"Tight lines" is a blessing fishermen offer each other, a wish for lines taut with the weight of good fish. May God grant that the lines written here be taut with His blessings.
Wednesday, 16 July 2008 | |||
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Weeds and Seeds | |||
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For July 20, the parable of the weeds continues the theme of
seeds and growth by which Jesus elucidates the mysteries of the kingdom
in Matthew 13. Once again, the lectionary skips a few verses in order to
tie Jesus' parable directly to His interpretation. The intervening verses
are not completely ignored because at least verses 31-33 are picked up in
the reading for the next Sunday. But since I won't be preaching on July
27 and our guest preacher won't be following the lectionary, this week we
will read all of
Matthew 13:24-43. The weeds is generally agreed to be one of the most, if not the most difficult parable. Part of the problem lies in the differences between the parable in verses 24-30 and the interpretation of it which Jesus give in verses 37-43. Just in tone, the parable seems focused on what we might identify as grace, or at least patience, while the interpretation seems focused on judgment. Understanding this parable, as often in Bible study, is a balancing act. There is certainly a caution here against excessive zealousness to root out evil in the world. At the same time we as Christians work for a better world, we are aware that our goal is not to perfect the world. That remains always in God's hands and for the end times. But the caution against zealousness is not meant to be a laissez faire attitude toward evil, especially in the church. The rest of the New Testament makes it clear that sins of hatred and racism, as well as sexual sin and dishonesty are not to be condoned or accepted in the church community. And the parable and its interpretation themselves make clear that there is a coming judgment on all evil. The caution, then, may be as Klyne Snodgrass puts it, a caution to deal with evil in such a way so as not to do more evil or become evil oneself in the process. Perhaps, however, the primary note of the parable of the weeds is found in the two little intervening parables of the mustard seed and the leaven. It's the note of hope. Even in the midst of a world sown with evil by the enemy, God's kingdom will grow. He will care for it and bring it to completion and perfection. In the end, the enemy will not succeed. That's the hopeful confidence expressed in verse 43, "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father." | |||
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I am the pastor of Valley Covenant Church in Eugene, Oregon. I love to flyfish and hike along the beautiful rivers in our area. I welcome your comments as I share sermon work in progress and occasional other thoughts.
Thank you for visiting this blog. I invite you also to visit my web page.
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