Keep Awake

Have you ever had those dreams where you show up at the wrong time and wrong place for some really important function? When I was in school they all revolved around exams or papers. The dream would usually start with going to the classroom where my exam only to realize that I’m the wrong place and even worse than that I studied for the wrong exam. In the last number of years, I’ve moved on to Sunday morning dreams. I show up at the church but I can’t find my sermon or I didn’t write a sermon or sometimes I just can’t seem to turn down the right road to get to the church.

The parable Jesus tells about the 10 bridesmaids – the five foolish and the five wise, reminds me of those dreams – well at least on the part of the foolish ones who couldn’t get into the celebration because they didn’t pack extra oil. Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven will be like this…” (Matthew 25:1) Did you notice that Jesus doesn’t is like but will be like? It is so clear. And yet the parable is anything but clear. There are 10 bridesmaids who all took their lamps to meet the bridegroom. 5 were wise and brought extra oil with them and 5 were foolish and didn’t bring extra oil. But the bridegroom is delayed and all those bridesmaids fall asleep. Finally, at midnight someone shouts, “The bridegroom is here! Come to meet him.” The Bridesmaids rub the sleep from their eye, get up and trim their lamps. Then the foolish ones realize that they are going to run out and ask the wise ones to share their oil with them. They refuse and send them off to buy more oil. When they come back, the bridegroom won’t let them in. Not only that the bridegroom says, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” (Matthew 25:12)

Here are some of my questions. So much of the gospel story is about love and mercy. Why didn’t the wise ones share with the others? Why did they get locked out? Jesus is all about opening doors for everyone. As you can tell, my sympathies are with those 5 foolish bridesmaids. Locked out of the wedding banquet after waiting so long and then running to get oil and running back to the feast only to be told they can’t come in. You can see why the parable reminds me of a bad dream. First not prepared. Second having to go on a mad dash to pick up what you forgot and then not being let in. This does not sound like the kingdom of heaven that I’m used to hearing about. The kingdom of heaven is normally a place where justice and mercy are plentiful. Where God’s love seems abundant.

A little context helps a lot with this parable. Matthew’s gospel was written long after Jesus’s death and everyone is waiting for his return. David Lose writes “By the time Matthew wrote this parable, the discipleship community may have been waiting for Jesus’ return for fifty years or more. Most of the eye-witnesses were likely dead. The church had spread, but it had also been oppressed. The Temple revered by both the Jews who confessed Jesus and those who did not had been destroyed, wreaking havoc on Jewish and Christian communities (sometimes worshiping together) alike. Where was Jesus? Yes, the waiting is the hardest part.” (In the Meantime, November 8th)

Waiting is hard and I would say many if not most of us are not all that good at waiting. I know I’m not. I like to have the things I want right away. Dr. Seuss in his book OH the Places You Will Go describes the waiting place as the most useless of all places. “Waiting for a train to go or the mail to come or the rain to go or the phone to ring or the snow to snow or waiting around for a yes or no or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting. Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for the uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or string of pearls, or a pair of pants or wig with curls or another chance. Everyone is just waiting.”

For over two thousand years, as a people of faith, we’ve been waiting for that day when Jesus will return. The early disciples believed that Jesus return was going to happen right away. It was a complete surprise to them that they waited for something that did not happen. It is almost as though Jesus is telling this parable to help us with what we aren’t good at – waiting. Because every parable says we do not know the day or the hour of Jesus return. But no one dreamed that it would take over two thousand years. The waiting Jesus was talking about is not a usesless kind of waiting. It’s not about watching the hours tick away on a clock. It is waiting with purpose. This is a kingdom of God parable.

Jesus showed us the way at the beginning of Matthew’s gospel – we heard them last week. The beatitudes set the stage for how we wait. Our calling is to comfort the grieving, to be merciful, to be pacemakers, to care for others in our midst. As we do all these things we are making God’s kingdom real. It’s the waiting Jesus talks about later in this chapter when he says,
“Come, you that are blessed by Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and visited me. …Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:34 – 36, 40)

            In this waiting time, we are sometimes going to get it just right like the wise bridesmaids. We are ready and celebrating at the feast. And sometimes we are going to be like the foolish ones, we are going to be late and not have everything we need to enter the celebration. But our God’s mercy is infinite and there are always second chances. As we wait in hope, for that day when Christ comes again, let us be about God’s work of mercy and compassion. Amen.  

