The Parable of the Weeds

TRINITY 6  -  SUNDAY 23 JULY 2017 – WING CHURCH

Introduction

Rod and Mary—two weeks ago contemplating Parable of Weeds—problem of Good and Evil.

Why did God sow the fields himself? Who created the Evil One, who contaminated the crop with darnel and vetch?—Why did God not order the weeds to be removed, as was usual, when it was possible to do so and leave only the good seed?

Invitation to Confession

Christ our passover lamb has been sacrificed for us. Let us therefore rejoice by putting away all malice and evil and confessing our sins with a sincere and true heart.

Absolution

May almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you your sins, and bring you to everlasting life.

Collect

Merciful God,
you have prepared for those who love you
such good things as pass our understanding:
pour into our hearts such love toward you
that we, loving you in all things and above all things,
may obtain your promises,
which exceed all that we can desire;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.

Reading Romans 8: 12—25

Present suffering and future glory

¹² Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation – but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Gospel Matthew 13: 24—30,36—43

The parable of the weeds

²⁴ Jesus told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.²⁶ When the wheat sprouted and formed ears, then the weeds also appeared.

²⁷ ‘The owner’s servants came to him and said, “Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?”

²⁸ ‘“An enemy did this,” he replied.

‘The servants asked him, “Do you want us to go and pull them up?”

²⁹ ‘“No,” he answered, “because while you are pulling up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.”’

³⁶ Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.’

³⁷ He answered, ‘The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.³⁸ 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, ³⁹ and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

⁴⁰ ‘As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.⁴² They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Sermon

Parable of Weeds—Matthew 13. About Good and Evil in our world. Exist side by side. Uncontrolled. No checks and balances. No judge or adjudicator limiting the scope of either. No attempt to keep order—for time being. Not everyone plays by same rules. Nor do we share a common moral compass or conscience.

Where did evil come from?—one of most challenging and problematic issues in history of theological thought.

Surely God cannot create evil—evil can come about through the allowance of freewill—what was once wholly good but having freewill has chosen the path of evil.

This does not explain the presence of “evils” in our world—cruel diseases; natural disasters; suffering of innocent babies—and so on. That is for another sermon, another time.

Bible OT generally invents alternative being alongside a good God—call him Satan. We did not create him. It’s not our fault. We are not to blame. Yes we share in the presence of sin in our lives—but Satan has tempted us and we fell for it—or rather, our remote ancestors did.

Does this provide a wholly satisfying rationale to ease our minds and explain some horrific evils, many not even the responsibility of humans?

NT Jesus gives an alternative illustration to the problem of evil in the Parable of the Weeds. But it is only an illustration, not a fully satisfying explanation. We have to admit the difficulties, inhabit the discomfort, and resist any superficial explanation for what we observe in the world.

Parable of the Weeds

· One of few parables that Jesus explains—Jesus himself is creator of a good world—healthy and productive seeds producing abundant crops. These are people of Kingdom.

· At night, evil one comes—his people sow weeds— vetch which grows and resembles the good seed, or darnel that winds its tentacles around the crop and competes with it.

· Servants of the Son of Man ask whether they should pull the weeds up—normal practice. Jesus says no—leave both growing side by side and separate them only at the end of the age—harvest time:
‘The servants asked him, “Do you want us to go and pull them up?”
²⁹ ‘“No,” he answered, “because while you are pulling up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.

· Our present reality is that the Son of Man cannot, or will not take steps to conquer evil—at least until the end of time. So we have a world with good and evil people—it would be possible to destroy the evil people, but not at the risk of hurting or prematurely judging some of the potential people of the Kingdom

· So we wait for the harvest—doing good and resisting evil—until Jesus comes again

Warning—this parable is in one sense a warning—if you think you’ve got it all worked out, think again. If you are sure of good and evil, and have identified those responsible, you’re probably misjudging the situation.

Our job as people of the Kingdom is not to judge between good and evil but to live our lives in the love of God and for our neighbours—whether they are weeds or main crops—not to look around us and judge, for that is to elevate ourselves unjustifiably and open ourselves up to the judgement of God and others.

The difficulty of this parable is that the righteous take no responsibility for the presence of the evil one. The parable perpetuates the alternate being, not created by God, but somehow a fallen being, who is ultimately responsible for sin, when we know that we are all sinful beings, and the careful division between good and bad crops does not hold water. We as humans are a mixture of good and bad, constantly challenged by failure and seeking forgiveness. We ourselves share the blame for most of what is evil in our world, by the way we have acted, by our arrogance, by false judgement, by selfish greed, by neglect of this good world, by emulating the powerful and discriminating against the weak.

So we have to be careful not to push the analogy too far—but the essential truth of the parable told by Jesus casts new light on the co-existence of good and evil, and the need for us not to judge but live as people of the Kingdom.

That leaves unanswered the big question—why is the world the way it is?—why did God not remove evil before it took hold, when it was still possible to do so? These are questions for us to ponder.

But the essential truth—the message of the parable is this. When it seems we are overwhelmed by evil, and no one is in control, still we know there will come a reckoning in the fulness of time when justice and peace will hold sway in God’s realm.

