me how bad
the world has gotten. They seem to miss the
point of this story- the wheat and the tares
are growing up together!
The world is as bad as it ever was but because
of Christ and the ongoing work of reclamation
of creation the world is also better than it
has ever been since the fall.
We live in days of great potential -to grow up
produce good fruit to witness the
transformation of the tares into wheat- to see
the kingdom grow and flourish- God will do the
sorting out in his time- and it is good that
God does the sorting not us because we are
often times sorry horticulturalists unable to
distinguish between weed and wheat.
blessings, Malcolm in TX
In our Catholic lectionary we include the part
that is skipped here about yeast added to
wheat and how it changes the flour. I think of
that crazy Lucy story where Lucy is baking
bread and doesn't know what she is doing and
adds too much yeast. It is all over the place.
A little yeast of God changes even the hardest
heart and transforms us to be more like Jesus.
I'm tempted to skip all the fire part and just
talk about the yeast and how it changes things
in our lives. priest in Iowa
Another aspect of this passage that strikes me
is how quickly we judge something (or someone)
to be a weed. My favorite definition of a weed
is "anything a farmer doesn't want at
harvest." Corn is a weed in a soybean field!
How quickly do we judge ourselves as being
worthy of being "harvested" while others are
judged to be weeds! And if we take Paul
seriously, aren't we all weeds/sinners?
I recall, but can't put my hands on (yet) a
poem about someone getting to heaven and being
surprised at who was there -- and then
discovering that they were more surprised that
he was there! It seems to point out again that
it is not up to us to decide who is a weed and
who isn't. Our sin is that we are still
"chewing on the apple" -- trying to decide
good and evil apart from God, and we know how
that turned out for Adam and Eve!
OLAS
My internet search didn't take long! Here is
that poem -- OLAS
I dreamed of death the other night, And
Heaven's gate swung wide, An Angel came with
halo bright To usher me inside.
And there! To my astonishment Stood folks I'd
judged and labeled As "quite unfit", "of
little worth" And "spiritually disabled."
Indignant words rose to my lips, But never
were set free. For every face showed stunned
surprise -- Not one expected ME!
~~ author unknown
Some interesting posting three years ago! How
do we allow God to change us when we are
confronted with nasty life-stranging weeds?
Paula in FL
The Lutheran in me sees each individual
Christian as both wheat and weed. All too
often we look and see the "weeds" within
others but fail to identify our own "weediness."
This is especially true in my small
congregation....there are a few members who
congratulate themselves for being such
wonderful Christians. And of course, those
same few are pretty quick to point out the
faults in those who are less involved.
Wheat and weed = saint and sinner.
VB in PA
This parable begs us to look past the church
to the world. We sometimes get so locked up
inside our stained glass worlds that we think
God can not be outside. That out there are
weeds only. The kingdom is more that the
church. How do we convey this to those in the
pews? csue in tx
As i read these posts and the parable, i would
like to offer a contextual point. I come from
a city, never had a garden and never want one.
just the other day, the trustee chair wanted
to rip weeds out of the flowers around the
church office. i couldn't even tell what he
was talking about. sometimes, we don't even
see the weeds, and sometimes we don't even see
the flowers.
also, would anyone have any ideas about this
text relating to the psalm or the OT? Jen in
PA
There is a recurring scene in "Shawshank
Redemption" in the Warden's office where the
placque with the words, "Judgement Cometh
Soon" hanging there is scanned. When he
realizes that he has been trapped in his own
web of deception, he glances up at the words
that have obviously come home to him. So, it
is for all of us when we cry out for God to
judge and punish sinners. TN Mack
Jen in PA, your neighbor in Ohio,Pastor Mary
in OH , makes a good point on the OT site
about Jacob the Liar getting a holy dream. It
is one of the ironies that Jacob, the second
born received the birth right of his father
and became the father of Israel by deceit. God
did not rip Jacob up by the roots and cast him
into the fire but rather allowed Jacob to be
fruitful and father the people of God.
This may be a stretch but I think that this
could be developed into something good. Let us
know what happens. Deke in TX – Pace e Bene
Jen, This from the last cycle from Deke of the
North - Deke in TX.
