Tares! Who uses that word anymore? But of course I learned the Bible in its King James version and the weeds of this week's Gospel lesson were called 'tares' at that time.
We are talking about Matthew 13.24-30, the parable of seeds and harvests, wheat and weeds. Like last week's parable on the Sower and the Seed, this parable could be interpreted allegorically, and in fact, the writer of Matthew provides just such an explanation in verses 36-43.
But leaping to the allegorical explanation deprives us of the opportunity to engage this parable creatively. Just a word on creative interpretations. It is important to keep clear the difference between what the text actually says and what we can imagine the text saying. Our imagination - using a 360 review of the story - can be very helpful in opening us up to new perspectives. This keeps us from learning it one way and being unable to hear God's Word any other way.
However, there is a difference between what is on the page and those ideas we would present with the word "perhaps." Perhaps the master of the field was lazy. Perhaps the servants were just trying to gain favor - kissing up to the boss. Perhaps.....these are helpful for our experience as readers of the text but never replace what the text actually says!
So much for that. There is a shift here from last week's sower. This field is owned by a wealthy householder. (We know that because he has servants!) This shift cautions us to separate whatever interpretation we gave to Mt13.1-9 from the roles and implications of this text. If believers were the sower in last week's parable, perhaps they have shifted to be the servants this week.
Note that the weeds come an outside source. The master calls it an enemy. The seed the master put in was good seed. This is clearly stated so there can be no confusion. The Master does not sow bad seed.
The Master tells the servants to be patient - not in so many words but he says to wait, let the plants grow until maturity. A time will come when they will be separated.
Why wait? Can't the servants tells the weeds from the wheat? Perhaps the servants don't have a fine enough hand to separate out the weeds while allowing the wheat to continue growing. What other possibilities can you think of? This kind of thinking helps us expand the possibilities of the parable - to give it depth.
But note, it is not now the time to separate weed from wheat. Timing is in God's domain.
Discernment may not be a skill of these servants. Discernment of this kind - life and death choices - maybe only the Master has this level of discernment. Perhaps the growing cycle will bring about some kind of change in the plants (although truthfully, I can't see how that might happen). Perhaps by the time the harvest comes, some of those weeds will be useful to the Master and not need to be destroyed. Whatever the reason, discernment is an issue here.
But, do not fool yourself, judgment will come. There will be a separation of wheat and weeds. Some will be stored in the Master's barn (household?) and others burned - return to ash.
With all the conversation out there around Rob Bell's new book, Love Wins which discounts a place of eternal punishment for those who, at the day of judgment, are found wanting, it might be a good idea to give some thought to this concept of eternal nothingness - a burning that results in ashes in this parable (not the picture of hell that includes eternal burning). We believers are guilty of using passages such as this to decide that we are 'in' and others are 'out'. But how does this 'hell' fit in with our understanding of who God is and how God acts - in this world, but most especially in Jesus.
All things considerd, I am impressed with the questioned discernment of the workers and the imposed patience. Perhaps we should pay an equal amount of attention to these two portions of the parable as well. When we are rushing to judgment, perhaps we have both the timing and the judgment wrong
Peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment