The reading
Matthew 13:24-43
24 He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of
heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but
while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and
then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds
appeared as well. 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?' 28 He answered, "An enemy has done this.' The slaves
said to him, "Then do you want us to go and gather them?' 29 But he
replied, "No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along
with them. 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.' " 31 He put before them
another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that
someone took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all the seeds,
but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that
the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." 33 He told them
another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took
and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened."
34 Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he
told them nothing. 35 This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the
prophet: "I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what
has been hidden from the foundation of the world." 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." 37 He
answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 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, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the
harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds
are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41
The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom
all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and they will throw them into the
furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the
righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone
with ears listen!
The message
When I was in school, we always a teacher or two who would
start the year with a simple statement, “there is no such thing as a stupid
question” or “the only stupid question is the one you do not ask”. He or she wanted to encourage participation
and knew that if someone in the class had a question, there were probably 4 or
5 others with the same issue, confusion or struggle. Missing something could be
very bad for a student, not fully understanding a foundational concept could
lead to struggles throughout the year. There was one course in seminary where “there
are no dumb questions” was pushed to its limits. It was Lutheran confessions, a
course on the founding documents and beliefs of our community. Our teacher,
would, like all good teachers, welcome questions. He would have one of his own
though, always responding with “why do you ask that question?”. That usually led to a little embarrassment and
some laughter (it was not a big deal since every student went through it). Why do you ask led to new depth and allowed
him to give a real answer, one that spoke to the doubt or confusion or issue
and helped you learn a little about yourself. Questions were not dumb but they were
revealing, they said a lot about the person who asked it.
The questions we ask can be very revealing. A few years ago, I was part of the committee
what wrote a series of questions to be asked at meetings across Metro NY for
church members to meet and hear from 6 or 7 candidates to be bishop. As we worked on the questions you could tell
what we thought were the priorities for our church. We did not really care what the candidates
had done before (they could obviously include experiences and stories in their
answers) but we were more concerned with what they would do. We asked about
diversity, outreach, care for the earth and others, a good articulation of what
we believe, plans to address significant issues like church closings and a
personal statement on faith (something missing in a lot of what we do). As we put the questions together, we wanted
to express who we were as a church, we felt the responsibility to try our best
to speak for the 200 or so very different churches in our synod. .
Today’s reading involves 2 questions. Both reveal a lot about what it means to be
in the kingdom of God. We start with
someone common. Jesus shares 3 parables or teaching stories about the kingdom
of God. In the Bible, Jesus talks more
about the kingdom of God than any other topic (the second most talked about is
money, economics). Jesus tries to
explain what the kingdom of God is with stories. First, the man who sowed good
seeds only to be sabotaged and attacked with weeds. Then the mustard tree, a
well known, not well loved, invasive plant, which is a small seed, but grows
into a large shrub, Finally, the story of the woman who mixes the yeast with 3
measures (about 40 pounds) of dough, changing it all to leavened bread and causing
it all to rise. (unleavened bread, like the matza at Passover, cooks quick and
does not rise) 3 measures is a significant amount in the Old Testament as well,
it’s the amount Abraham makes for his visitors in Genesis 18.
Jesus goes on to answer a question no one asks but most
people wondered, why are you only teaching in stories, why don’t you explain in
plain English (well plain Aramaic back then).
Jesus explains that his approach
to teaching was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isiash: "I
will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden
from the foundation of the world”. It is also practical, people remember stories,
There is a universal aspect, an interaction with the hearer (more on that soon)
and they can speak to all different people (we all know weeds are bad, a little
seed or a little yeast can go a long way).
After this, Jesus disciples ask him to explain the parable
of the weeds in the field. In this case the disciples do not ask because they
have no idea what Jesus means, the disciples ask because they have too many
ideas about what Jesus means. Who is the person who sows good seeds. It could be Jesus, could be one of the
prophets, could be one or more of the disciples, could be the soon to exist church
or someone to come. Where is the field. It could mean the world, the city they
are in, a neighboring town, the temple or the kingdom of Israel. Who sows the weeds? Was it the devil,
religious leaders who reject Jesus, false teachers, the Roman Empire, all of the
above, none of the above. Who is trusted
to separate the weeds and wheat at the harvest time. The religious authorities,
faithful people, the disciples, the church, the prophets, angels, other beings
we don’t know about, Jesus? The parable
could be about the past, the present, here and now or (as it turns out to be)
the parable could be about the cosmic future.
Each person who heard this parable probably thought
differently, putting themselves in the desired spots, perceiving themselves as
the judge who sends people to be burned or the good seed that grows and rests
well in the kingdom of God, perceiving their enemies in the weed pile or accusing
people who disagree or live differently from them of sowing bad seeds. I wish
Jesus would have asked the disciples “why do you ask that question”. It would reveal how they viewed the world, Their
answers would reveal a lot about how one
understands the powers and organization of the world.
Jesus explanation of the wheat and weeds reveal his world
view, Just like the name says, God rules the kingdom of God. Jesus, the word of God, is the one who sows
good seed. It is not the disciples, it is not the church, it is not the
religious authorities or Roman authorities, it is Jesus who sows the good
seed. The field is the world, it is not
Israel, it is not everyone except Israel, it is not the places Jesus has
visited, it is not one particular community, time or place. The people called good are not the people who
do nice things, they are ones who hear the word of God and listen to it. The judges are angels, outside, not human,
not worldly powers. (that work of deciding saved and condemned is not for us to
do ).
With these parables, Jesus does offer guidance for living in
faith, in the kingdom of God, but he also shows us a world, where God is the
ultimate power. We are invited to live
and rejoice.
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