14 Jul 1999 05:14:29 Thank you, the faithful
few that give the O.T. some consideration each
week. I have been leading my congregation on
the journey with Abe/Sarah et al and it is
very challenging yet worthwhile to inform them
of the history of their faith. I try also to
connect the O.T. and Gospel readings if and
wherever possible. This week's gospel is a
parable of the grace of God, and find Jacob's
story a wonderful example of God's patience
with Jacob. I think that Jacob too is a good
example of how "goodness" and "evil"/ wheat
and tares can be within the same person. As
contrasted to always looking at the situation
as some people being good and others bad. I
have not been too kind to Jacob in my
description of him so far, so I will have to
"repent" somewhat about too judgemental, too
quickly in my assessment of good and evil.
Maybe I should learn to leave that to God,
especially when God tends to see things in
people that I don't.
As for the creation of sacred places, I tend
to think that they must be wherever God is.
Therefore, aren't all places sacred. I am fond
of Elizabeth Barret Brownings poem: (excuse my
poor memory) The whole world is a afire with
God And burning bush aflame. Those who see
take off their shoes The rest sit round and
pluck blackberries.
I realize this "poem" works better with Moses'
story, but isn't it true of Jacob/us? It is up
to us to recognize God's presence in whatever
situation we would find ourselves. I believe
it was Bonhoeffer who defined the will of God
in terms that it is God's will to be present
with us in all circumstances. Deke of the
North
Deke of the North: You are forgiven your "poor
memory" -- just as help, here's the correct
version of EBB's poem (You came close):
Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
And only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.
(From <Aurora Leigh. Book vii.>)
Bessings, Eric in KS
Jen: I see the connection 'twixt this Gospel
and the Genesis lesson (and related psalm) in
Jesus' explanation that "the field is the
world" (v. 38). The lesson could be the
omnipresence of God (which the Psalm adresses)
as opposed to God's confinement to "holy
places" as Jacob imagines. <But I like Deke in
TX's idea about Jacob as a weed allowed to
grow and bear fruit, too.>
Blessings, Eric in KS
Tommy in Tx: Forgive me for not responding to
your question on stealing birthrights last
week. Right now, my access to the web is
limited, so I didn’t read your posting until
7/16 (I’m always curious to see responses to
my postings). My church is in the process of
buying its own computer, so soon, I hope, I’ll
be able to participate in discussions in a
more give & take manner. Ken in WV
An interesting comparison may be between the
Gospel and Epistle readings. The Romans
passage includes the theme of the entire
creation groaning, waiting for the redemption
to come, waiting for its freedom from decay.
The theme of waiting eschatologically for what
is to come. This seems to connect with the
weeds we aren't to "tare" out because in God's
time, the harvest will be what He planted it
to be. "In His Time" would also be a good
chorus to use in this regard.
Bob in VA
Deke in TX & in the North and Eric in KS,
Thank you all for your comments. they have
given me something to chew on. Jen in PA
Like last week's parable, we are given an
explanation. Someone once said that a good
story is like a good joke. If you have to
explain it, it's lost. Nonetheless, Matthew is
afraid we're not smart enough to figure out
Jesus' parables.
Or perhaps Matthew wants to change the parable
slightly to fit it into the events of his own
faith community -- a community that was
becoming increasingly disappointed that Jesus
still had not returned. At the same time,
there were those who spouted Christian
doctrine when it was to their benefit but
quickly retreated into silence when
persecution was likely. Matthew wants to say
to the faithful to keep hope and that
eventually these false Christians will receive
their punishment in due time.
When Jesus tells the parable, what is striking
is the patience of the farmer. Wait. Let the
weeds grow, then we'll separate them. It's as
if the farmer expects the weeds to become
wheat during this time of delay. Indeed, that
is possilbe in the kingdom of God. The
patience of hte farmer is striking. It is a
parable of hope. But when Matthew interprets
the parable, he completely ignores the
patience of hte farmer. It's all about the end
of times when those false Christians will get
their comeuppance. There's all that scary
stuff of hell and damnation. Maybe we need to
be patient with Matthew -- he's a weed full of
hatred for hypocrites. Let Matthew grow until
he can see the grace of God and so change from
weed to wheat. Leopards do change their spots
in the kingdom of God.
