Weekly Bible Notes

Ordinary 16 Year A

Introduction

Newspapers thrive on scandal and judgement. The reporters and photographers search out the very worst behaviour and sometimes even induce it, so that they can actually make money from the bad behaviour they pretend to disapprove of. It is all very sordid and little wonder that Jesus teaches us not to get into the business of judging others. Instead of passing criticisms on people who behave in ways which we disapprove of, far better to spend our time in positive encouragement of the things which are good. It won't sell papers or appeal to our hypocritical holier than thou attitudes, but it is much more godly and produces much better results!

Opening Verses of Scripture   Psalm 86:11

Collect Prayer for the Day — Before we read we pray

Lord God your Son left the riches of heaven and became poor for our sake: when we prosper save us from pride, when we are needy save us from despair, that we may trust in you alone; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


First Bible Reading  Isaiah 44: 6-8

"This is what the LORD says-- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come-- yes, let him foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one."
 

Second Reading  Romans Chapter 12 :12-25

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. "The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?' "An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' "No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn. “Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field." He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. 

Post Communion Sentence

Strengthen for service, Lord, the hands that have taken holy things; may the ears which have heard your word be deaf to clamour and dispute; may the tongues which have sung your praise be free from deceit; may the eyes which have seen the tokens of your love shine with the light of hope; and may the bodies which have been fed with your body be refreshed with the fullness of your life; glory to you for ever. Amen

 

Commentary

Waiting for the harvest is not an easy thing. Few of us spend very much time just sitting and waiting in the garden, for most of the time we are busy pruning, cutting and of course weeding. we just can’t bear to look at those weeds! So it has been in the church, we have spent a great deal of time over the years doing weeding. Crusades, inquisitions there have been many times throughout Christian history. We have heard the words of Jesus about not judging and letting weeds grow alongside the good seed, but it is just too hard for us. There is a fear that our tolerance might be regarded as moral indifference, and the good seed will become overwhelmed. In every generation something always had to be done to clean up the field. We find it impossible to believe that God doesn’t understand that too many weeds might choke the harvest?

Well of course nothing can stop the harvest at all. God is in control. Moreover the life of Jesus teaches us to be careful about making too many assumptions about who is a weed and who is good wheat. Jesus reserved his strongest criticism for those who were considered really holy, and instead he treated with compassion the very weeds who were openly condemned. Jesus loved weeds and spent time with them, the thieves, prostitutes and the ones thought to be sinners.

Nothing can stop God's work in the world. His kingdom is growing. Even when it's difficult to discern signs of the kingdom, the seeds of salvation are alive and well, growing in our midst.
It's often hard to tell who is wheat and who is weed. Indeed if we are honest, inside ach one of us there is a capacity to be wheat and sometimes weed. Sometimes we are confused as to which one we are. Fortunately time is being given us, to let the good seed planted in us bear its fruit. We can trust that God who reaps the harvest knows what to do, and we can have trust in the outcome. This is a parable of confidence. God is in charge and will help us work things out. We don't give up the struggle to do what is right, even when we feel dismayed at how much still needs to be done. Charles Royden
 

‘Better to light a candle than curse the dark’

Somebody wise once pointed out that if we start ejecting from the church everybody who is guilty of sin, then there will be nobody left. We are sinners trying our best to become more like saints. Matthew knew this when he wrote his gospel. The teachings of Jesus which he recorded in his gospel recognised the importance of decent ethical behaviour. In fact Matthew reminds the church that God was concerned about bad desires as well as bad behaviour. So it was bad to think about adultery as well as to engage in it. (Matt 5:28).

However whilst Matthew wanted to encourage the church to higher ethical standards, nevertheless he warns against passing judgement on others. "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged" (7:1). This is the message of the parable today, the Parable of the Weeds. In our churches and homes, in our work places and clubs which we belong to, we will see people who are recognisably more good or bad. In this situation Jesus calls us to be patient and recognise that there will come a time when God will judge. If we fall out with everybody who we consider falls short of the mark we will have no churches left, we will loose friends and our working relationships will fall apart. We must welcome others as Christ welcomes us.

