Sunday Worship 19th July
You can find all of our latest information, Edith's reflection for this Sunday, our Thursday "Worship for all Generations" and much more by clicking on the following link to our facebook page - Leesfield Parish
Our first hymn for today is "O Jesus I Have Promised"
Today's Bible reading -
This is rather a difficult parable. Most of us have some experience of gardening, and we know that weeding is really important. It is hard work keeping the plants we want to grow clear of the weeds that can prevent their growth. Yet here is Jesus saying the weeds should be left till harvest time.
In this case the weeds that have grown up in the wheat field are an annual grass that looks very much like wheat. Distinguishing one from another in the early stages of growth is nearly impossible. As the plants mature, the roots of weeds and wheat intertwine and become almost inseparable. Yet separating them is necessary. Unless the weeds are removed, then flour made from the wheat will be ruined by the weeds, which are both bitter and mildly toxic. The usual solution is to harvest the plants, spread them on a flat surface, and then remove the weeds, which by this stage are a different colour than the wheat. So the weeds can be separated from the wheat only at the proper time, following the harvest.
This is a parable, so we have to ask what the hidden meaning is. The field represents the world and our lives. One of the challenges of today’s gospel is the challenge to become more than who we think we are. It’s a challenge that arises every time we face the weeds of our life and world. The reality, according to Jesus, is that our lives and our world are a field in which good and evil, life and death, joys and sorrows, that which we want and that which we don’t want grow and live side by side. The wheat and the weeds stand together in our world and in each of our lives.
That, Jesus says, is what the kingdom of heaven is like. That’s good news for us. It means that despite the weeds in and around us the kingdom is still here. The weeds do not overcome or make absent God’s kingdom. It may not be the fullness of the kingdom but it is, nevertheless, the kingdom. The weeds are, of course, the evils of our world. The parable does not deny that there are weeds in the wheat. It does not suggest for a moment that the world is free from evil. Instead, the weeds are all too visible. The landowner knows what’s happened — “An enemy has done this!” Yes, the world is a terribly broken place. What is meant to be a wheat field is hosting countless weeds. So do we do nothing? Just sit and wait? No, that’s not what Jesus is saying. There is plenty to do and it will be a challenge. The words that are translated as “let them” in Jesus’ statement, “Let them grow…” can also be translated as forgive them. It’s the same words Jesus spoke from the cross in St. Luke’s account of the gospel when he says, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). Even then, even on the cross, Jesus is unwilling to pull up the weeds.
There is no place in Jesus’ gospel for Christian vigilantism, by word or by action, against another or against ourselves. Instead, Jesus commands love. Love your enemy. Love your neighbour. Love yourself. Love God. Forgive the weeds? Love the weeds? Remember the gospel is always a challenge. So, yes, forgive them. Love them. Maybe that’s how the wheat begins to disentangle its roots from the weeds and show itself to be wheat and not weeds. Maybe love and forgiveness are what life in the mixed field of God’s kingdom and this world is like. It seems the separation between the wheat and the weeds is not as clear cut or black and white as Facebook, the media, our politicians, and our personal opinions would often have us believe. In any event, we are not the ones to make that judgment. We’re not the ones to uproot those we see as weeds. Jesus is clear about that. “Let them grow together until the harvest,” he says. Jesus shows more interest in growth than extermination. He is willing to wait and to be patient, and so must we.
Edith
Today's second hymn is "Praise To The Lord, The Almighty, The King Of Creation"
Our prayers for today -
And our final hymn for today is a popular one with children - "You Shall Go Out With Joy"
