Take Courage, it is I; Do not be Afraid!

For All Caregivers Everywhere
Matthew 14:22-33

Jesus saves Peter from drowning (Matthew 14:30-31)

Lord, what words of consolation can You give
To those of us who must helplessly look on,
As mind and body of loved ones crumble;
wash away before our eyes?
We know no comfort;
No comfort can we give them.
Our boat is a long distance from land,
Battered by waves of tears, anxiety, sinking in despair,
Our hearts torn and tattered like sails in the storm.
Yet in the midst of this terror,
It is then You come, unexpectedly,
Appearing like a ghost,
Looking like the very ones who are vanishing from our sight.
For where do we see You, Lord?
Not in a heavenly vision,
But there! in the same faces of those who no longer know us!
It is then that we hear You speak to us,
Seemingly out of mouths that can no longer form words,
Saying gently, yet ever so clearly,
"Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid!"

On Sinners, Saints, and the Mercy of God

The Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30)

 

"Parable of the Enemy Sowing Tares." Unknown, 1894.

 ²⁴He put another parable before them, saying, ^(A) "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, ²⁵but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds^[a] among the wheat and went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. ²⁷And the servants^[b] of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?' ²⁸He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' ²⁹But he said,^(B) 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers,^(C) Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 13:25 Probably darnel, a wheat-like weed
2. Matthew 13:27 Greek bondservants; also verse 28

Cross references:

1. Matthew 13:24 : Matthew 13:37-42; Mark 4:26-29
2. Matthew 13:29 : 1 Cor 4:5
3. Matthew 13:30 : Matthew 3:12

Even the name by which this story has come to be known could color the way we understand this particular parable of Jesus about the Kingdom of Heaven.  But the focus of the story doesn't have to be the weeds which have grown up among the wheat in the field.  The appearance of the weeds certainly upsets the servants of the master of the house, who offer to immediately go out into the field and pull them all up as a service to their master.  But we notice that the master himself is not upset, nor does he even seem surprised.  He also apparently knows the source of the weed seed, and in his wisdom, is content to let the weeds grow up among the wheat until harvest time.

We note that the enemy mentioned had come and sowed weeds among the wheat while the master's servants were sleeping. We also note that the master does not chide his servants for sleeping.  It was not as though they had been "sleeping on the job". By contrast, perhaps the master's own lack of surprise, and in fact, what would seem to be his full knowledge of how the weeds came to be there, would indicate that he himself had witnessed exactly what had taken place; that the master in this parable is none other than "He who watches over Israel" and the One who "will neither slumber nor sleep" (Ps. 121:4). Could this mean that the master then knowingly allowed the weeds to be sown amidst his wheat? Perhaps the master of the house has a plan of which no one else knows.

What do the wheat and the weeds then represent in this parable about the Kingdom of Heaven? Are we to understand them simply as sinners and saints, who at the time of the harvest will either be punished or rewarded for their deeds? Yet, if the weeds definitively represent sinners and the wheat saints, then doesn't that seem to say that sinners cannot repent and become saints, and saints cannot before the end of their lives turn into unrepentant sinners, ultimately rejecting the Lord? Such an interpretation would seem to simultaneously favor two Calvinist doctrines:  first, of predetermination; that is, that God only desires the salvation of the elect, and then, of "once saved always saved." But rightly knowing that we are each endowed by our God with free will, we clearly see the error in these doctrines.  Each soul is free to ultimately either choose or reject salvation.  Sanctification is also a process worked over time by grace with our cooperation, not an immediately complete, once-and-for-all event performed by God alone and apart from our will.

Clearly, the master of the house knows that in trying to pull up the weeds from among the wheat, some of the wheat might be pulled up as well before it has matured. If heaven were to rain down judgment upon the sinner while he yet lives, such judgment could also take the life of his neighbor the just man. Perhaps, then, there is much more to the wisdom of the master than meets the eye. Letting both the weeds and the wheat grow up together until harvest time is a decision that he alone has made, and which no one else seems to understand or appreciate. Perhaps, then, only the master knows, understands and can see that it will only be at harvest time-- at the time of judgment-- when it will be ultimately known which plants bear grains of wheat and which are truly weeds; which are saints and which are sinners; whether a soul has finally persevered or has at the moment of death despaired and rejected God, in spite of his continual call to repentance and offer of mercy. The parable then seems to serve as a reminder to us that the Lord God is the only just judge.

The focus and purpose of this parable then, would seem to be, not to remind us once again of the four last things-- death, judgment, heaven and hell-- but rather to reveal to us in a new way the great merciful heart of our Heavenly Father. While others would judge our eternal destinies still in the midst of our lives, the Father is infinitely patient with us.  Further, if we are sinners, he gives us the gift of saints to live among us, to serve as living examples of what we can be if we would only turn to Him. If we are humble and obedient, we might be living holy lives, perhaps with apparent sinners living among us, for whom we should constantly pray as well as remember that we are only what we are ultimately by the grace of God.