Karen from Ontario
Hey, You guys are so smart, I feel inadequate
this week, Like Praying and nothing coming for
a message for sunday. Thanks, Deke, for the
Compliment on OT post... I kep getting those
words Jacob the Liar/Jakob the Liar- like the
Robin Williams movie. A jewish man who lies
about having a radio to give people hope in
the ghetto the nazi have them in. Of Course,
Jakob gives his life, rather than tell the
others the truth no Radio!?!? Deceit yes, but
for a worthy cause. Kinda resembles Jacob
Isreal being used. Most preaching I have heard
in southern Appalachia on this is the
revelation-judgement tares,weeds being those
who dont accept Christ and Wheat the remnant
Christians, Church... I see deeper now, that
passage does have that meaning, alot of firey
old fashioned shoutin' preacher probably used
it that way. But, I just now got a deeper
meaning... like some of you posted weeds and
wheat in us... yes... We all still sin even
though we try as Christians to do our best. Do
what I hate as Apostle Paul says. I just got
an image of We,the Church, as the moment of
Christ returning for us, his bride. The
scriptures tell us we will all face the mercy
seat of judgement, and what isn't any good
will be burned up, and what is left is what is
good in sight of God and then the trophey's
and crown given...the we are escorted in to
the Lamb's supper (which by the way is way
better than Red Lobster or Olive garden!) and
we see the Lamb that was worthy to be slain
and we lay the crowns and trophey's at his
feet! WOW moment here...I just hope I have
enough wheat to have at least one trophy to
lay at Christ feet... I have an aunt who is
independent baptist she talks about those who
will get into heaven but have no trophy's, I
guess the backslider??? I know there will be
no tears in heaven---but would be sad regret
like let Christ down, with no trophy or crown
to lay down??? just some ramblings here....I
think I got a beginning on what to preach on
though now...work on it some more...Pastor
Mary In OHIO
what about that 'throwing into fire' stuff?
Did God really mean it? It seems to me that
this parable is parallel with Islamic thought
in that there will be a measuring out. In
other words, it seems to me that Jesus is
saying that good and bad will be separated.
As already mentioned, as human beings we are
both 'saint' and 'sinner'. How can we pray for
a God of justice. Aren't we all as bad as we
are good. If we point the finger at the weeds,
praying that God will deal with them harshly,
aren't we also condemning ourselves.
I remember in seminary asking if all people
will one day stand before God and give an
accounting of our lives. The professor was
hesitant to answer directly, but said that
Christ's death on the cross covered all sins.
There was nothing anyone could do to be cast
out.
But I pressed further and asked if a rapist,
who was never brought to justice in this
world, would he/she be accountable to God? The
professor continued to stand her ground and
say that Christ's death covered it all. What
about the woman/man who prayed for justice.
Did she lose out. Was she being ignored by
God? Was she a victim twice? And why not
simply live a life of sin if there is no
accountability?
My professor spoke to me the gospel. She said,
"that the rapist, when he or she died would
stand before God and the sin would be
revealed. But God's love and mercy would be so
great that God would teach him/her how to love
once again. The poor raped victim would also
be blessed by learning how to forgive. In the
end, the gospel of love and forgiveness would
be shown to all"
a new pastor on the Jersey Shore.
A Sunflower in the middle of a Thistle
field...
Here is one...
I had Earl's prayer service tonight... he was
89 years young...his Great-Grand daughter
wrote the following and even read it
tonight...
Ashley, a great grand-daughter of Earl who
died wrote these words in her diary the day he
died (Sunday)... she asked if it was OK to
read it tonight, she did and it was GREAT!
Here is what she said.... keep in mind...
she's 8 years old... the theology is pretty
good too, don't you think...
I was going to re-type for the Memorial
Service tomottow... decided, since I typed it
I might as well share it with you all.
Enjoy...
Here is what she said...
