Pentecost 5

Sunday, July 17, 2011
Lectionary 16
Proper 11
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Joshua Brown

INTRODUCTION
It is an age-old question: why is there evil in the world? In the parable of the wheat and the weeds Jesus suggests that both grow together until the harvest. With Paul, we long for the day that all creation will be set free from bondage and suffering. Having both weeds and wheat within us, we humbly place our hope in the promises of God, and from the Lord's table we go forth to bear the fruit of justice and mercy.

Bartolomé de Las Casas, missionary to the Indies, died 1566
A native of Spain, Las Casas first came to the Western hemisphere while serving in the military. Granted a large estate with indigenous slaves, he freed them after he was ordained a priest. He worked in the Caribbean and Central America to improve the lives of the native peoples.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Faithful God, most merciful judge, you care for your children with firmness and compassion. By your Spirit nurture us who live in your kingdom, that we may be rooted in the way of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

FIRST READING

Isaiah 44:6–8

God claims the right to sole rule, because God announces things that actually do happen, while supposed divine opponents remain silent. God is Israel's redeemer, that is, the best brother or sister they ever had.

⁶Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel,
and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
⁷Who is like me? Let them proclaim it,
let them declare and set it forth before me.
Who has announced from of old the things to come?
Let them tell us what is yet to be.
⁸Do not fear, or be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
You are my witnesses!
Is there any god besides me?
There is no other rock; I know not one.

PSALM (ELW)

Psalm 86:11–17

Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth. (Ps. 86:11)

¹¹Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk ^| in your truth;

give me an undivided heart to re- ^| vere your name.

¹²I will thank you, O Lord my God, with ^| all my heart,

and glorify your name for- ^| evermore.

¹³For great is your ^| love toward me;

you have delivered me from the ^| pit of death.

¹⁴The arrogant rise up against me, O God,

and a band of violent people ^| seeks my life;

they have not set you be- ^| fore their eyes.

¹⁵But you, O Lord, are gracious and full ^| of compassion,

slow to anger, and full of kind- ^| ness and truth.

¹⁶Turn to me and have mer- ^| cy on me;

give your strength to your servant,

and save the child ^| of your handmaid.

¹⁷Show me a sign of your favor, so that those who hate me

may see it and be ^| put to shame;

because you, Lord, have helped me and com- ^| forted me.

SECOND READING

Romans 8:12–25

For Paul, true spirituality means that we experience the reality of the Spirit, which enables us to pray as God's children, keeps us in solidarity with creation, and gives us unseen hope that God will liberate us and creation from bondage to death and decay.

¹²So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — ¹³for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" ¹⁶it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ — if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
¹⁸I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. ¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; ²⁰for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope²¹that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; ²³and 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. ²⁴For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

GOSPEL

Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43

Jesus tells a parable about the co-existence of good and evil in this world. God's judgment will remove all evildoers and causes of sin, but not until the end of human history.

²⁴He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.²⁷And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?' ²⁸He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' The slaves said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' ²⁹But he replied, 'No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"
³⁶Then 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!

Reflection

I have friend whose has an African American mother and a Caucasian father for biological parents, but grew up as the adopted daughter of a Lutheran pastor and his wife both of Scandinavian decent. My grandfather’s parents were immigrants from Sweden so we occasionally shared our experiences of having Scandinavian ancestry in our family history. However, I once made an off the cuff remark that identified her as a Swede. Suddenly, her voice swelled with disgust. “I am most certainly not a Swede” she proclaimed. My heart skipped a beat and I held my breath fearing that I had offended her sense of racial identity. Then she proudly declared “I am a Norwegian!” We both laughed in recognition of a friendly Norwegian vs. Swede rivalry and I felt relieved that I hadn’t offended my friend.

Now as I reflect on this brief vignette in my life I perceive some insight into the notion of identity. When my friend began her life in this world she had no biological or cultural connection to a Norwegian identity, but through adoption, through the love she received from her adoptive parents, she received that connection that identified her as part of a larger group. As Christians we also believe that we begin our lives born into sin without a connection identifying us as God’s. Through baptism we receive the Holy Spirit, an advocate connecting us to God and “a spirit of adoption” that identifies us as God’s children. Paul writes that “We are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” God has marked us and identified us as part of God’s kingdom. We bear this identity from the moment we’re baptized through the entirety of our lives and, because of Christ, into the life everlasting. From the beginning to the end God has identified us as children of God claiming and adopting us with certain and steadfast love.

Rejoicing in God’s promise let us clam our identity and proudly declare “ ‘Let anyone with ears listen!’ I am a child of God!”

Prayers

O God of Love, help us to bear witness to your goodness and grace and live fully into our identities as your children.
Be the source of inspiration strength for all who desire to adopt or provide a foster home for a child and the source of comfort and hope for all children in need of a permanent home.
Bless your creation, O Lord, and help us to care for its lands, seas and skies so that all may benefit from their abundance.
Teach us your ways, O Lord. Strengthen our ties with our Christian brothers and sisters around the world. Help us to build relationships based on our common identity as children of God and not our theological and ideological differences.
Comfort the sick, the poor, the outcast and open our eyes so that we may see them as you see them.
Welcome home the departed and comfort those who mourn with the promise that those you have claimed will be united in heaven.
We bring these prayers and the prayers of our hearts and minds before you God, trusting the power of the resurrection, resting in your abundant mercy and living through hope in Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Quote:

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. ~ Desmond Tutu

I love these little people; and it is not a slight thing when they, who are so fresh from God, love us. ~ Charles Dickens.