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05:42Amen.
06:54He told them yet another parable.
06:56The kingdom of heaven is like a yeast that the woman took and mixed with three measures of flour.
07:03until all the dough had risen.
07:07Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds.
07:10He did not speak to them without a parable.
07:14This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet.
07:17I will open my mouth in parables.
07:20I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.
07:26Then he left the crowds and went into the house.
07:28And his disciples came to him saying,
07:31Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.
07:36He answered them,
07:37The one who sowed the good seed is the son of man.
07:41The field is the world and the good seed are the people of the kingdom.
07:46The weeds are the people of the evil one.
07:49And the enemy who sows them is the duck.
07:53The harvest is the end of the age and the reapers are angels.
07:58As the weeds are collected and burnt with fire,
08:01so it will be at the end of the age.
08:04The son of man will send his angels,
08:07and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin,
08:10as well as all lawbreakers.
08:13They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
08:15where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
08:19Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of the father.
08:24The one who has ears had better listen.
08:28The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure,
08:31hidden in a field that the person found that hid.
08:34Then, because of joy,
08:36he went and sold all that he had and bought that field.
08:41Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for a fine pearl.
08:46When he found the pearl of great value,
08:49he went out and sold everything he had and bought it.
08:54Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net
08:56that was cast into the sea and caught all kinds of fish.
09:01When it was full, they pulled it ashore,
09:03sat down and put the good fish into containers
09:06and threw the bad away.
09:09It will be thus at the end of the age.
09:11Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous
09:15and throw them into the fiery furnace,
09:17where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
09:22Have you understood all these things?
09:25They replied, Yes.
09:28Then he said to them,
09:30Therefore every expert in the law
09:31who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven
09:33is like the owner of a house
09:35who brings out of his treasure
09:40what is new and old.
09:43This is the word of the Lord.
09:46Thanks be to God.
09:52Here we have a string of parables
09:54about Judgment Day and the final reckoning.
09:57But what can we draw from this?
10:01Looking at the parable of the weeds in the corn,
10:03the servants were told to wait until the harvest
10:05to sort the crop.
10:07In this way they would be able to correctly tell one from the other
10:10and at the same time avoiding damage to the crop
10:13by walking on it and uprooting the weeds.
10:18It is never too late for us to embrace God's love
10:21and to find repentance.
10:23If the sorting will not take place until the harvest
10:26then we have until the harvest
10:28to make sure we are on the right side.
10:31That is not to say we should delay
10:33for we do not know when the harvest is coming.
10:37Even those who turn to God
10:39right towards the very end
10:41will find the same salvation as the rest of us.
10:46Sometimes the smallest things
10:47can grow into something enormous.
10:50We have the example of a little acorn
10:52which after three or four hundred years
10:55will have grown into a huge oak tree.
10:59Here Jesus uses the example of a mustard seed
11:03something not much bigger than a grain of dust
11:06which will become a brightly coloured plant
11:08within a few months.
11:10The church was once such a mustard seed
11:13for it comprised Jesus and twelve loyal disciples.
11:18It would not have counted for anything
11:20in the global scheme of things.
11:23However, like the acorn
11:25as it grows into a magnificent oak
11:27within a hundred years or so
11:29of the death of Jesus and his resurrection
11:31the church had spread
11:33and was accepted throughout Europe
11:35the Middle East and parts of North Africa
11:38becoming a dominant force
11:40in the politics of the world
11:41as it stood at that time.
11:45When the baker takes a spoonful of yeast
11:47a singularly most uninteresting
11:50and uninspiring pellet of mould
11:53and adds it to his bowl of flour
11:55after an hour or so
11:57something wonderful starts to happen.
12:00The dough that he has prepared
12:01from the flour and water
12:03starts to swell
12:04and hopefully before too long
12:07will become uncooked bread
12:09ready for the oven.
12:12Recently we considered the significance
12:14of the martyrdom of St Stephen on Paul
12:17and how we can detect
12:18from Luke's account
12:19which was narrated by Paul
12:21and from the Apostle's own account
12:23Acts 22
12:25the itching of his skin
12:27by that seed that had been planted
12:29that would germinate and sprout
12:31on the famous trip to Damascus.
12:35Today we do not have to seek
12:36amazing conversions
12:38though surely they are going to be
12:40most welcome
12:41but with the help of the Spirit
12:43plant those seeds of faith
12:45in the ones we meet
12:46so that then when they return
12:48to their houses
12:49they will itch
12:49and grow restless
12:50in their indifference
12:53becoming ready
12:54to welcome the Spirit
12:55into their lives.
13:01As a gardener
13:02I have always found it easy
13:04to understand the point
13:05that Jesus was making
13:07in his conclusion
13:08about the parable
13:09of the weeds in the field.
13:12The problem that the gardener faces
13:14is how to tell the difference
13:15between the young shoots
13:16of plants and weeds
13:17when both are initially
13:19just tiny green specks of leaf.
13:22There is no alternative
13:24but to allow time
13:25to take its course
13:26and as the plants grow
13:27it becomes increasingly easy
13:30to differentiate the good
13:31from the bad.
13:34So it is in the world.
13:36Christ has been
13:37and sown the seed in the field
13:39but what is it
13:39that is grown there?
13:42For certain the soil is rich
13:44and fertile
13:45beyond our wildest imagination
13:47but weeds also enjoy
13:49the fertile ground
13:50as any gardener will tell you.
13:55The message from this reading
13:56of the Gospel is simple.
13:58When the time comes
13:59the angels will come
14:00and sow the crop
14:01from the weeds.