The Story about My Grandpa
by Ashley Age 8
My grandpa was a great grandpa - the thing is
he tried being that great grandpa. he watched
movies with me he had lunch with me but most
important thing is he loved me. I slept over
there I played there but now I can't do that
but what I can do is think about how we loved
each other. Every day I went to the hospital.
my mom cancled my chello lessons because I
wanted to be wth him. When the next baby is
born when it grows up I will ask it/ do you
know hwo my favorite person was it was grandpa
Earl. We were together on the 4th of July,
christmas, my Birthday, and the weeks and
weekends. When we went to grandma Lowla's
grave we put flowers on it and when I go to
yours I will do the same thing. Everyone loved
you so did I. The cat Bu-Bu (Buba) brought
your shirt with her now she nows you'r sprit
is with her. You loved church and I loved the
bible we were mostly the same and alike so
what I'm basicly trying to say is thank you
and good-bye.
Ashley Age 8 (I left her spelling just as she
wrote it out) ;?)
Good stuff of healing eh? Surely the presence
of the Lord was in "that" place tonight...
Blessings,
pulpitt in ND
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound that saved
a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now I'm
found; was blind, but now I see. It appears
that there was a plant that looked like wheat
called darnel and you couldn't tell it from
wheat until it heads out. Aren't we like that?
We all have a few tares (darnel) in us and God
waits patiently for us to head out, to see
what we will become, before He separates us?
Now that's Amazing Grace! Just pondering.
Harrell in Texas
A new pastor on the Jersey Shore writes about
a professor who stated “that Christ's death on
the cross covered all sins. There was nothing
anyone could do to be cast out.”
This statement is the beginning of
universalism and the “seed” for the
irrelevance of the Church. The purpose of the
church is to bear the message of salvation and
means of grace to a dying world. If Christ’s
death covers all, then there is no purpose in
call to repentance or proclamation or prayers
for intervention because, “there’s nothing
anyone can do to be cast out.”
One could reject God and his Son. This has
always happened and always will. I know many
people who have had “near-death” experiences.
They pretend they are going to change
direction in their lives, but time soon
reveals they don’t mean it.
So, if one rejects God and Christ, what will
God do? Force himself on that individual?
Overpower that person? Take away their ability
for indivdual decsion? To do so would put God
into the same role a rapist assumes over a
victim. If God has to force one into
salvation, is it salvation?
Who cares? If we’re all going to be there
regardless what we do and how we live, we as
the church are to be the most pitied when we
speak of life and death, sin and grace. We are
bringing a dead message to a living world.
“They will call the foolish wise…”
Worried about the people we mislead…
Unsigned for now….
a new pastor on the Jersey Shore,
I don't believe your professor got it quite
right. Yes, the mercy of God can cover all
sins, but it doesn't if we refuse it. I'm not
sure how God will work after we die, but there
are several passages in the Bible that promise
punishment for the unrepentent sinner. We are
to be of the same mind as Jesus Christ, and
that does mean holding the gospel out to the
rapist (and the sinner in ourselves, too), in
this life most especially. But if that person
refuses, we can't claim certain salvation for
that person.
God can offer forgiveness beyond the grave. Of
that I am certain. Whether God will, is up to
God, and we (including your professor) can't
tie God's hands and say that God will
automatically forgive.
Michelle
Unsigned for now,
Be firm in your faith, you have made excellent
points in you posting.
Michelle
Michelle offered, "God can offer forgiveness
beyond the grave. Of that I am certain.
Whether God will, is up to God, and we
(including your professor) can't tie God's
hands and say that God will automatically
forgive."
I agree 100% but would add that we similarly
"cannot tie God's hands and say that God will
automatically [condemn]."
It isn't up to us! That's why when, as
frequently happens in Bible study, people will
put me on the spot with the "what happens
after we die -- what about Hitler" question my
response is almost always "I don't know. I
hope that forgiveness is available to Hitler
because that means it is available to a sinner
like me, too." That's all we have - hope - not
sure knowledge of what will happen between us
(or anybody else) and God. It's God's call!
Blessings, Eric in KS
Well ... now that I think about it...
I think we can say that "God will
automatically forgive."
What we cannot say is that "God will
automatically grant salvation."
Forgiveness has already and is always offered.
The question is whether the sinner accepts the
forgiveness through repentance.
God will not force God's forgiveness upon us;
it must be freely accepted. If it is rejected,
so to is redemption and atonement.
What I'm not sure of is whether God will then
toss the unrepentant refuser-of-forgiveness
into the everlasting fire .... or will God
patiently await and gently prod the
unrepentant ... ? This is where I have a
problem reconciling the "burning the tares"
image with the assurance I feel of God's
eternal mercy.
