We live in a time when many people do not
know who they are and where they are going. In contrast serious Christians know
they are children of God and they are eventually going back to God. They also
know that they have an enemy described in the Bible as Satan or the Devil; and
a spiritual helper described as the Holy Spirit. Our lives are a struggle to
overcome the temptations and deceptions of the enemy of our souls. The good
news is that we are protected by God and guided and strengthened by the Holy
Spirit. In the Parable of the Weeds, Jesus is giving us both wise advice and
hope. The advice is to not get tangled up with evil people. The hope is the
harvest, when we will go home to Jesus.
1.
Christians have a destiny
Most of us spend a lot of time trying to
figure out what we are supposed to be doing. The Parable of the Weeds reminds
us of an obvious but important truth. Seeds grow into what they are intended to
grow into. If you plant wheat, wheat is what you get. Last Sunday, in the
Parable of the Sower, we were reminded how fragile and vulnerable this process
is. The idea of an enemy was introduced as one of the many ways in which the
seed of the Word of God in the Bible can be lost or prevented from growing. The
Readings for today help us understand our destiny and the challenges we face on
the way to that destiny. In Genesis (28.10-19) we are reminded that we are not
alone. We follow in the tradition of Jacob who had an encounter with God. He
was told that he had one God and that that God would protect him and bless him
with land and children. His destiny was to live under the spiritual protection
and blessings of the Covenant with Abraham. Our destiny is the same except we
are also promised forgiveness, the gifts of the Holy Spirit and eternal spiritual
life if we live out our Covenant. In the
Romans (8.28) Reading, the Apostle Paul refers to this as "the redemption
of our bodies". The seed does not remain a seed. It dies and gives birth to
something much greater. It has a destiny and that destiny is to become a child
of God. The Good News is that as a child of God, we will inherit what the
Father has - eternal spiritual life with God.
2.
Christians have an enemy
One of the key differences between what I
call 'Cultural Christians' and 'Serious Christians’ is that the latter really
understand and believe in Satan and his dark angels. This is a part of the
Bible that theological liberals tend to dismiss as primitive superstition - to
their peril. Theological liberals do not believe in evil as a real, active and
guided spiritual force. This is a key issue in Biblical interpretation and the
current re-forming of the worldwide Anglican Communion. In the Parable of the
Weeds Jesus gives us some important basic teachings on how to deal with the
problem of evil in the world. First we are told that Satan is also in the world
planting a different kind of seed. His seed also grows up and also has a
destiny. His seed would include lies, deception and temptations designed to get
people to rebel against God. We are taught that Satan's seed grows into weeds
that are "…the sons of the evil one." (Matthew 13.38) These people
have a very different destiny. We are told their destiny is to be "…
thrown into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth." (v. 42) This is a very sobering worldview. It directly challenges
those in our society who think that they can get away with anything that is not
illegal or harmful. This is warning us that there are consequences, even for
very nice, loving people; who cause sin or do evil (v. 47). This is why we
always include the Confession and Absolution in our liturgies. It is a sign of
a very different worldview when more liberal clergy skip over this part of the
service. The second thing Jesus teaches us is to not engage or try to root out
evil ourselves. This can be a real trap and get us entangled and drawn into
spiritually destructive patterns of anger. We are to let God judge other
people. We have seen how destructive arguments over the ordination of women or
blessing of same-sex relationships have been. This is perhaps the modern
equivalent of trying to pull up the weeds without destroying the wheat crop.
3.
Christians have a helper
The Good News is that we are not alone in
this struggle with deception and temptation. The Holy Spirit is there to guide
us and strengthen us. The Apostle Paul puts it very clearly. "… if by the
Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body you will live." (Romans
8.13) It is that little word "if" that should wake us up. Eternal
spiritual life is not automatic for all the Baptized. There is a condition.
That condition is that we work with the Holy Spirit to root out our 'misdeeds'
- the specific instances in which we have rebelled against God in thought, word
and deed. This is a life-long project. The Good News is that we have a helper
who will guide us. The Holy Spirit opens our personal spiritual eyes so that we
can see things we never saw before. This helps us identify specific things we
may need to repent. Each time we repent some act of rebellion against God we
die emotionally to it's power over us. This makes us stronger and more able to
resist the temptation next time. This is how we work with the Holy Spirit to redeem
our bodies and ensure we reach our destiny as Christians.
4. There is
a spiritual law of sowing and reaping
There is a dramatic story of two American
families that were studied over a period of five generations. Researchers found
that the Jukes family, traced back to the marriage of two alcoholic athiests
had resulted in over 200 criminal convictions including 16 for murder and 180
families on welfare. In contrast the marriage of a Christian couple, the Adams
had led to one President, two Vice-Presidents, four Attorney Generals, 5
university presidents, 40 lawyers and 35 doctors.
These Readings
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