From the Pastor |
Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43
Our gospel reading continues in Matthew 13 with another Parable from Jesus. It seems we are moving along quickly… from sowing seeds to pulling weeds. Last week we heard of the strange farmer who planted seeds by scattering them willy-nilly over the ground… allowing them to land in various types of soil. Those soils being our human nature… the good and the bad… that allows the seeds of God to either grow or wither and die. This week we continue with the farming analogy to explain the Kingdom of Heaven. However, this time the farmer successfully plants good seed in the field… but just like in the previous parable… the seeds encounter difficulty, because as the seeds grow… so do the weeds… a lot of weeds… Weeds have invaded the field and are growing alongside and among the wheat. When the servants ask the farmer about this… he says that he planted the good seeds and an enemy planted the weeds. When asked to explain this parable to the disciples, Jesus made it seem pretty straight forward. He said: “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. [Jesus himself] The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.” [Matt. 13: 37-39] See… this parable is pretty simple. Jesus is the sower… the seeds are the good people (like you and me)… the weeds are the bad people… But just like all of Jesus’s parables… this one has a bit of a twist to it. I mean… Any good gardener knows that if weeds grow in your garden… you pull them out… keep them from crowding out your veggies or your flowers. But not Jesus… nope! Jesus specifically says NOT to pull the weeds… he says this is actually dangerous because the good wheat might get uprooted as well. So, what is the kingdom of Heaven like? I guess it’s like a farmer who allows good and evil exist and grow side by side?!? Yes… it seems that is true… for a time… but the Good News is that there will be a time of judgement. There will be a time when the good will be brought into the farmer’s barn… into the kingdom… and the bad… the weeds… will be destroyed. That is good news indeed because looking around our world, it’s kinda hard to imagine that good will finally overcome evil. After all… evil seems to flourish and grow… oddly enough… like weeds… easily taking root and choking out the good until we cannot seem to see it anymore. We live in a world of corruption, poverty, and violence… a world of greed and selfishness… of injustice and inequality… It too often seems like evil just might be winning. But Jesus offers hope… he assures us… that at the “end of the age” the goodness of God will triumph over the evil of the devil. However… this parable makes a couple of things pretty clear. First, the glorious time of God’s harvest… is NOT yet come… it is not now! And second… The weeding of God’s field… will NOT be done by us! In fact the sower… Jesus… says that we are not allowed to “pull up” the weeds… it is not our job. That is the job of the harvesters… the angels. If it was left up to us… undoubtedly some of the wheat… the good seed… would be damaged or destroyed. When the end of the age comes… when the final harvest begins… only God will truly be able to make the distinction between the wheat and the weeds. If we try and make the judgement regarding the status of others… if we try to pull the weeds from God’s field ourselves… we will most likely do damage to the good… to the kingdom of heaven. You see… We cannot know everything there is to know about someone else… we cannot even pretend to know what is in their heart… just as we cannot pretend that we have it completely right… that our way is the only right way… that there is no chance we might be in the wrong. Let’s face it… We are not capable of sitting on the Throne of Judgement… it is NOT our place… the final Judgement is not up to us… Unfortunately… we do seem to like to judge others. Don’t we? We judge how they look… how they act… how they speak… we judge their lifestyle and even their faith practices. We like to point out their faults and failures and tell them how they are living wrong! We measure their “goodness” by our standards and tell them why they are unacceptable to God… maybe they are the wrong color, sexual orientation, age or economic class. Maybe we believe they are lazy and looking for a free ride… or they’re addicts… or they are homeless and dirty… maybe they are too greedy… too angry… too depressed… too happy… too… something. We put others down so that we can feel better about ourselves… yes… even we Christians have fallen victim to the unrighteous judgement zone! We too often think that because we know and follow Christ… we are capable of passing judgement on others. If this wasn’t true… then every Christian church would be seen as a beacon of love and hope in a dark and chaotic world… but that… unfortunately… has not been the experience for far too many people. For many… the church is a place of judgement and ridicule and exclusion. A place where doors and arms are wide open… as long as you are just like everyone else… as long as you pass their litmus test… as long as you believe exactly as they do and live as they do. A place where love and hope are guarded so tightly that they seem to be in short supply. Today’s parable provides a serious reminder for us… We are incapable of judging others… of determining who is among the wheat and who is a weed. Only God knows what is on the inside… what is truly in someone’s heart. Judgement is not up to us! If we truly believe that God is alive and active in our world, then we must trust the One who will judge ALL people… both the good and the bad… and realize that through Christ we can experience the hope for the day when “justice [will] roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” [Amos 5:24] As people of faith, we cannot live pessimistic, cynical, judgmental lives… and we cannot give into despair when we look at the evil around us. We need to place our hope in the day when the final harvest will take place… when the “weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire…” When the “angels… will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil… Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” We may not see this day come to pass in our lifetime… our hopes and dreams of justice, love and peace for the world might not come to fruition today… or tomorrow… or even in the next 1000 years. Our time is not God’s time. However, we can, with faith, live into the hope we have received through Christ Jesus… and we can work toward the reality of this hope in our daily lives. It is what we are called to do. We are called to live together… the “wheat” with the “weeds”. We are not called to pull up and destroy the ones we think are wrong, or bad, or unworthy… but to proclaim the hope and love of God to all… to the good and the bad… to the rich and the poor… to the strong and especially to the most vulnerable… the ones Jesus would call the least of these. We are called to work towards the hope of love for all people… seeking to protect other in Christ’s name. Striving to provide adequate shelter, food, and clean water… decent healthcare, and education to all people through our actions, our voices and our votes We are called to work for the hope of peace and justice by refusing to engage in hatred, or angry and divisive speech… fight against injustice in all its forms, wherever and whenever we find it. We are called to provide hope to our world by living responsibly and working to care for our environment every day… being the good stewards of God’s creation. What this all boils down to is that we must allow the glorious vision of God’s kingdom… the vision of hope, peace, justice and love… to fill our hearts so that we can live as the wheat… the good people of God. Proclaiming the hope of God through our everyday words and actions in the midst of the turmoil and troubles of our time. For as the Wisdom of Solomon says: “… you have taught your people that the righteous must be kind, and you have filled your children with good hope, because you give repentance for sins.” [12:18-19] None of this is easy… it is in no way comfortable… but we must let go of our judgements and instead… be the change we long to see in others. Amen.
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Yeon Shin
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