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!
In today’s passage from Matthew, it seems like Jesus has explained the parable, and that there is nothing for me to say to you. Jesus explained what the different parts of the story are. Basically, he is saying that if you are not an evil person, if you are a child of God and live righteously, you go to Heaven when you die. But if the Devil has taken your soul, and you led an evil life, you will go to Hell when you die.
This narrative is told frequently. Live a holy life, and your reward will be given when you die.
But what about now? How can we apply this to our lives now, while we are alive? We will stay with the words Jesus uses, however, we will sense of it for the here and now.
We start with the field, not unlike the field that Hope Empowerment Foundation has. On it was planted beans and maize. And weeds have crept in when no one was looking. In this narrative, each of you is the land, the field, the dirt, the earth, representing the physical place of your body and your life. When you were born, you were innocent and perfect. You started off as a field of beans and maize, where the seeds that were planted were perfect in God’s eye. The good seed is the kindness, generosity, and other good parts of you.
However, all people are given free will. This allows us to be influenced by the attitudes and actions of other people. It is natural for some people to sway from the path of righteousness. For example, if a father beats a child because the child took something without asking, the child learns that beating is how you punish wrongdoing. The child then, as he grows up, might beat other children and animals, and as a grown-up, beat his wife and children too. It becomes a cycle, because this is how he grew up. The anger, frustration, and violence that he has in his heart are the weeds.
The weeds grow with the good beans and maize. The boy grows up with the goodness still inside, but the anger being fed as well.
This could also happen when a woman has been abused by her family, and she does not have much confidence or self-worth. She will make decisions that are not best for her or her children out of fear. Inside, she still has the love she was born with, but the fear is there also. The weeds are the fear. The weeds keep her from growing to the woman full of confidence that she could become.
So, how to make the change that God wants for us? How can we experience Heaven here and now?
We must do our best to eliminate the weeds. I know in the story that Jesus was talking about waiting until the end of time to sort the evil from the good. He is talking about those who used their free will all through their life to do evil, even when they had the knowledge and freedom to do good works. He is talking about souls after death, not about you and how to live your life now.
Two weeks ago we took a little time to reach for Heaven through meditation. Whenever you meditate and give your quiet time over to God, you can experience peace and love through God. Usually, though, the fear or anger still comes back later. It is like cutting off the weed but leaving the root there to grow and take the nutrients and energy from the good seed. It is very important to pull up the root. To eliminate the cause of the abuse or the poor self-worth.
You need to eliminate the fear. Fear causes anger, too. Fear is the root of the anger.
Throughout my life, I had to deal with fear. Mostly fear of being abandoned by family, fear that they didn’t love me, and that I was not good enough for them. It took me a long time to understand that the root of my poor self-worth was me, not them. It is never up to someone else to change themselves to make your life better. It is only up to you, using your free will, to change your circumstances.
Again, you cannot change anyone else. You can only change yourself. You are the one who must pluck the weeds in your life. You are the one who must face your fears and light your light. Is it only you who can ask God for the strength to do this. God is willing to help anyone who asks. So you are not alone, you have God.
So, take a moment and think about one thing that gives you anger or fear. Don’t let it overwhelm you, just identify it. Now let us pray together:
Dear God, who is my rock and my strength, please be with me now. I will face my fear. I need you to be with me, with your peace and your love in my heart so that I have the strength to face this fear and overcome it. Thank you for your continued grace. Ameen.
Now, quietly, turn to that which you fear. If you start to waver, ask God for strength again. Let God’s love for you be the shield between your heart and the object of your fear. Now push the fear away. Take a deep calming breath.
Let us pray:
Dear One, we give you thanks for this time together, in which we learned how to walk toward the place you would have us go, where we have your love constantly in our hearts, where every step we take is made with love, and where we return to being the good seed that was planted years ago. May it be so, Ameen.
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