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. . . As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord . . . Joshua 25:15b
Proper 11 Yr A
Editor's note: During the season of Pentecost, churches that use the Revised Common Lectionary have two options. One, often called "semicontinuous" or "Track 1", provides more detail about the Old Testament stories. The other, called "complementary" or "Track 2", more closely marries the Old Testament lesson to the gospel reading.
James B. Janknegt, Wheat or weeds from http://www.bcartfarm.com/pp178.html. Read about the artist at the website cited.
Published date 07272023
Introduction
Introduction
The parable for this week is about a sower and subsequent growth of wheat and weeds ("tares: in KJV). The interesting part of the parable is that the Master does not want the weeds pulled, but wants the two—wheat and weeds—to grow together. Further, the Master does not want the laborers to make the decision about which is wheat and which is weeds. Well now, how about that? I tend to think of myself as a laborer. Does this mean I am to keep my judgment to myself? that I am to allow my master to make that kind of decision? Well, it will be difficult for me but simply put, yes, that is not my decision to make.
The sermon I heard last week ("Parable of the Sower") took me to a different place: the preacher suggested the parable was exactly that, about the "sower" or God, who doesn't reserve the "seed" only for good soil but distributes abundantly everywhere. Can that be the lesson from this parable, that it's not for us to intercede but to allow God to take root and grow? I'm still thinking on this.
A related question is "what kinds of seeds am I sowing?" Re-read Matthew 13:24-30 and allow your imagination to paint a picture—wheat and weeds growing together, wheat and weeds gathered (wheat to the barn, weeds burned). What in your life is "good seed"? What in your life is "weed"? How are you "wheat" to those in your environment? How about "weed"?
Comments welcome.
Matthew 13:24-30,36-43
Matthew 13:24-30,36-43
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.’” . . .
From sermon4kids.com: “Whenever you see someone in the church that you don’t think should be there, before you grab your hoe or your weed killer, remember the advice of Jesus. Just leave it up to God to separate the weeds from the good plants. If we try to take matters into our own hands, we will probably do more harm than good.”
Scripture: July 23, 2023, Proper 11 (Pentecost 8) Year A—Track 1 Genesis 28:10-19a (image), Psalm 139: 1-11, 22-23 (image), Wisdom of Solomon 12:13, 16-19 (image); Track 2 Isaiah 44:6-8 (image), Psalm 86:11-17 (image), Romans 8:12-25 (image), and Matthew 13:24-30,36-43 (image). Illuminating the scripture, an image and audio journey.
Collect: Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Reflection:
Track 1: How has your understanding of the relationship between suffering and faith (or vulnerability and trust) changed over time? What experiences of God’s grace do you need to acknowledge and anoint?
Track 2: What does it mean to wait with patience for the coming reign of God?
Other questions:
How is the mixture between the seed and the darnel (ryegrass) manifested in our community?
Which are the consequences of this for our life?
Looking into the mirror of the parable, with whom do I feel more in agreement: with the labourers who want to cut away the darnel, or with the owner of the field who orders to wait until the time of the harvest
- Source: Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 2 © 2014 Westminster John Knox Press.
