The agricultural model is again used to tell a
truth about the proclamation of the Gospel. Homilies regarding last
week's texts usually revolve around the receptivity of those who hear
the Good News to receiving and acting upon it. The ability to have faith
is a gift of the Holy Spirit to which some are not open. This week's
lessons are about the temptations of this world that distract the
hearers and cause them to reject or abandon the cause. Whether or not
you want to posit an animate force such as Satan at work here is a
matter of choice. In the end the hearer is given free choice and
although some of the distractions may be evil and hurtful to the
individual and those around him the distractions can just as easily be
positive choices that become an obsession and in their pursuit the
hearer loses sight of the Good News. Addictions to gambling, alcohol and
drugs are obvious evils. The pursuit of pleasure and wealth are less
obvious. It is not a sin to have financial security; it is to make it
one's sole goal in life to the exclusion of charity and social
interaction and welfare.
And so to the lessons which tend to clarify today's theme.
Exo 20:2 I am the Lord your God who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the prison-house.
Exo 20:3 You are to have no other gods but me.
Exo 34:14 "Do not worship any other god, because I, the LORD, tolerate no rivals.
Or as today's text puts it:
Isa 44:6 The LORD, who rules and protects Israel, the LORD Almighty, has this to say: "I am the first, the last, the only God; there is no other god but me.
Today's alternate OT Text has the story of Jacob's Ladder at Bethel. In it the God of Abraham and Isaac renews his covenant with Jacob.
Psalm 86 is a prayer asking God's guidance that the petitioner's actions may further God's will and that his way not be distracted by the temptations of this world and that he be impervious to those who would revile him and place temptations before him.
We continue our study of Romans with a passage that counsels us to resist our human natures that would lead us into sinful acts but to cultivate the Holy Spirit in our lives. We should not look upon the Spirit's workings as a constraint upon our lives but as a force for good that brings us the Peace of God and a place in the Kingdom of Heaven.
And so to the parable of the Kingdom of Heaven. The closest most of us come to understanding this allegory would be to think of the lawns surrounding our homes. We plant good seed but dandelions from the neighbourhood get planted there as well. We could spray herbicides that poison our environment, we could start over, or we could spend hours spading out the weeds but the best policy is to provide optimum conditions for the growth of grass so that the weeds not have an opportunity to get a foothold. Or we could enjoy the fruits of an unpolluted environment and make dandelion greens and wine.
Most of the remaining interpretation is straight forward. The Son of Man or his body the church are the sowers and the World is their field. The good seed are those who are receptive to the Word and the Weeds are those who fail to hear or more actively work to subvert the message. Whether or not you conceive of a Satanic Force in opposition to the Word is a matter of choice. The field of eschatology, end times, is quite another matter. The writers of Matthew conceived of a final judgement which would have included resurrection of the body and rewards for the faithful and the casting into the fiery pit of unrepentant sinners. The Bible has numerous apocalyptic passages that purport to describe these end times which usually include a final judgement. Early Christians lived in the expectation of this second coming within their lifetimes. It followed upon their Jewish traditions.
Volumes have been written and could be written on the subject. In brief I believe that Jesus taught that in his baptism we are endowed with the Holy Spirit and become eternal members of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is an eternal spiritual realm outside of human time, space, and experience. Our spirits reside permanently in this realm in common with the saints of every time and place. As members of his body the church we share in the Communion of Saints that ensures our security no matter what should happen.
And so to the lessons which tend to clarify today's theme.
Exo 20:2 I am the Lord your God who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the prison-house.
Exo 20:3 You are to have no other gods but me.
Exo 34:14 "Do not worship any other god, because I, the LORD, tolerate no rivals.
Or as today's text puts it:
Isa 44:6 The LORD, who rules and protects Israel, the LORD Almighty, has this to say: "I am the first, the last, the only God; there is no other god but me.
Today's alternate OT Text has the story of Jacob's Ladder at Bethel. In it the God of Abraham and Isaac renews his covenant with Jacob.
Psalm 86 is a prayer asking God's guidance that the petitioner's actions may further God's will and that his way not be distracted by the temptations of this world and that he be impervious to those who would revile him and place temptations before him.
We continue our study of Romans with a passage that counsels us to resist our human natures that would lead us into sinful acts but to cultivate the Holy Spirit in our lives. We should not look upon the Spirit's workings as a constraint upon our lives but as a force for good that brings us the Peace of God and a place in the Kingdom of Heaven.
And so to the parable of the Kingdom of Heaven. The closest most of us come to understanding this allegory would be to think of the lawns surrounding our homes. We plant good seed but dandelions from the neighbourhood get planted there as well. We could spray herbicides that poison our environment, we could start over, or we could spend hours spading out the weeds but the best policy is to provide optimum conditions for the growth of grass so that the weeds not have an opportunity to get a foothold. Or we could enjoy the fruits of an unpolluted environment and make dandelion greens and wine.
Most of the remaining interpretation is straight forward. The Son of Man or his body the church are the sowers and the World is their field. The good seed are those who are receptive to the Word and the Weeds are those who fail to hear or more actively work to subvert the message. Whether or not you conceive of a Satanic Force in opposition to the Word is a matter of choice. The field of eschatology, end times, is quite another matter. The writers of Matthew conceived of a final judgement which would have included resurrection of the body and rewards for the faithful and the casting into the fiery pit of unrepentant sinners. The Bible has numerous apocalyptic passages that purport to describe these end times which usually include a final judgement. Early Christians lived in the expectation of this second coming within their lifetimes. It followed upon their Jewish traditions.
Volumes have been written and could be written on the subject. In brief I believe that Jesus taught that in his baptism we are endowed with the Holy Spirit and become eternal members of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is an eternal spiritual realm outside of human time, space, and experience. Our spirits reside permanently in this realm in common with the saints of every time and place. As members of his body the church we share in the Communion of Saints that ensures our security no matter what should happen.
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