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Today’s Meditation;
When we practice loving-kindness toward ourselves, a miracle happens: We stop being so judgmental of ourselves, and, in turn, we’re also less judgmental of others.
Welcoming Guests and Announcements – Pastor Dave
New Members
Hymn Sing – Congregational Hymn Pick
Prayer Concerns – Pastor Linda
Pastoral Prayer – Silent Prayer, Pastoral Prayer, Lord’s Prayer
Scripture Reading – Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 – Pastor Linda
Message – Parables of Jesus: 4. Weeds
Communion – Pastors Linda & Dave
Benediction – Pastor Dave
Matthew 13:24-30 – New Revised Standard Version
The Parable of Weeds among the Wheat
24 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field,
25 but while everybody was asleep an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and then went away.
26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.
27 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?’
28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’
29 But he replied, ‘No, for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.
30 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
36 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.”
37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;
38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one,
39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,
42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!
The word of God for the people of God.
Jesus tells the parable of good seed that is planted yet weeds show up in the soil. The world has lots of weeds & judgment. It can be so easy to rush to judgement. How quickly we like to judge people’s lives, faith & behavior. We like draw lines about who’s in & who’s out. We like to label & categorize people. Jesus uses metaphors about things that grow: seeds, wheat, dough with leaven in it. All of these take their own time, own form, own shape. God works in hidden ways.
God continually planting good seed. The church is never pure but a mix of weeds & wheat. Seeds hatred, evil and injustice are sown daily in our world. Danger is that judgment becomes intolerance and prejudice. We all have an incomplete picture of each other which makes our judgement incomplete.
There is patience & painfulness involved in dealing with weeds. None of us like to be categorized or stereotyped. That feels terrible. We can count on God doing the final judgment with clearer eyes than we have.
Learn to see the weeds in yourself. Leave the judgment to God. We learn to make judgments without being judgmental about people. Judgement about others & weeds needs be tempered by grace. Reconsider your first impression & take a second look at someone: I wonder what God sees in this person that I’m missing? Can we see people in ways that invite & help them to change for the better?