OK ..'nuff of that.
Blessings, Eric in KS
I think this parable is a challenge to many of
our 'comfort' sermons I hear so many preachers
preach (including myself). In other words, I
think there is the constant temptation for us
to make people feel good on Sunday morning,
and so very few (with the exception of some
evangelicals) call people to repentance.
I guess we have learned the lesson throughout
history of what can happen when we scare
people into believing. It just doesn't work.
People don't respond well to intimidation, and
I don't think that is what the gospel is all
about. In fact, even as sinners God came to us
in love.
Now, let's imagine there is a human being that
is a terrible sinner. You choose the sin. This
person is given opportunity after oppurtunity
to repent, but continues to choose sin over
freedom. Eventually this person will die.
According to Christian belief this person will
one day stand before God.
The message of the gospel is love and
forgiveness. As a Protestant I believe that
this love and forgiveness is not of my doing,
but God's doing. Isn't anything that we do but
God's Grace a work? Including all of our
prayers, words, and actions?
So how do we get around this? Scripture has
much to say on this subject. We know that Paul
made clear in his letters that unrepentant
sinners will face doom. Our scripture this
Sunday speaks of a seperation of good and bad.
So how do we explain this to our parishioners
and uphold the gospel of forgiveness for
sinners?
I've often wondered if the Word is so
important for us to hear, so that we might in
this crazy, evil world know and learn of God's
love. It is not a bank account that will one
day be cashed in, it is a reminder and a path
of recognition.
I mean that the unrepentant sinner will never
recognize God's love. He/She will one day die
and will find it impossible to distinguish
between God's love and God's wrath. The one
who listened to God's Word (and I don't mean
followed it perfectly) but recognized it,if
even for a split second their whole life time,
will immediately recognize the Truth in
heaven.
Some will fall away. Some will be burned (and
I think this is an image to satisfy the
inability to explain the kingdom in human
words.) But let's not be literalists here. It
perpetuates false theology.
a new pastor on the Jersey Shore...
You guys are making me think of C.S. Lewis,
especially "The Great Diorvce". In "The Great
Diorvce" Lewis has Hell in a temporary state
of transition. The residents can take a bus
every morning to heaven until the end. Hell is
colored in deeping shades of gray and in the
end all will be dark. What appeared to the
narrator a great chasm was only a small crack
in the ground of heaven. Eventually even this
will disappear.
What happens to the damned? If God is the
author of all life and one turns away from God
the end seems to be annihilation - a ceasing
to be, or maybe, a hyperbolic diminishing -
ever closer to zero but never quite nothing.
Pace e Bene - Deke in Texas
Someone said to me earlier in the week how
when the heat comes to their garden it is only
the weeds in the lawn that seem to stay green
- the grass starts to fade to yellow, and that
she keeps the weeds in the garden for that
reason. I was reminded of something I read in
a book recently quoting someone else (sorry to
be vague...) talking about the poeple in our
congregations that wind everyone up - the
people that spark off everyone and poeple
cmplain abpout having negative experiences of
(you know the ones), and how they were like
the grit in the oyster shell that rubs the
pearl to its beauty. Neat analogy - in my
musings for Sunday I keep coming back to these
two images of grit making pearls and the weeds
making the lawn look greener. I'm moving
towards a link to this parable but it still
looks hazy.
SC, UK
A couple of things. First the wheat and the
weeds. I had a woman in my first church that I
would have like to have weeded out! She was
obnoxious and horrible. The whole church
received a reputation because of her. People
would say, "Oh, that's the church where @#$%^
goes!" I guess this scripture says to me,
"Just what damage would I have caused had I
tried to get rid of her?" It is God who is the
judge. There were those who could overlook her
nastiness. I had a rough time doing that.
I really am not a literalist and have
wondered, "Could God be so gracious as to
welcome everyone into heaven in spite of
ourselves?" This is a difficult scripture. We
are called on to accept or reject God's gift
of salvation. Can we do that beyond death???
Jesus did preach to those in hell after his
crucifixion, so some say. And what of being in
limbo as some Roman Catholics believe. Could
we buy a loved one's way out of purgatory?
