Today’s Daily Lesson is from Matthew chapter 13 verses 36 through 43:
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.’ 37He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!’
Today’s Lesson reminds the faithful that evil has its day and its season in the sun. But at some point the season ends and the day of judgment arrives.
The Lesson speaks of “the end of the age”. I think we ought not to put this too far off into heaven or the afterlife. For it also speaks of “the harvest”, and there can be many seasons of harvest in a century. In fact, that is how the ancients counted one’s age, by the number of harvests one lived to see.
Those who have now lived through enough harvests have the wisdom of experience to know that evil regimes and “ages” do indeed come, but they also go. Their presence is always with us, in every season, whether merely in seed form or full bore. This means there is always evil among us, and so too wars and rumors of wars. It is utopian to dream of a time where evil is not. Yet, evil is also always undermining itself. As it grows, it’s prevalence and destructiveness becomes more visible. This is a moment of crisis and even terror; yet it is also the nearing of the end of the age.
The Lesson today is not to be mistaken as counsel for doing nothing. As I read just yesterday, Jewish historian Yehuda Bauer, whose Czechoslavakian family escaped the holocaust, has said there are three commandments to obey with respect to violence and oppression: 'Thou shalt not be a victim, thou shalt not be a perpetrator, but, above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.'
What the Lesson is is a sobering reminder that evil is always lurking at our door — even in times of apparent peace and prosperity, and also a word of promise that in the end it shall never win out.
Evil has its time and its season; but, ultimately, it’s days are numbered.
And then the day of harvest and reckoning comes . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment