Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
He put before them 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!
Reflection
Remember how Jesus had told us that the seed was the Word. From this we also know that the Word is Jesus because the Word became flesh and dwelt with us. Also we hear of the Word of God being spoken at the creation. With this in mind, I pause and think how rich Jesus' parables really are. They seem to be like a diamond in the light and when turned in different directions all colors of light sparkle in all directions. With this in mind I pause to think about this parable.
Perhaps this parable is like the life of one of God's Children. Jesus states the the field is the world. Well and good and that the one who sows good seed is himself, the Son of Man. This seed being the Word, the Gospel, Jesus himself brings forth life and produces the righteous who are like wheat.
If you just take the thought of the wheat being in the Bread and the Bread of Life being Jesus, you can take off into a different realm of hearing God's Word spoken. And then ponder that the meaning for Bethlehem, the city of Jesus birth, means House of Bread; you will start to see the Light of that diamond sparkle in all sorts of different directions. But Jesus' explanation to the parable in this passage doesn't mention the wheat, so I'll leave that behind for another time.
Jesus explanation talks more about the collection of the weeds than anything else. The weeds are the children of the evil one. I think this is those that have purposely chosen to turn their backs on God and walk and perhaps run away from God towards their own gods or their own salvation or a salvation by one who has tricked them into thinking that truth is something other than what comes from God.
In the end, Jesus will send his angels to collect all the ways of sin. The angels are the reapers.
"...and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers..."
What the reapers collect is not the weeds but rather what has caused the weeds to be weeds. So when collected it is the weeds that are thrown into the fire.
This makes me think of how the wheat is in the Bread which is Jesus but the wheat is not Jesus. Likewise what causes the the weeds to grow as weeds is sin and the evildoers become sin and are separated from God and thrown into the fire. In the collection of all that causes sin out of what I assume to be the devils kingdom, what will be left behind is the good wheat. Throw that group of "left behind" into your thinking and the diamond will sparkle once again with a different color of Light. Maybe... just maybe if you're left behind you are in the group of the righteous, because...
"Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!"
In my life, I have sin and I sin. At times I am both weed and wheat. But if I place all of my hope and faith in God, God chooses to claim me and save me as God's own. God sent Jesus as God into this world and my life and in the life of the Church to save all people, even the weeds. In my life are weeds, but when God removes all of the causes of sin, I change.
I change not because of myself. I change because Jesus came into this world and defeated sin, death and the devil. I change because of God in Jesus. When I take this gift into myself and place all of my hope and trust in this gift from God; I will change. There is no doubt about this... I WILL change.
That change will be brought forth from God and from my response to the love of God. The change won't take place because I'm such a goody person now with that ol plastic smiling face but because of what God has freely given. In this change a smile comes to my face. A smile that knows that I was lost to be weed and God took my life and made me into wheat. My ol plastic smiling face changes into a face with a real smile. A smile that is not fake but a smile that is thankful for what God has done in my life and the life of the Church.
I change and I have become righteous. I'm righteous not because of anything I could ever do but righteous because of what God has done for me through Jesus and through the gift of the Holy Spirit. How wonderful it is to think that even what the devil sows, that may become weed, God can take and cast out the causes of sin and create wheat. Wheat that will be left behind at the end of the age by the angels that come to reap. Wheat that are now with the righteous through what God has done in Jesus Christ. Wheat that will
"...will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father."
Listen... stop... pause... move that diamond around... hear the Word... see the Seed cast... become part of the Bread... be one of the left behind... and shine like the Son!
Thanks be to God!
Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8levIxTKYk
Prayer
Lord you give me pause. May I stop to listen. May I hear. May I change. Remove from my life the causes of sin. Guide me in your way that I may shine like you, to your glory... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen
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