14:03First they will take carefully
14:05and put away sinking
14:06but the latter will be thrown
14:08in a heap
14:08and set on fire
14:09in an all-consuming furnace.
14:13Not only will the weeds
14:14be destroyed
14:15but also the sower
14:16of the weeds
14:17the devil.
14:18Be under no illusion
14:19for there is no half measure.
14:22All that is harvested
14:23will be passed either
14:24to the right or to the left
14:26to the granary
14:27or to the furnace.
14:30There will be no debate
14:31no second chance.
14:32It is purely
14:33a binary decision.
14:35It will be that simple.
14:37Right or left
14:38in or fire.
14:43Consider how the gardener
14:44hates the weed
14:45that has found a plant
14:46and choked it
14:47to the point of death.
14:50In Matthew 18.6
14:51he reads that Jesus
14:55said that anyone
14:56who caused an innocent
14:57to fall
14:58would be better for him
14:59to have a huge millstone
15:01hung around his neck
15:02and to be drowned
15:03in the open sea.
15:06The furnace is not
15:07the exclusive domain
15:08of the sinner
15:09but also for those
15:10who have caused others
15:11to sin
15:12either by their actions
15:13their negligence
15:15or through mere indifference.
15:18Parents in particular
15:19carry a huge responsibility
15:21for their children
15:22who can be betrayed
15:25by those who fail
15:27to love them
15:27and support them
15:28at times of need
15:29or crisis
15:30in the family
15:31and who subsequently
15:32fall into difficulty
15:34as a direct consequence.
15:40Some few years ago
15:42there was a craze
15:44for people
15:45to go and buy
15:45metal detectors
15:46and to use them
15:48looking for buried treasure
15:49in fields
15:50all over the countryside.
15:53One or two
15:54well-publicized finds
15:56encouraged people
15:57in their thousands
15:57to go looking
15:58for their own treasure trove.
16:04It is a shame
16:05and for those of us
16:06who are evangelists
16:07nothing short of a disgrace
16:09that there is no grace
16:10for treasure hunting
16:11in the fields
16:12hiding the true wealth
16:13the words of the Bible.
16:16If only we could persuade
16:18more people
16:18to pick up
16:19just a few words
16:20every day
16:21they would quickly
16:22discover the riches
16:23that are to be found
16:24contained
16:25in the books
16:26of both the Old
16:27and the New Testament.
16:32If we want to find something
16:33is it not the case
16:35that we need to go
16:35looking for it?
16:37Consider the example
16:38that Jesus gave
16:39in Luke 15.8
16:40of the woman
16:41who loses a coin
16:42and taking a lamp
16:43searched high and low
16:44in her house
16:45until she'd find it.
16:48How many people
16:49do you think
16:49there are in the world
16:50who are looking
16:51for answers
16:52to problems they have
16:53who have cares
16:54and worries
16:55that they cannot handle?
16:58Sadly
16:5899%
17:00or more
17:01are looking
17:02in the wrong place
17:02and digging
17:03in the wrong field.
17:08Jesus continued
17:09these parables
17:10by telling the account
17:11of the merchant
17:12looking for pearls.
17:15Perhaps he was
17:15a trader in jewellery
17:16but he knew
17:17well enough
17:18where to find
17:18the good pearl
17:20and when he found it
17:22he immediately
17:23sold everything
17:24so that he could
17:24afford to buy it.
17:27Just as the man
17:28with the metal detector
17:29looking for buried treasure
17:30and the merchants
17:31looking for the
17:32outstanding items
17:33of jewellery
17:34they know
17:36where to look
17:36to improve
17:37their chances.
17:38We also need
17:39to think
17:40about where to look
17:41for the treasure
17:41beyond all treasure
17:42the keys
17:44to the kingdom
17:44of heaven.
17:46Those of us
17:47who know
17:47where it can be found
17:48need to share
17:49that information
17:50with as many people
17:51as possible
17:51before it is too late.
17:55Jesus went on
17:56to paint a picture
17:57that would have been
17:58familiar to those
17:59who were listening
18:00or if they were not
18:01actual fishermen
18:02themselves
18:03they would be familiar
18:04with their work
18:05having seen them
18:06sitting with their nets
18:07on the beach
18:08sorting the fish
18:09that could be sold
18:10from the rubbish
18:11that would have
18:12to go back
18:12into the sea.
18:15The church
18:16is our net
18:16every day
18:17we must cast it out
18:18into the deep
18:20and bring in the catch
18:21just as the disciples
18:23were commanded
18:23by Jesus to go
18:24and become
18:25fishers of men.
18:27In the net
18:28are the good
18:28the bad
18:29and the ugly
18:30but it is not
18:31for us to pass judgment
18:32but to educate
18:33and enlighten
18:34in the ways of Christ
18:35as he taught us.
18:38Then when we are
18:39presented before him
18:40on judgment day
18:41we will be confident
18:42of being placed
18:43in the basket of fish
18:44to be taken
18:45to the heavenly market
18:47as opposed to being
18:48tossed onto the bonfires
18:50of damnation.
18:52On that glorious day
18:54the faithful
18:54will be separated
18:55from the hypocrites
18:56and the persecuted
18:57will find their reward.
19:00As I have just said
19:01it is the duty
19:03of the Christian
19:03to attempt
19:04to fill the net
19:05of the church
19:06than to nurture
19:07the catch
19:08and to try
19:09and make it
19:09acceptable
19:10to Christ.
19:46the Jesus Christ.
20:18CHOIR SINGS
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24:08You
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