Lest We Forgot

Memory and imagination are powerful. They have a way of reminding us of where we’ve been and pointing us to where we need to be. This past week I spent a lot of time remembering with my grandmother. She told about her parents, who I’ve never met, yet though her memory somehow they became real. Her father, who along with his two brothers, moved to London to become police officers because they were all over six feet tall. Her mother, who was 4 ft 10 and somehow managed to raise 10 children. How she went to the farm only for a few months and stayed a lifetime with my grandfather. Memory reminds us of where we’ve been. In this week of All Saints – it is important to remember those who’ve gone before us. Not only those who fought in battles, those who tended the home fronts, and those who built churches and raised families and cared for others.

Memory tells us where we’ve been. Imagination on the other hands helps us look ahead to the future. So many people over the years have gone into battle with brave hearts because they were imaging a world that is different than the current present.

In many ways that is what Jesus is doing in our reading from Matthew. Jesus and the disciples are gathered at the top of a mountain. Jesus is teaching them. He is helping them to imagine a future that is so different from their present. Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3 – 11)

            It is hard to wrap our heads around those who are grieving or poor in spirit being blessed. It is not how we normally use the word “blessing.” We talk about blessings often as something that is going our way or seems really good. Susan Hylen writes, “The Greek word, makarios, which is central to the Beatitudes, is a fairly common word. It’s not really hard to understand, but it’s difficult to translate into English. The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translates “blessed,” which is by far the most common translation of the Beatitudes. The problem with blessed is that it sounds a little unreal, like a quality that applies only to those saints whose stories we celebrate on All Saints Day and whose example may appear a bit unattainable to us.

New Testament professor Margaret Aymer has translated makarios as “greatly honored.” This is another good option for translating this word because it emphasizes the theme of reversal that is implied in the Beatitudes. The meek and the merciful are not revered by the world’s standards, but they are honored by God and by those who would align their lives with God’s ways.”  (https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3453)

            That changes how we read the beatitudes doesn’t it? They are a way of imagining a different future for all God’s children. In God’s kingdom, the one we daily strive for, those who are most vulnerable are greatly honoured. They who are grieving are greatly honoured. Those who show mercy are greatly honoured. The peacemakers are greatly honoured. Jesus is laying before us a new way of living the seeks the welfare of all – it is a world of peace.

            Eugene Peterson, in his translation of the bible called The Message translates Matthew 5 this way: “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought. … “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.” (Matthew 5:3 – 6, 9)

            There is so much happening in our world today that is difficult and sets us to be at odds with one another. Jesus is pointing us to a world where love, mercy, compassion and above all peace are real and lasting. Jesus is asking us to imagine a future that is the reversal of many of the norms of this world. If we pause for a moment we can catch glimpses of that peace and love at work in our world. Hold onto those moments because they help us to imagine what is possible.

            Memory and imagination allow us to both remember what was and hope for a better world.  Today we remember. Today we pray for peace. Today we follow in the footsteps of the prince of peace who asks us not only imagine a world of peace to live each day working for that peace. May it be so. Amen 

No Fair!

When I was a kid I had a keen sense of fairness – particularly when it came to my brother. If he got more than me – no fair. Or maybe it was the question “why did he get to do that and not me?” No fair! Maybe it wasn’t so much a sense of fairness but it seemed that it should be the same for both of us. As a parent now, I know m parents must have grown weary of my cries of no fair because sometimes I would be told, “Life’s not fair.” Fair doesn’t always mean the same. At the heart of the no fair complaint is the idea that somehow we are missing out on something a sibling or neighbour has or that someone has received something more or better. This not something that exist between sibling. It is part of our culture. We expect that that who work the hardest, longest best will get the biggest reward. We expect that those who’ve done the right things be held in higher esteem than those who have not. 

