Proper 11A



Proper 11A

Isaiah 44:6-8 and Psalm 86:11-17  • Romans 8:12-25  • Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Teach me your ways…

Psalm 86:11-17

This morning in our worship we meditated on Psalm 86.

Psalm 86 is written from a place of suffering and uncertainty.

Its hard to be certain what the situation was in which it was written; but some people say that these dark Psalms of David were written at the time when David was betrayed by his third son, Absalom.

David was King and Absalom wanted to take the throne. So he devised a trick to gain the favour of the people and take David’s place:

Basically he waited outside David’s palace and told people that David was too busy to see them – and that he would deal with their problems instead.

You might also remember – that he was very handsome 2 Samuel 14:25:

‘…from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.’

He also had good hair.

* * *

Absalom eventually gained the favour of the people and took over his father’s throne. Even sleeping with his father, David’s concubines.

David fled Jerusalem in fear of his own son.

* * *

In this situation of uncertainty he asks:

‘God what are you doing?’

Or in Bible language:

‘Teach me your way O Lord…’

- Psalm 86:11

I guess that is the prayer of anyone in a traumatic or confusing situation… if only I knew what God was up to.

Perhaps the verses that we didn’t read in our meditation this morning help:

‘There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. All the nations you have made shall come and bow down before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.’

- Psalm 86:8-10

‘For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.’ Is this a sign of surrender? Is this David saying – ‘things are out of my control, but God – you are still God.’

* * *

You alone are God.

I am not master of my fate.

Only you are God and only you reign.

* * *

In worship David remembers who he is and whose he is.

And so – with perspective he is able to wait on God to bring about his good purpose.

Eventually there is a battle in which Absalom is killed; the battle of ‘Ephraim Wood;’ in good old Old Testament irony Absalom’s beautiful hair gets tangled in a tree and he falls of his horse.

Left hanging there to be found and killed by one of David’s men.

* * *

David regains his throne – but it is not as if his problems are solved; Absalom is killed in battle – and this is not the first child David has lost… his family fell apart.

But –

In worship of God he seems to have found, maybe not a resolution, but at least some peace.

‘Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name.’

* * *

I wish knowing God would make all our problems disappear; it doesn’t; but it does give us hope.

Having stopped to look in God’s direction David is able to remember God’s love and pray in faith because, as he puts it:

‘…you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.’

Wheat and Tares

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

The gospel reading from Matthew is a parable that Jesus tells about Wheat and Tares.

A farmer sows his field only to find that wheat and weeds grow up at the same time. The shoots look the same so he can’t deal with it then – he can only identify the weeds when they have grown a bit.

To pull out the weeds he’d have to pull out the wheat as well.

So he leaves it all for the harvest.

Because these particular weeds look like wheat – but they don’t grow as high, and they look a little different when the wheat is ripe.

So the harvesters are instructed to cut high – harvesting the wheat; and skipping the weeds.

Afterwards the weeds are gathered as fuel for the fire; or perhaps burnt in the field in an attempt to prevent their appearance with the next crop.

* * *

The parable is OK. It’s the interpretation that is a little unnerving.

* * *

First: Jesus explains:

The Son of Man (Jesus) sows the good seed.

The Devil sows the weeds.

Good seeds are children of the Kingdom, children of Jesus – weeds are children of the devil.

* * *

It may be dangerous to take parables like this too literally rather, we need to look to the wider context. The message of obedience which over arches these passages.

In the Kingdom of God, God is King and we are not. We are humble and obedient rather than rebellious.

The parables of Mt 13 are told in the context of Jesus’ statement:

‘50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

– Matthew 12:50

In a previous parable about sewing seed Jesus says the seed is the ‘word of the Kingdom’ – the message of what God’s Kingdom is like and how we should live in that Kingdom.

That word blossoms and flourishes within us and the Kingdom comes into being.

In that parable too – there are weeds. Distractions that prevent some of the wheat from becoming what it is meant to be.

And so – here again – weeds.

Weeds that hinder the coming of the Kingdom; that make Kingdom living difficult.

* * *

Some of us are weeds, some of us are wheat.

Second:

The second part is even harder to swallow.

The reapers are angels who will collect up the weeds and throw them in the fire.

Verse 41:

‘…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.’

You know I’m not a hellfire and brimstone preacher – but where it comes up in scripture I have to address it and here it is.

Jesus’ express warning – there is no room for evildoers in God’s Kingdom. And there is no room for ‘causes of sin.’

It seems that, in the interpretation, the parable of the weeds has been mixed in to the one about the farmer and the soil. Seed sewn among weeds, Matthew 13:22:

‘As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.’

* * *

There is hope.

For now – there are weeds, there are evildoers, there are causes of sin; but the promise is that all of those will be removed.

Thrown out on the rubbish heap.

And in God’s new creation –

‘The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.’

– Matthew 13:43

* * *

Jesus is promising us the triumph of God over the evil and injustice we see and experience now.

He is offering us hope and light against despair and darkness.

Future Hope

So our set readings for this Sunday: Psalm 86; David in his time of despair entrusts himself, despite his circumstances to God.

In Matthew, Jesus parable about Wheat and Weeds is about how God will eventually root out the weeds; and – as long as we are God’s children, wheat – we will grow, flourish, and shine in God’s Righteousness.

Along with the scary message of judgment – unavoidable if you are an unrepentant evildoer; there is the message of cleansing; the promise that ‘causes of sin will be removed.’

Romans 8:12-25

Which brings us to Romans 8.

Remember Jesus’ parable spoke of children of the Son of Man and children of the Devil; well Paul helps us to know whose children we are:

‘But you have received a spirit of adoption… and if you are children, then heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ…’

– Romans 8:15-17 (abridged)

Well – at least we know we’re not weeds.

* * *

But there is something else.

The reality of struggle in this age.

The problem of trying to be wheat – when surrounded by weeds, and sometimes not being sure which we are.

The problem is that Jesus’ kingdom message when taken seriously and lived properly is going to be painful. To love is to sacrifice, it is difficult.

It is somehow incompatible with the ways of the world in which we live; which seems to insist – as did the world of Paul and Jesus’ time that we should live for ourselves and our own pleasure.

So Paul can say – in the light of this struggle in ourselves and against the world to live the Jesus way:

‘I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us…’

– Romans 8:18

‘…the creation waits with eager longing…’

‘…the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; not only the creation but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies…’

* * *

Perhaps we; like the Psalmist; need to stop ourselves from being God for a change; and pray:

‘Teach me your ways…’

As within our own struggles we ask for perspective – God’s bigger picture.

The parable and the letter to the Romans encourage us to hope and trust; knowing that the God who loves and created us – will eventually bring about his purposes for us.

All in his good time.

And this is some of the hope we have in Christ.

Amen

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