The Gospel of Matthew 13:24-30,36-43 Jesus put before the crowd another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 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?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 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.’” 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.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!”
Let us Pray: Everlasting God, we join together in praying to you for the needs of the church, the world, our communities and ourselves, trusting in your love which reaches out from before the foundation of the world. Amen.
Again, as I read this Gospel it becomes so obvious how the Holy Spirit helped the writers of these Gospels. Each one becomes a guide for today, giving us direction for our lives. The parable of the good and bad seed is no exception. As one reads the Gospel, things occurring in today’s world jump out of the lesson. This parable deals with a very practical problem. In society we find bad mixed with good. We find people whose ethics are questionable, or who treat people unkindly, we find people in our society who flaunt the rules, sort of like sowing the bad seed as it can affect those around them. But those who are the bad seed will eventually pay their debt. So, do we try to single them out or let them be part of the final harvest? The farmer in the parable seems to believe that the weeds themselves won’t threaten the wheat, the two are capable of growing together. The weeds do not threaten the wheat but instead the threat comes from how we react to the weeds. As we struggle to do God’s work in a world that refuses to listen and resists every effort to bring us closer to God’s Kingdom, we need to remember that we need to use love and understanding to spread God’s word. For any seed to grow it needs sunlight and water, as the seed represents us, we need to be sustained which we are through the Word of God and through the Bread and Wine of communion. As we make it through the weeks, months, and years we continue to grow into our faith and become the beautiful wheat of the field. Even with all of the proper nurturing, it will never be enough to prevent us from straying. We can be like the seed that fell on rocky soil and before long we are tempted to fall back into the familiar rhythms of evil. On the outside we want to look like the perfect crop of wheat, fully matured, and ready to be harvested for the kingdom, but in reality, when we look inwardly, we see that all of us at some point or another appear more like one of the weeds in God’s Garden. So, on Earth, good and bad people will grow and live together. The Kingdom of God will be present amongst the evil of the world. At the end of time people will be separated into their eternal destiny. As you look around God’s garden pay attention to the good seed that is growing, look at it as the plants of faith, and recognize others that shine like the sun in their kingdom of our Father. When we read this parable of the Weeds among the Wheat, we’d should not assume we are the wheat!
Let us Pray: Surely God is with us every day, he guides us through these difficult times. He gives guidance to our health workers who work to protect us. He helps us to not be like the seed that falls on rocky soil, but those who fall on good soil and work to bring us closer to the heavenly kingdom of God. This we pray in the name or our Father. AMEN
Reflections by Bob 