In the parable today Jesus begins by mentioning a weed, called zizanion. This is a kind of darnel, closely resembling wheat except the grains are black. Darnell has to be removed because it is mildly toxic and will ruin the flour, but the black grains were removed by hand after threshing. So in our reading today from Matthew, Jesus indicates that the wheat and the weeds must be left to grow together and the separation of good and bad is not something which we should engage in doing now.

Like most people I have a recurring weed problem in my garden. There is one weed which grows right in the middle of a Viburnum and it comes up every year and attracts aphids. I could get rid of it once and for all but I would surely kill the plant. Likewise I have this year decided to get tough with bindweed, and I sprayed it, whilst it was growing through the Pyracantha. It is a dangerous solution and I know that the cure may be terminal for both.

So it is that Jesus says let the weeds and the wheat grow together. We all find this difficult, there are people who behave badly and people who seem like saints and we all share the same bus. In truth, I don’t want to have to wait for the harvest before I pass judgement on some people. I feel able to judge some people now and I find it difficult to know why God hasn’t zapped them long ago. Closer to home there are weeds or imperfections in all of our lives, what do we do about these?

Nothing will be achieved if we become like Mr Angry waging war against weeds in ourselves and others. It is perhaps knowing this that Jesus tells us that we must wait for the harvest. It is God who will judge, not you and I. Yes there is a real battle at work in this world between good and evil and whilst we might be tempted to judge others, Jesus tells us that we must not. Unlike God, we cannot know what is inside a person's heart. We are unable to see where people's lives might take them -- their potential for redemption.
In due course the weeds will be seen for what they are, and for what they have failed to produce. Judgement is a risky business, and the task of judgement is divine, not human. How pleased we should be to be released from the temptation to think that we have to sit in judgement, this is not something entrusted to us. We are be spared the potential mistake of attacking what we believe to be weeds and which turn out not to be so.

In the meantime there is much that we can do. Let us all spend much more time nourishing the wheat, encouraging the good things which we see all round us. Our newspapers are chock full of all the bad stuff, we Christians have to get beyond the human appetite for evil and see the much greater good which lies all round us. Darkness is eliminated not by cursing it, but by lighting a candle. Each one of us must take more time to affirm the good we see. When Bing Crosby sang about accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative and spreading joy to the maximum, the sentiment was a very Christian one. Perfection is not a normal part of human nature, but surely when we concentrate on our good points the less favourable ones cease to be prominent. I am told that this is the best way to grow a good lawn, feed the grass and weeds have less and less room to grow. Charles Royden

 

Meditation

I am going to be easier on myself and others. I will stop being so demanding of perfection in myself and others. I know that I make mistakes and I have just as many faults as everybody else. I will look right past the ridiculous behaviour of others and see beyond the things I am inclined to criticise. I will seek out things which I can affirm in myself and others and I will try to grow goodness in myself and people around me. I will stop trying to change people and make them more like me and I will find peace of mind in acceptance.


 

Hymns

1. Spirit of faith come down 325 Tune Diademata

2. Be still for the presence of the Lord (On Partnership News)

3. Jesus where're thy people meet 549 Tune: Wareham

4. the kingdom of God is God is justice and joy 139 Tune Hanover

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

Additional Material

Commentary

We often speak of "first impressions" when meeting someone, and often decide quickly whether we think we like them or not. The Gospel reading seems to suggest that we should reserve judgement because sometimes only time reveals the true nature of a person or situation. 

The "weeds" that Jesus speaks of were a type of plant that looked identical to wheat until it came harvest time. Then not only did they look different, they tasted different. The tares were poisonous to humans because of the parasitic growths they contained - ideal for the enemy, the Devil, to use.

Jesus seems to be saying that we shouldn't go in for premature judgement and harvesting, because if we did, some of the wheat may be pulled up with the weeds. 

He was clearly more concerned with the growth of the good seed than rooting out the bad. Nurture of the good seed was His principle concern. But, whilst He says there will be a time when time when the good and evil people will be ultimately separated (and the good rewarded and evil condemned), He also allows for the fact that people can and do change over time. 