In every service and at home, we pray for God’s kingdom to come, in the words of the Lord’s Prayer. Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus—we are your harvest—the people of your realm. Amen

Discipleship

Wingrave Methodist Church – 25 June 2017 – Trinity 2

Collects

Lord, you have taught us
that all our doings without love are nothing worth:
send your Holy Spirit
and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.
Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ's sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen

Faithful Creator,
whose mercy never fails:
deepen our faithfulness to you
and to your living Word,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Reading—Psalm 86

¹ Hear me, Lord, and answer me,
    for I am poor and needy.
² Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
    save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; ³ have mercy on me, Lord,
    for I call to you all day long.
⁴ Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
    for I put my trust in you.

⁵ You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
    abounding in love to all who call to you.
⁶ Hear my prayer, Lord;
    listen to my cry for mercy.
⁷ When I am in distress, I call to you,
    because you answer me.

⁸ Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;
    no deeds can compare with yours.
⁹ All the nations you have made
    will come and worship before you, Lord;
    they will bring glory to your name.
¹⁰ For you are great and do marvellous deeds;
    you alone are God.

¹¹ Teach me your way, Lord,
    that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
    that I may fear your name.
¹² I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
    I will glorify your name for ever.
¹³ For great is your love towards me;
    you have delivered me from the depths,
    from the realm of the dead.

¹⁴ Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;
    ruthless people are trying to kill me –
    they have no regard for you.
¹⁵ But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
    slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
¹⁶ Turn to me and have mercy on me;
    show your strength on behalf of your servant;
save me, because I serve you
    just as my mother did.
¹⁷ Give me a sign of your goodness,
    that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
    for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Reading—Romans 6

Dead to sin, alive in Christ

6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? ² By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³ Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

 

Gospel—Matthew 10

²⁴ ‘The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master.²⁵ It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

²⁶ ‘So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. ²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.³⁰ And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

³² ‘Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

³⁴ ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to turn

‘“a man against his father,
    a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law –
³⁶     a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.”

³⁷ ‘Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

Sermon

Today’s readings related—Psalm is plea for help from someone who trusts in God

¹⁵ But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
    slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
¹⁶ Turn to me and have mercy on me;
    show your strength on behalf of your servant;
save me, because I serve you
    just as my mother did. Psalm 86

1 Psalmist surrounded by enemies—but God is compassionate and merciful.

Jesus brought up under OT law:

⁵ Do not trust a neighbour;
    put no confidence in a friend.
Even with the woman who lies in your embrace
    guard the words of your lips.
⁶ For a son dishonours his father,
    a daughter rises up against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law –
    a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.

⁷ But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,
    I wait for God my Saviour;
    my God will hear me. Micah 7.

Jesus’ mission was not to divide family members, but this is what will inevitably happen.

³⁷ ‘Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

In Matthew 12—Jesus even rejects his mother and brothers when they come to see him—because they think he is putting himself and them in danger and want to divert him from the path he has chosen.

2 Romans: Our path to faith is not to change—but to be born anew. Not remain the same being, however radically we change our ways—not even to be like Christ—but to be a new creation—mini versions of Jesus himself

Romans 6 explains—we walk parallel to Christ:

⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.

We are no longer the same as we were—we are a new creation—we are dead to the sin of our old ways and united with Christ in his resurrection.

3 Matthew 10 continues theme of disciples imitating their master. We live in Jesus’s home—imitate our master as students imitate their teacher—or as an apprentice learns their trade.

But there is a house of Evil—Βηλζεβουλ is the head of the household—Lord of the Flies or Satan—if the master represents all that is evil, how much more so with his followers.

First part of chapter 10 Jesus gives instructions to disciples as he sends out the 12. They are to trust solely in God—take nothing with them. They are warned they will suffer rejection—even death.

¹⁶ ‘I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Even their own families will reject them and betray them to death.

Matthew 10:24 leads us into second part of instructions for disciples—applies to us—Jesus tells it like it is—still same warnings of what we might face—but there are many reasons for hope.

We are told not to be afraid of what the world can throw at us—nothing will be hidden but everything is out in the open—what Jesus tells us quietly is to be proclaimed from the rooftops. God’s care for us is illustrated by his care for creation—even the death of a small bird is known to him—and the very hairs on our heads are all numbered.

Discipleship is compared to an apprenticeship—we learn from our master and try to follow his instruction. This relationship we must acknowledge before others—whichever disciple denies their master will be disowned by him before God. Since we have been crucified with Christ, we must take up our cross beside him—for to lose our lives in this world is to gain a new life in the world to come.

Discipleship can take many forms:

a) Psalmist serves God, just as his mother did
b) Romans—we walk parallel to Christ—having died with him, raised with him, so that we may lead a new life
c) In Matthew, we have the clearest form of discipleship. This is a two way process—we listen to our master and try to be like him—similarly, others less mature in faith walk alongside us and listen to what we have to say and watch how we lead our lives.

Most of us can remember those who have brought us up in the faith and owe a lot to them, perhaps when we were young. This is a grave responsibility—one not to be taken lightly or abused. If we are truly effective disciples, others will be following us—and we must lead them with the same intensity that we are led by Christ.

This disciple-teacher relationship might not be a comfortable and cosy one—Jesus described his mission as one that caused dissention—similarly in channeling what we heard from our master and repeating it from the roof tops might be uncomfortable if as also tell it like it is—this is something we are warned to expect.

Rewards are undimmed
³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

This is the first reference to “cross” in Matthew—even before the crucifixion. We have to take up our cross as a prerequisite to following Jesus. As we look forward to his return in glory, and we identify him by seeing the marks of the cross on his hands and feet, it may not be out of place for us as his disciples not only to recognise the proofs of Jesus’ passion—but they should be even more familiar to us because they match our own.

Amen