I’m guessing things weren’t much different in Jesus day. Somehow, we want what the other has. Then Jesus comes on the scene telling parables that open our minds and change our hearts. Today is a kingdom of heaven parable. Parables about the kingdom of heaven remind us of the difference between our world and world shaped in God’s image. Today’s parable gets to the heart of what’s fair. This parable reminds us that our sense of what is fair is so different what God says is fair. It is one of those challenging parables because sometimes I think we would like to keep God’s grace in a box and dole it out only to those we think are worthy or who have earned it. 

Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out to hire day labourers.” They agreed to work for the usual daily wage and went to work in the vineyard. Life for day labourers was extremely difficult. They went to the market place each day hoping and praying that someone would hire them. It was a precarious way to earn a living. The usual daily wage for day labourers is barely enough to support a family. You can imagine how important it was to get hired.  The landowner returned to the market at 9 o’clock, and noon and three and saw people waiting to be hired for the day. So hired more workers each time. Each time the landowner told the workers hired later in the day that he’d pay them a fair wage. At the end of the work day all the workers are told that those who were hired last would be paid first. So the labourers all line up. The landowner then pays those hired later in the day the usual daily wage. They must have been shocked. They did not expect this at all. They were only expecting a portion of a day’s wage instead they got the whole thing. 

    As the line worked its way toward those who were hired at the start of the day, you can almost feel the expectations rising. Can imagine what those hired first are thinking? They ones who’d worked hard all day. The ones who saw everyone get the full days wage. They were expecting some kind of a bonus. They are probably thinking to themselves, “If they got the full day’s wage, then I surely will get more. I worked through the heat of the day” Not unreasonable. But when the land owner hands them the same as those who’d been hired late in the day, they cried out, “no fair. I worked all day, through the heat of the sun and I get the same as they do? No way.” The landowner says, “'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’” (Matthew 20:13 – 15) It is the kind of parable that turns people’s expectations upside down. 

    In this kingdom of heaven parable there are no favourites. This is God’s generosity at work. The truth is no one has been robbed of anything or treated badly. It is more a problem of expectations. Those who worked longest and hardest expected that they would get more than those who only worked a portion of the day. It does not jive with their sense of justice that says, “those who work hardest and longest deserve the most.”  From the perspective of the one who was hired late in the day – it is an unimaginable gift. He is the one who worried about going home yet again with no money for food. For him it is a story of incredible grace. 

    And so it is with God’s grace. It is generous. It gives us all that we need. It is a parable that reminds us that God’s kingdom is for everyone those who laboured through the heat of the day and those who come late. We all get the same gifts of grace, forgiveness and abiding love. 

It is perhaps easy imagine that this parable has nothing to do with our daily living. But maybe there are times where we too might confess that we resent that others have something we want or don’t have. I know I’ve been there. It is hard place to be because the resentments grow and fester and it has a way of blinding. When hearts are filled with resentment it is difficult to appreciate what you do have. Filled with longing for what others have we miss the signs of God’s grace at work. Jesus reminds us that God’s generosity is not limited by our expectations of what is fair. 

    The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out to hire labourers for the work of the vineyard – and gives everyone gifts of grace. The kingdom of heaven is not like the world we inhabit day to day. The kingdom of heaven has nothing to do with fair or not fair. It is the promise that all who follow in Christ’s way will receive gifts of grace, forgiveness and abiding love. It is generosity beyond our imagining. Whether they worked through the heat of the day or were hired at the last minute, we God’s grace defies expectations. The gifts of the kingdom are for everyone. That is good news. That is grace. Amen

Parting the Sea

All week I have been focusing my attention on the few lines I was struggle with. “Then the waters returned and covered the chariots and chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained.” (Exodus 14:28) I’ve been thinking about their families and the people who will miss them. That led me to thinking about all the refugees that have drowned in the sea because they were on overcrowded boats. And then given the choice between returning to their home and getting in an unsafe boat. They choose the boat, hoping for something better.

