Living in the Spirit
July 23, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

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!
                                                                                                                                    –Matthew 13:36-43

*Eschatology is a branch of philosophy or theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world or of humankind*. I must confess studying the end of time is not my favorite subject primarily because I do not know what difference it makes figuring out when and how the end will come. The fact that the type of end we experience results from how we live today and every day makes a difference to me. I can do something about how I live. Growing up doing nuclear bomb drills sitting under our school desks with or hands over our heads helped me understand fearing the end of the world as a self-inflicted reality in my lifetime.

Jesus came to show us the way to live into the Kingdom of God, a kingdom ruled by love. He described an interdependent world where all are responsible for the well-being of each. The weeds of the word work toward the opposite idea. Greed and individual or “my group” power drive our lives.

The problem is the weeds are subtle. They creep into our lives as norms. In 1984, Oklahoma experienced a county commissioner scandal that reached almost every county. The older commissioners trained the new ones in how to cheat and get away with it. The magnitude of the corruption was stunning. Graft had become the norm so much so that some of the commissioners involved did not understand the outrage of their constituents. For some, it was the way they had always worked.

The privileged because of their perceived status have more trouble seeing the weeds in their life. Weeds become their status symbols in some instances. Wheelers and dealers gain the awe of those who want what the wheelers and dealers have.

How do we find wholeness in such a fragmented world? How do we understand the nature of being a child of God establishes our worth from our birth? How do we learn to love as Jesus loved? We do that by humbly accepting the love of God and allow it to permeate our beings until we see others as God’s children without the blindfold of privilege.

Prayer: God, forgive us when we let the weeds of privilege choak out our ability to love like Jesus.  Make us whole; make us one. Amen.

*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/Eschatology

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.