Could we pray them out and into heaven? I tend
to think that when we die, time has run out. I
believe that there is a heaven and hell -
divine reward or punishment based upon how we
have lived this life.
By the way, here is a wonderful joke told in
Jan Karon's new book, "In This Mountain." Her
books are wonderful by the way. All about an
Episcopal priest. You need to read them in
order.
A preacher died, don't you know, an' was a-waitin
in line at th' Pearly Gates. Ahead of 'im is a
feller in blue jeans, a leather jacket, 'an a
tattoo on 'is arm. Saint Pete says to th'
feller with th' tattoo, says, 'Who are you, so
I'll know whether t' let you in th' Kingdom of
Heaven?"
"Feller says, 'I'm Tom Such an' Such, I drove
a taxi cab in New York City.' Saint Pete looks
at the' list, says, "Take this silk robe and
gold staff an' enter th' Kingdom of Heaven!'
Then he hollers, 'Next!'
Th' preacher steps up, sticks out 'is chest,
says, "I'm Rev'rend Jimmy Lee Tapscott, pastor
of First Baptist Church f'r forty-three
years." Saint Pete looks at 'is list, don't
you know, says, 'Take this floursack robe an'
hick'ry stick an' enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Preacher says, 'Wait a dadjing minute! That
man was a taxicab driver an' he gits a silk
robe an' a gold staff?' Saint Pete says, 'When
you preached, people slept. When he drove,
people prayed.'" Page 219
PH in OH
Most of our recent discussion on this text
seems to assume that "final judgment" is a
reference to some linear, historical reality,
a point out there in the future somewhere. In
fact, the New Testament's references to the
"end of time" make more sense, and are more
consistent, when thought of in terms of
"realized eschatology"--wherein "end" refers
to the ultimate goal or hope of God's intent
for our lives, not the terminus of history.
That is, the "final judgment" is occurring
constantly in the court of heaven. Thus, every
day, every moment stands under condemnation if
it finds us further from God's reign; but, by
the same token, every day, every moment is
full of possibility for the in-breaking, or
out-break, of the Kingdom of God in our world
through our lives. It is the content of our
earthly lives in this world, not the outcome
of our heavenly lives in the next world that
seems of greatest interest to the scriptures.
In that light, we can speak of the purging and
weeding of the field as something that is
ongoing--a process that is not fun at all and
can even be burningly painful. How better can
we account for those unwelcome discomforts in
our lives that we bring upon ourselves than by
claiming that the Lord of harvest is at work
to overcome the enemy's wiles? And, best of
all, in the alchemy of grace, even weeds can
become wheat.
Maybe there is some comfort here, too. The
world is full of "weeds," and they will
continue to prickle us and annoy us and tempt
us to become like them. Is it not a wonderful
word of grace that says we don't have to
remove all those who don't quite "measure up?"
especially since we don't have the definitive
measuring stick that belongs only to God? We
don't have to remove ourselves from our
families and go to live in monasteries or
convents. Remembering the posting earlier that
mentioned conversion, where would the mission
be if there were no "weeds?"
Michelle
Add to the above, should not the promise that
the "weeds" will be burned urge us to share
the story, so that they, too, can come to
faith?
Michelle
A while back I read James Patterson's book,
"Cradle and All." It was a bizare book, but it
came back to me as I read this chapter. In the
book, a former nun turned PI was hired by the
vatican to investigate two virgin births. It
was believed that one was born of God, and the
other of the devil. By the end of the book,
the nun/PI was to attend one of he births. She
was to look in the face of the child and
decide immediately whose child it was. As the
time of birth rapidly approached, the nun
restled with the question, "How will I know?"
It seems to me with all the craziness in our
world right now, we seem to think we can
easily identify the children of the evil one,
but scripture tells us clearly that we cannont
know.
I don't know what, if anything, I will do with
this, but I thought I'd put it out for you to
chew on. JRinBigD
A note in my bible identifies the weed as
darnel- a poisonous weed. Darnel is in the rye
grass family and it is thought that the
toxicity is not in the seed but is cause by a
fungus that darnel is susceptible. This fungus
is one of the ergots which are alleged to have
caused the hysteria at Salem, MA, leading to
the witch trials.