      I stewed. What to say. How is this a story of liberation? I asked these kinds of questions until I happened to watched a video preview for a new bible study called, “Following a Nobody from Nowhere: A series of videos on the invitation to follow Jesus.” Greg Boyle reminded me that God is always about those who find themselves on the margins. The quote that stands out comes from Richard Rohr, “God is in immediate personal solidarity and union with what I’m suffering right now. That Jesus you will fall in love with. That Jesus you will give your life for.” (theworkofthepeople.com) 

      Then I knew. It was like I was looking through microscope and I was only focussing all my attention on one part of the story. Jonathan Sacks in his book, Not in God’s Name writes “The Talmud records a striking passage in which the angels are portrayed as wishing to sing a song of triumph at the division of the Red Sea. God silences them with the words, ‘My creatures are drowning – and you wish to sing a song?’” (Jonathan Sacks, Not in God’s Name) So we too lament the terrible parts of this story. But we also need to zoom out and remember that God is with those who are most vulnerable in our communities.  We need to remember why Moses was standing at the edge of the Red sea, staff in hand, like Gandalf not letting the Egyptians pass. 

The Israelites came to Egypt seeking refuge from a famine. They were welcomed because Joseph who both listened for God’s voice and was a shrewd planner who saved the Egyptians from suffering during the famine. But then it changed. Exodus beings with these words, “Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and that whole generation. …Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land. Therefore they set task masters over them to oppress them with forced labour.” (Exodus 1:6, 8 - 12) By the end of the first chapter of Exodus, Pharaoh has told the midwives to kill all the boys. When I tell the Godly Play story it is described this way, “When they came to Egypt, the found food and work, but Pharaoh trapped them. They could not go home again. They had to do what the Pharaoh said. They had to live where Pharaoh said.  They had to go to bed when Pharaoh said. They had to eat what Pharaoh said. They had to do the work that Pharaoh said. They had to do everything the Pharaoh said. They were slaves.” (The Complete Guide to Godly Play vol. 2 page 69)

      It was a terrible time for the Israelites. God called a leader, Moses, to lead the people to freedom. This was no easy job. Pharaoh did not want to lose his labour force. Ten plagues came and went and still Pharaoh would not let the people go. Moses would go and beg for his people’s freedom until finally the Pharaoh let them go. It says just before our reading for this morning, “When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the minds of Pharaoh and his officials were changed toward the people and they said, “What have we done, letting Israel leave our service?” So he had his chariot made ready, and took his army with him; … The Egyptians pursed the Israelites, who going out boldly.” (Exodus 14: 5 – 6, 9)

      They are terrified. Many cried out, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt?” (Exodus 14:11) In the midst of the fear, God was there. The pillar of cloud was going before them and it followed them, at night a pillar of fire. When it seemed that there was no escaping the wrath of the Egyptians. Moses raised his hand and the waters were divided and they walked to freedom.

      The journey was not easy. At many points along the way, the Israelites were not always sure which way to go. The same is true in our own lives. We do not know where to go or which way to turn or how to live. The good news for all of us is that God is with us in this moments –reminding us of mercy and compassion. The good news for our world is that God is with those who are most vulnerable. It is our calling as a people of faith to help make our community, our country and our world a safe place for all God’s people to live.

      It sounds like a daunting task – changing the world. We do not do this work alone. God will guide us as we show mercy, act with kindness and show compassion for all those in need. Together, by God’s grace we can help shape a future when the most vulnerable in our community are cared for. Thanks be to God. Amen. 

Voice of Hope

Our scripture reading today is at once challenging, disheartening and a gentle reminder of what is really important. Jesus and the disciples are in the region of Tyre and Sidon. They are not on home turf. They are in the land of the gentiles AKA – those who are not descendants of Abraham. Not long after arriving, a woman approaches Jesus and the disciples. She cries out“Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” (Matthew 15:22) But no one paid attention to her. Jesus kept walking with the disciples following behind him. She is after all a Canaanite woman, a gentile – there was no need to listen to her. But she will not be ignored. Again, she says “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” (Matthew 15:22) Still nothing.

She will not be ignored or pushed aside. Her daughter’s life is one the line. She knows about Jesus and what he can do. Again, she says, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” (Matthew 15:22) The disciples are tired of this nagging and say to Jesus, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” Jesus knew his mission and it was not for her kind. Jesus says to her “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  And he keeps going. We might as well just say it like it is. Jesus is worse than rude. He dismisses her because of her race and keeps walking.

