Matthew 13:37-43

"He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and 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. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!’" (Matthew 13:37-43)

Comment:

Chapter 13 of the Gospel of Matthew collects a number of parables—some lengthy, some very brief—through which Jesus seeks to communicate the essence of the 'kingdom of heaven' that is the essence of his ministerial message. In addition to the parables, Jesus also provides interpretive guidance to help his confused disciples understand what he's saying. Prior to this passage you've asked about, he shares a parable of a man who sows good seed in his field, but whose enemies come by dark of night to sow weeds "among the wheat." When his servants begin to remove the weeds, he stops them. "Let both of them grow together until the harvest," he tells them, because it will then be easier to separate the wheat from the weeds.

This interpretive passage is fairly straightforward, but there are several points to note. Metaphysically, the Son of Man is the Christ—the divine creative Presence that is our collective and individual spiritual identity. The "children of the kingdom" are ideas emanating from the Christ; the "children of the evil one" are ideas that have their source in fear-based mortal beliefs. Jesus is saying, I think, that we don't have to waste our time sifting endlessly through the thoughts in consciousness, trying to distinguish the 'good' from the 'evil.' It is more effective and efficient to pay attention to the consequences of those thoughts. As he says elsewhere (Matthew 7:16): "You will know them by their fruits." It is then an easier manner to focus our creative energy on the thoughts of the kingdom, which will bring that kingdom into manifestation. The fear-based thoughts are not condemned or destroyed; they are consigned to the fire to be purified so their energy can be transformed into kingdom energy. Note that "the harvest is the end of the age," which is not the same as 'the end of the world.' The process continues infinitely—another sowing, another harvest. Each cycle brings us closer to the time when we no longer have fear-based 'weeds' to deal with, and every thought will help create the kingdom.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed