Thoughts for the Day

The Parable of Weeds among the Wheat

He put before them 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.”’...

Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds

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!

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

There seems to be a lot of evil in our world at the moment. In the last month alone our televisions have been full of the following news: the US and Syria continue to exchange bombs against each other and the surrounding countries, as well as attacking civilian ships waiting in the Gulf of Hormuz; in the UK a well known elderly political figure has been brutally murdered in hr home; and in the meantime Russia continues her unjust war on Ukraine unabated, now attacking even more civilian targets. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Every day there have been similar incidents around the world, and often we feel totally helpless faced with a continuous barrage of such news. What can we do as individuals to stop such evil spreading?

The parable of the 'Weeds among the Wheat' goes some way to helping us understand such evil in our world. Jesus has taught that the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew's term for the 'Kingdom of God') is partially here, but it's not yet complete. Where love is shown there is evidence of the Kingdom, but until God brings His Kingdom to completion then there will still be evil present in our world. In the parable, the 'weeds' (the wicked) are sown by an enemy among the 'wheat' (God's people). God is the 'Master', and His instructions are quite clear. Both will grow together until harvest, and then the wicked will be dealt with and God's people will be gathered into Heaven.

So have faith in God, and endeavour to show love through every action you make, for such seeds shine out against the dark seeds of evil, and in doing so you will help to hasten the completion of God's Kingdom.

Almighty God,
sometimes we feel helpless
when faced with the evil in our world.
As individuals we feel powerless,
but You have taught us to be faithful and patient.
Our task is to live the best life we can
as faithful Christians,
and to show our beliefs through our actions
so that others will be drawn to You.
Give us the confidence to know
that You will deal with the wicked in due course.
Amen.