LSD is a modified ergot derivative. This is in
line with the symptoms of darnel poisoning –
intoxication, hallucination, stupor and in
some cases death. The fungus consumes the seed
in the head, leaving in its place a seed that
is really the fungus with all its toxic
effects.
I don't know how any of you might use this,
but I thought it important to know that the
weed not only mimics the grain but consuming
the seeds of the darnel is dangerous.
Pace e Bene – Deke in TX
a new pastor on the Jersey Shore writes:
"...let's not be literalists here. It
perpetuates false theology."
My question is: What exactly are you referring
to as "false theology?" I read your post and
the others several times and wasn't clear on
what you're condemning.
Next, it strikes me that we look at this text
from the point of view of the wheat
(naturally) and we are cautioned that the
wheat and the weed are difficult to discern
one from another. Imagine how much more
difficult it is for the weeds. Do the weeds
look over the field and contemplate to
themselves, "I see no difference?"
Do those outside the church see or expereince
any difference between themselves and those in
the church. If we were to survey the social
circles of our parishnors, how many of thier
friends or acquaintances would know of thier
(our parishnors')Christian faith?
Pr.del in Ia
Or as the old joke goes: "If being a Christian
was a crime would there be enough evidence to
convict you?"
susan in sanpedro
We in the church often judge whether someone
is wheat or weed. Perhaps in this story the
flip side is also true. Can the world tell
whether we in the church are more wheat or
weed? I think the story asks alot of
interesting ?'s. Are the weeds growing to make
us more Christlike? vvicars
Eric, that whole question surrounding Hitler
and God's judgement and forgiveness comes up
from time to time in Bible Study as a way of
understanding that when one dies, it is not up
to me to make a judgement when conducting the
funeral service, but is to trust and hope that
even in that moment of death, anyone can see
God and ask for forgiveness. Invariably it
comes up, does that work for a Hitler too? An
interesting question when we consider Hitler's
"reign" as an example of the ultimate in evil.
Some very interesting thoughts this week.
Right now, I can thoroughly understand the
comment on how the weeds keep the lawn looking
green. It has been hot and dry, but today we
are getting some rain. Hopefully it will be
enough. I even went outside in my bathing suit
and just let it rain on me. It was beautiful
though the sight for anybody else wouldn't
have been. Anyway, I have shied away from this
parable simply because of the tendency we have
to use it to separate the so-called
"righteous" from "those others." But consider
this quote I found a number of years ago: "A
weed is just an unloved flower." At a former
pastoral charge, I know there was some
grumbling because I hadn't cut the grass
around the manse for awhile. The reason for
this was that my family and I were enjoying
the brilliant orange beauty of a wildflower
called devil's paintbrush that gloriously
filled our lawn. That beauty wasn't unworthy
of my attention or useless in its purpose. The
beauty of those flowers enhanced our enjoyment
in an area where the warmth of summer was
short. It seems that God, the patient
gardener, it saying to us to wait and see
before making judgements. I like another
interpretation from "The Whole People of God"
resource, that suggests "that neither plant or
weed represents individual people here, but
rather that each one of us is a garden,
producing both good and bad. In this context
God patiently waits for us to discern between
the competing forces within ourselves as God
nurtures us through our cycles of growth." God
bless each one of you as together we seek to
discern God's word for our day. Rev. Tim,
Ontario, Canada
In putting together my outline for the sermon,
I noticed that this parable is a
"mini-retelling" of our salvation history. God
sowed the good seed (creation), but then an
enemy sows weeds (enter sin, via serpent and
fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil/"apple"). We begin to notice that there
is sin in the world, but wonder how could it
be if God is good, (where did these weeds come
from?) Still chewing on the apple, we want to
decide who is wheat/chosen and who is
weed/outcast, not realizing that it is all
tangled up in each of us. It isn't up to us to
separate the harvest into good and evil before
it is time for the harvest. When our time of
harvest comes, the weed is weeded out, the
chaff is blown away, and the good enters into
the kingdom, for nothing impure may come
before the throne of God.
From the standpoint of the justice of God, we
are all weeds/sinners; yet by the grace of
Jesus Christ, there is hope for the weeds!
Only Christ is wheat/good, and we may be
baptized into his death so that we may be
raised into his life, and be counted as wheat.
OLAS
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