But she will not be ignored or pushed aside or told that she and her daughter’s life are of no account. She puts herself in Jesus path and kneels at before him saying, “Lord help me.” (Matthew 15:25) And still Jesus does nothing. Can you believe it? Our Jesus who heals. Our Jesus who is compassionate. Our Jesus who loves us back to life refuses to help this woman whose daughter is being tormented by demons simply because she is from the wrong place. And then it does not get better as the story progresses. He says, her, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” (Matthew 15:26) He calls her a dog.

Most people would have walked away. First ignored, then dismissed and then insulted. But not this woman. She says “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” (Matthew 15:27) And finally Jesus see her – not where she is from – but her. A mother crying, begging for her daughter’s life to be restored. Jesus says, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” (Matthew 15:28) And in that moment her daughter is healed and Jesus mission and ministry changed.

I’ve read and preached on this story countless times. I’ve reminded myself that because of this woman’s persistence Jesus ministry changes – which it does. Barbara Brown Taylor writes, “through the Canaanite woman’s faith [Jesus] learns that God’s purpose for him is bigger than he had imagined and there is enough of him to go around. (Seeds of Heaven. p. 63)

Somehow this week I hear this story differently. I remember Jesus pushing the Canaanite woman aside and I think of the riots in Charlottesville. I watch as Jesus dismisses her and I think of the people who show up at protests using the hate filled slogans of KKK and Neo-Nazis. And when Jesus called her a dog and I am reminded of the divisions that are occurring in our own country and around the world. I think of the all the people who’ve been pushed aside because arbitrary lines have been drawn that say “you are in and you are out.” This gospel reading reminds me that racism isn’t new. It’s an enduring problem.

Dr. David Lose in his column In the Meantime writes “It’s way, way too easy for us to assume that God is on our side, looks like us, favors our positions, and endorses our views. Call it sinful, call it human, but let’s be honest: it’s really, really easy for us to imagine God is just like us. …And just as the Canaanite woman teaches Jesus that God’s mission and vision and compassion and mercy are bigger than what he may have initially imagined, so also might the Canaanite woman teach us the same at a time when synagogues are threatened, mosques are being fire-bombed, and neo-Nazis and white supremacists march the streets: every time you draw a line between who’s in and who’s out, you will find the God made manifest in Jesus on the other side. (Dr. David Lose, In the Meantime August 15th, 2017)

The good news, is that Jesus is changed by his meeting with the Canaanite Woman. Our Gospel reading, shows us a path that brings hope. A path to wholeness for communities. The Canaanite woman teaches Jesus that his mission is to share God’s love with everyone. No exceptions. The same is true today for us today.

As we watch the news and wonder what kind of world our children will grow up in. Pay attention to the signs of hope – for the signs that our world is changing for the better. There all the people who showed up to say no to racism, violence and hatred. The ministers, clergy, pastors, rabbis and leaders of many faith communities who formed a line of protection at the riots in Charlottesville. The people of Boston who showed up in droves to protest against the right wing free speech rally and whose voices drowned out the ones spreading hatred. The people of Vancouver who showed up to protest the anti-immigration protest and whose words of welcome were the only ones that could be heard. 

This is where hope is found. The everyday people like you and me who gather and use their voices to stand up for a world where all are welcome. As we head into the new week, let our voices be the voices of hope. Let the message of the Canaanite woman who showed Jesus the way of love, challenge us to be hope at work in our community. Let us pray and work for a day when our world will reflect that hope in every place. By God’s grace may it be so. Amen.

Wheat and Weeds

As you might imagine, the gospel reading for this morning has inspired me to think about wheat and weeds. Gardeners and famers all know that they don’t want weeds in their flower beds or fields. They take the good nutrients from the soil and they make it harder for the stuff we want to growing to grow. My front lawn, much to Scott’s chagrin, is a testament that very principle. We want grass but there are dandelions everywhere. For several years we even waged a battle with gout weed in our flower beds.