God has not finished with any one of us yet, and certainly not given up on us whatever we may think. He has faith in us - and we need to have that same faith in others. To see people as Christ does, for what they can become, not just for what they seem to be now. To allow ourselves and others to be released, changed and transformed by the Spirit as we live by the Spirit. According to Paul a process that sometimes takes time and requires patience. Sam Cappleman

Meditation -  Only time will tell

The wheat and the tares is a curious passage with many explanations and interpretations. In a theme picked up by recent 'Grolsch' beer adverts on the TV, a few years ago in the US there was a commercial featuring Orson Wells holding glass of wine in his hand. As he looked into the camera with elevated eyebrow, he said "We will sell no wine before its time." Time appears to be an important factor in determining the quality and attributes of wine and beer. Jesus too seems to be suggesting that sometimes, even for people, only time will tell…

Meditation

Seek not to understand so that thou mayest believe, but believe so that thou mayest understand.  Augustine of Hippo

Meditation

The Hungry Birds Parable

Taken from Wisdom of the Sadhu, teachings of Sundar Singh which can be downloaded on thisischurch.com

Once as I wandered in the mountains, I came upon an outcropping of rocks, and as I sat on the highest rock to rest and look out over the valley, I saw a nest in the branches of a tree. The young birds in the nest were crying noisily. Then I saw how the mother bird returned with food for her young ones. When they heard the sound of her wings and felt her presence nearby, they cried all the more loudly and opened their beaks wide. But after the mother bird fed them and flew away again, they were quiet. Climbing down to look more closely, I saw that the newly hatched birds had not yet opened their eyes. Without even being able to see their mother, they opened their beaks and begged for nourishment whenever she approached. These tiny birds did not say: “We will not open our beaks until we can see our mother clearly and also see what kind of
food she offers. Perhaps it is not our mother at all but instead some dangerous enemy. And who knows if it is proper nourishment
or some kind of poison that is being fed to us?” If they had reasoned thus, they would never have discovered the truth. Before they were even strong enough to open their eyes, they would have starved to death. But they held no such doubts about the presence and love of their mother, and so after a few days, they opened their eyes and rejoiced to see her with them. Day by day they grew stronger and developed into the form and likeness of the mother, and soon they were able to soar up into the freedom of the skies.

We humans often think of ourselves as the greatest living beings, but do we not have something to learn from these common birds? We often question the reality and the loving nature of God. But the Master has said: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” Whenever we open our hearts to God, we receive spiritual nourishment and grow more and more into the likeness of God until we reach spiritual maturity. And once we open our spiritual eyes and see God’s presence, we find indescribable and unending bliss.

Seek not to understand
so that thou mayest believe,
but believe so that thou mayest understand.
Augustine of Hippo

 

Hymns (Mission Praise)

1. In full and glad surrender, 330
2. All I once held dear
3. Blest are the pure in heart Tune: Franconia
4. Amazing grace 215 Hymns and Psalms (Tune: Amazing Grace)
5. Father, I place into your hands, 133
6. Take my life, and let it be, 624
7. I want to walk with Jesus Christ, 302

8. For the beauty of the earth   Tune: England’s Lane

    

   
   

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead 

Our heavenly Father, we commend to your mercy those for whom life does not spell freedom: prisoners of conscience, the homeless and the handicapped, the sick in body and mind, the elderly who are confined to their homes, those who are enslaved by their passions, those who are addicted to drugs. Grant that, whatever their outward circumstances, they may find inner freedom, through Him who proclaimed release to the captives, Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen    John Stott

O Lord God, the life of mortals, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labour and the repose of the dead; grant us a tranquil day and night, free from all disturbance; that after an interval of quiet sleep, we may, by your bounty, at the return of light be endued with activity from the Holy Spirit, and enabled in security to render thanks to you. Amen

Lord, teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me as I look for you. For I cannot seek you unless first you teach me, nor find you unless first you reveal yourself to me. Amen    Ambrose

God give you grace to bring forth fruit by sharing what you have received with those who have not, and the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen

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