Eye Candy:
"Satan Sowing Darnel" by Dominico Fetti, in the Hermitage Museum;
"Weeds" by Ian Pollock, not easy for me to interpret;
“Jacob’s Dream” by Marc Chagall, coloring is particularly notable
Ear Worm:
"Canticle of Remembrance" from J W Pepper click play;
"In the bulb there is a flower", sing-along;
"My God how wonderful thou art", organ presentation
Brain Food:
"Wheat and tares together", commentary by Lynn Miller;
podcast by Courtney Allen Crump;
"For those who are wise" by T.J. Beam
"Wheat and Tares and other truths" by Karoline Lewis
Parables:
"The Shipping News" (2001, R), ripening of weak-willed man, Review;
"Amistad" (1997, R), human dignity under fire, Review;
"The Fisher King" (1991, R), modern story of transformation, Review
Hymn Notes: The story behind "In the bulb there is a flower" by Natalie Sleeth (1934-1992) (referenced above):
"Born in Evanston, Illinois, Natalie Sleeth began her musical career at the young age of four. . . . In 1952, Sleeth earned her Academic Degree in Music Theory as well as her BA in Music Theory from the Wellesley College in Massachusetts. It was here that she would meet her future husband, Professor of Homiletics, Rev. Ronald E. Sleeth. In her lifetime she earned two honorary Doctorate degrees, one from the West Virginia Wesleyan School (1959), and the second from the Nebraska Wesleyan School (1990, only two years before her death). Her most famous anthem, "Joy in the Morning," was written in 1977 for the West Virginia Wesleyan Chorale on the occasion of her husband's inauguration as President of the University. . . . [H]er second most famous is "In the Bulb there is a Flower," or "Hymn of Promise."
"Written as an Anthem , "Hymn of Promise" was later dedicated to Sleeth's husband shortly after he was diagnosed with Cancer. After hearing the hymn, Ronald Sleeth requested that the hymn be sung at his funeral. Honoring his wishes, the piece was performed at the funeral, being the only piece written by Natalie Sleeth to be sung at the ceremony. The anthem was written for Pasadena Community Church, in St. Petersburg, Florida, where it was first sung and performed in 1985 under the direction of C. Fredrick Harrison. This hymn was very popular in the United Church of Canada Hymnal; Voices United (published in 1996), as well as in the United Methodist Church Hymnal (published in 1989). The text for the hymn comes from Sleeth's pondering the opposition of spring and winter, as well as . . . a line found in a T.S. Elliott poem . . . "In the end is our beginning. [emphasis added]"
from "Etymology of Hymns"
For families: Study guide and activities, (former guide), group activity, snacks, kid video
For children: See family guide/activities (other activity); bulletin, craft
For middlers: See family guide/activities (other activity); bulletin, craft
Coloring: Genesis 28, Parable of the weeds
For youth: How does one discern between what’s good and what’s not? Sometimes the task is an easy one, but other times it can be downright difficult. We know that penicillin grows in a mold, but we don’t want to eat our bread covered with mold. So what examples can you think of? In our world, good and evil co-exist. How can we be agents for good?
[based on “Duke’s Mixture Discipleship” from Stewardship of Life website.]Comments welcome.
As we continue to read the Gospel according to Matthew each Sunday, we are in a section of Jesus’ parables concerning the Kingdom of God. This parable of the wheat and the weeds reaffirms God’s patience with the Church. While we are often impatient with its failures, God is merciful and waits until the end before separating the good from the bad. Jesus urges us to grow into fruitful members of God’s family.
Track 1. The story of God’s ancient people continues today. Jacob, the wily grandson of Abraham, is fleeing because he has cheated his brother out of the family inheritance. God gives him a dream in which God renews the promise to Abraham, whose heir Jacob is. This story illustrates that God does not choose people because they are worthy but out of the love and grace God has toward all people.
Track 2. The first reading from Isaiah is a report of God’s own words. Despite the fearfulness and majesty of the description, we are told not to be afraid. God’s power is not a power to destroy, but the power of love.
Track 2 alternative. In the first reading from the Wisdom of Solomon, God is acknowledged as all powerful. Yet God is forebearing toward us and, in divine power, chooses to judge us with patience and mildness.
In the second reading, Paul assures us that the whole creation is moving toward redemption. Through our redemption will come the redemption of the whole creation. Therefore, the whole creation waits with longing for our redemption to be complete.
We share in the Eucharistic action in order that God’s redemptive power may lead us toward the Kingdom. We share also in order that we may be the means by which redemption comes to the whole creation. That is our vocation as the people of God and as members of the Body of Christ.
From The Rite Light: Reflections on the Sunday Readings and Seasons of the Church Year. Copyright © 2007 by Michael W. Merriman. Church Publishing Incorporated, New York.
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