            Here is my problem. I like weeds – well maybe not gout weed. Some weeds have beautiful flowers. A field of dandelions is a glorious shade of yellow. When I come home from work and see that field of yellow, I smile. Queen Anne’s lace has a delicate flower. The thistle is beautiful shade of purple and green. The lilies of the field that Jesus talked about – beautiful red weeds that grow in every crack in the concrete. I’m not alone. The Iona community published a whole book called Dandelions and Thistles. My favourite poem from the collection is called Dandelions and Thistles.

In the beginning

God saw the cheerful unrepentant weeds:

Thistles and dandelions—

They were fruitful and multiplied.

They bloomed on poor soil

And in the barren wilderness;

They brought colour into a solemn world.

…

God, knowing the secret of life and death,

Created green shouts that spring up after rain,

flowers that follow sun

fruits that will only grow

if they fall in the earth and die.

These weeds – as down-to-earth as you or me

are parables of the wisdom and work of God.

            Jesus parable for us today is as complex as our relationship with weeds. Don’t get confused with last week’s parable of the Sower. This different. Jesus is talking about wheat and weeds. It is another kingdom of God parable. There once was a farmer who sowed good seed but at night while the hired hands were sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds. When the wheat started to grow so did the weeds. The farm hands came and asked the master if he used good seed. He says, “An enemy has done this.” (Matthew 13:28) When they ask if they should pull up all the weeds. The farmer says, “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.” (Matthew 13:29 – 30)

This is a parable of God’s grace. It is easy to miss if we focus the weeds being bundled and burned. Pay attention to some other details in the parable. The person who planted the seed was the boss – the master. In Jesus’ day that was unheard of. The master doesn’t plant, the workers do. Then, the master instructs them to let the wheat and weeds grow together. Elizabeth Johnson says, “What Matthew most likely refers to, however, is darnel or cockle, a noxious weed that closely resembles wheat and is plentiful in Israel. The difference between darnel and real wheat is evident only when the plants mature and the ears appear. The ears of the real wheat are heavy and will droop, while the ears of the darnel stand up straight.” https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=979

Here is the challenge of the parable and for us in our daily lives. You can’t always tell the difference between the wheat the weeds and God looks on things very differently than we do. Maybe we humans are a strange mixture of wheat and weeds; good and bad. Sometimes we do wonderful things and sometimes we turn from God’s ways. The master, God, lets them both grow together because you can’t always tell who is going to be bear the fruit of the kingdom. That’s the beauty of this parable. God is telling is it not up to us decide who is the wheat and who is weeds – who is in and who is out. God is saying – leave that to me. Because sometimes – maybe most of the time – people will surprise you.

 That was certainly true of Jacob. God did not choose Jacob but not because he was perfect or even at first glance a good human being. Jacob is a liar and a cheat. He stole his brother’s inheritance and blessing and now his on the run from his rightfully angry brother. After a long day spent fleeing his brother’s wrath, Jacob find himself alone in strange place. God comes to him in a dream of angels ascending and descending a ladder.  As he dream, God makes a promise to Jacob that echoes the one made to Abraham and Isaac before him:

            “I am the Lord... the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:13 – 15)

            Then Jacob changes. Love has a way of transforming lives. Jacob says, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, ... so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house.” (Genesis 28: 20 – 22)

            This is the heart of the good news. It is for all of us. God’s love transforms our lives. God takes the broken or missing pieces in our lives and makes us whole. Jacob was a strange mixture of wheat and weeds and yet God made him the heir to a promise. God says “Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go.” The same is true for us. God is with us no matter what. God knows our hearts. We too can pray Psalm 139, “O God, you have searched me and known me. ...How deep your designs are to me, O God! How great their number! I try to count them but they are more than sand. I come to the end – I am still with you.” (Psalm 139)

            God’s kingdom is beyond compare. God searches our hearts and knows us – the good and the bad – the weeds and the wheat and loves us and walks with us. That is God’s amazing grace to us. We do not need to worry about who is in or who is out. Our calling is simple – follow in Jesus way of compassion and love. Then leave the rest to God’s infinite and amazing grace. Amen.