Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Seventh Sunday after Trinity.
Our Church Services this morning are at the usual times of 9.15 at St Agnes' and 11.15 at St Thomas'.
If you are unable to be with us in person, you will find resources below to worship at home.
Our first hymn this morning is "Morning Has Broken"
Today's Gospel
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43Parable of the Weeds
Jesus put before the crowd 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
If you’ve ever grown plants from seed you will probably have observed that nearly all seedlings look alike. First there is a tiny little shoot and then one or two leaves start to appear. Nearly all plants look a bit like cress until they start to develop and grow to maturity.
At the early stage, therefore it is impossible to sort out the good plants from the weeds, so nothing can be done about them until they are clearly distinguishable.
However, once the weeds begin to get established, digging them out may not be that easy. Their roots will be intertwined with the roots of the plants we want to keep, and by removing the weeds, we often damage the good plants and so they are less healthy and produce less flowers and seeds.
So the approach of the farmer in todays story is very wise, and provided the weeds don’t starve the wheat they are doing less harm than digging them up. We only have to worry if the weeds are really invasive or like the thorns in last weeks parable, likely to choke and damage the crop.
Ironically, the weeds in our garden are usually wheat stalks which are dropped amongst the flowerbeds or vegetables and herbs when the birds are eating at the bird-feeder.
I have to admit I generally don’t fuss too much about the weeds in our garden, but that’s not because I am lazy and can’t be bothered to get down on my knees and endlessly pull them out – it’s because sometimes I am pleasantly surprised by what grows and, like the seedling in the picture above, I can’t be sure how it will turn out until it has developed into what it is destined to be. It can be quite wonderful when you get something growing that you hadn’t expected.
The message usually focussed on in this parable is that there are bad people and good people in the world, and on the day of judgement, the good people will be saved and the bad people will not.
That is all well and good, but a little too simplistic for me because people are like a field of both wheat and weeds. Everyone has their good sides and bad sides, and we all fall short of what God wants us to be from time to time. Nonetheless, we are all capable of being what God wants us to be, and like the farmer, God doesn’t give up on us.
Because He loves, He is always willing to hear us when we reflect and say sorry, and give us the opportunity to change our ways. We are given the opportunity as we go though our lives to develop and mature into the wheat plant we were intended to be.
In the field in which we live, there will be amongst us those who are bad people, criminals, and those who would harm one another or take advantage of us. There are also those who we dislike because they associate with the wrong sort of people. But it’s important that we are not too quick to make assumptions about people, based on where they live or who they mix with; because like the immature plant, (which is not easy to distinguish from any other plant), we may be making harmful and incorrect judgements.
It’s not our job to judge others, and certainly when we don’t know enough about them or their circumstances. Sometimes, people are dragged into situations or lifestyles they don’t want to be part of, and looking for the chance to change their lives and grow into the ‘good wheat’. Even good people make mistakes and we need to give everyone chance to mature and become what God wants us to be.
Let’s not worry about the weeds in the other fields, but focus on the weeds in our own lives. Despite the dire warning of judgement in this passage, there is a message of hope, that when we focus on looking after the garden that is our own life, we can all be saved.
Happy gardening. Revd. Paul
Our Prayers
Heavenly Father,
You plant us as seeds, to grow to what you call us to be;
Help us not to judge others in the field as good or bad,
Help us to acknowledge what is good and bad in ourselves,
And help us to develop and grow the good in ourselves, and in others.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen
Today's final hymn is "God Forgave my Sin in Jesus' Name"
