Let’s Sow Seed

 



 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 fiel.” 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! 

We reflected on the Parable of the Weeds a few days ago (see The Good And The Bad - https://youtu.be/tQDMr70FHwI). In today’s reading, Jesus explains the parable. It is one of the only two parables that Jesus actually explained, the other one being the Parable of the Sower. Most of the parable is easily understood, but let us take a look at the explanation again: “The one who sows the good seed is Jesus. The field where the seed is sown is the world. The good seed are the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age. The reapers are angels.” Nice and pat.

 

The only nagging question is the command of the owner — who is also the sower — not to uproot the weeds. Every farmer tries to protect his crop, plucking out the weeds that take away much-needed nutrition from the wheat he has planted. So, why does this guy not pluck them out?  There are two possibilities. One is that the root systems had become intertwined, and destroying the weeds would also destroy the wheat. The other is that the weeds in question may have been darnel, which looks much like wheat in its early stages of growth, making it hard to distinguish between the two.

 

The first possibility lends itself to the idea of believers being the good seed and the rest of the world, with its assorted beliefs—New Age, Atheism, Humanism, Secularism, etc.—being the bad seed. The influences of non-Christian philosophies have become so pervasive, especially in recent times, they are threatening the complete destruction of the wheat, but Jesus’ advice is to let them grow nonetheless. Just as we believe we are right, I am sure they believe they are right too, so it might be best to leave them be. There will be a final reckoning where everything will be resolved. 

 

In the second possibility, where the weeds are darnel that are barely distinguishable from the wheat, this can mean it represents false believers. Is there such a thing? Yes. To all appearances they look devout and holy, but inwardly they are very corrupt. The Pharisees that Jesus often berated offer an example. “You are like whitewashed tombs,” he told them on one occasion. “You look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of everything unclean” (Matthew 23:27). These too will be taken care of in the final reckoning.

 

But there is a third reason why the weed is allowed to grow with the wheat, and this is a spiritual one. It gives time for the “children of the evil one” to become “children of the kingdom”. We have seen this happen over the years to millions of people, and it can happen to millions more. Especially those who are near and dear to us: family members, relatives, friends, colleagues. We need to reach out to them.

 

Let us learn, live, and share our faith and help get everybody into heaven!

 

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha by clicking here: https://youtu.be/aFKFGhPqa9A

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Let’s Get Healed - A Reflection on Matthew 18:21-19:1

Image
  Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, an
Read more

Patience - A Reflection on Luke 2:33-35.

Image
  And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”   This is probably the shortest passage that we have reflected upon this year. In it, we find a man named Simeon making a prophecy about three things. One, about Jesus. Two, about the people of Israel. And three, about the pain that Jesus’ mother Mary would go through. We have seen all his prophecies came true. But who is Simeon? And what can we learn from him? Ok. On the 40th day of his birth, Jesus is taken by Mary and Joseph to the temple to be officially inducted into the Jewish faith. When they were there, a man named Simeon came in to see them.   He is described as “righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the H
Read more

What’s In It For Me? - A Reflection on Matthew 19:23-30

Image
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, “Then who can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” Then Peter said in reply, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the la
Read more