Finally, how are we to understand what happens at the time of harvest, where the weeds are bound into bundles to be burned, with the wheat gathered into the master's barn? When something is burned, all of the moisture, all of the life and potential life, is removed from it, and ultimately, it is reduced to dust, and therefore worthless. It is also no longer recognizable as what it was before it was burned.  When one burns a plant after it is harvested, the ultimate intention is to kill its seeds, so that it might not further spread or reproduce. But as for the wheat, which the master will gather into his barn, the grain will either be ground into flour or it will be sown in the ground again.

This parable of the weeds-- that might yet be wheat-- seems to echo the beautiful words of Isaiah 55, of God's free offer of mercy, calling the sinner to repentance, so that he might yet know the wonderful compassion of the Lord-- and live.

9“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
         So are My ways higher than your ways
         And My thoughts than your thoughts.

10“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
         And do not return there without watering the earth
         And making it bear and sprout,
         And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

11So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
         It will not return to Me empty,
         Without accomplishing what I desire,
         And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

12“For you will go out with joy
         And be led forth with peace;
         The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
         And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

13“Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up,
         And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up,
         And it will be a memorial to the LORD,
         For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off.”

When God Calls: Part III

The Call of the Rich Young Man
Luke 18:18-23

Heinrich Hofmann, "Christ and the Rich Young Ruler"

The reader of this Gospel passage cannot be certain what in particular led the rich young man—a ruler—to inquire of Jesus, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Perhaps he was among those who had been listening to Jesus’ parables and teachings—about praying and not losing heart; about not considering oneself righteous; and about the need to receive the Kingdom of God as a little child. As for us, the initial call from God to this ruler was made in the quiet of the man’s own heart.

As a rich young man, as one who did not need to toil for a living, he was already keenly aware that everything he had came to him by inheritance. It is possible that his father had died, leaving the young man everything owned by his father. If so, he knew first-hand that all he possessed would be given to his descendents when he himself died. So in spite of everything he had that came to him by his father, the rich young man was painfully aware that all his possessions could not spare him from death, just as it could not spare his father from it. He clearly wants something that not even his father and all his possessions could give him: to live forever.

It would seem that this rich young man is also righteous according to the Law, as he tells Jesus that he has kept all the commandments from his earliest days. But he also seems to sense that Jesus’ own righteousness is above his own. He calls Jesus “good,” with Jesus then responding that, “only God is good.”

But when Jesus tells this rich young man, “there is still one thing you lack,” and that is, that he should sell everything he has, give it to the poor, and then come and follow Him, the man became sad. This was not what he had expected to hear or had hoped for. He was looking to do something in addition to what he had already been doing, not to change his life—and certainly not to give up everything. The man heard Jesus’ call, but refused it.

Perhaps this young man had found it possible to keep all of the commandments because he had never lacked anything in his life. He was rich and powerful. He did not have to take any other man’s wife (adultery), life (murder), or possessions (steal), or bear false witness in order to get what he wanted or needed. He also had always given honor to the father and the mother who had provided for his every need. If he were now to give up everything, then he would be faced with his own needs, weaknesses, and passions. But that is why Jesus did not merely say, “Sell all you have and give it to the poor.” He also told the man that once he had done that, “then follow Me.” It was not the giving to the poor that would lead the man eternal life, but rather it would be the following of Jesus—which would mean a complete reliance on Jesus for everything.

When God Calls: Part II

The Call of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Daughter of Abraham
Luke 1:26-56

Giovanni Lanfranco, "The Annunciation" (c 1620)

The call of God to Mary has much in common with the call of Abraham.  In exchange for consent to God’s will, God also promises Mary many things in return.  Here also, God calls for Mary's consent to something that is beyond human understanding and reason. The promise of a child to Mary also stood in stark contradiction to her life and her circumstances. As a true daughter of Abraham, Mary is also called to great faith.

But while there are great similarities to note, there are also marked differences.  Abraham did not come to know God until he was 75 years old.  From her childhood, Mary's life was one that was dedicated to prayer and service to God in the Temple.  Abraham was old and his wife was barren. Mary was a young virgin, and the child that God promised her through the words of the Angel Gabriel had not been sought or hoped for.  But the greatest difference between Mary and Abraham lies in how Mary responded to her call. 

In the case of Abraham, his initial response to God was one of silent and unhesitating obedience to leave his home for one unknown.  It was only later, as time passed, that he began to question God, asking Him where was the child that He promised, and how can you make a great nation of me when the only heir I have is one of my servants?  He also acted on his own initiative and lack of faith, in particular when he deceived the Egyptians about the identity of Sarah as his wife, and when he consented at her urging, to beget a child, Ishmael, by her handmaid, Hagar, rather than patiently waiting for the Lord to fulfill His promise for a true heir from his wife's womb.

Mary, on the other hand, was a woman of unwavering faith.  In fact, her faith seemed to increase as God called her to greater and greater trust in the face of greater and greater uncertainty and suffering.  Mary’s initial response to the greeting of the Angel (“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.”) was one of astonishment and even fear, for surely Mary knew immediately with the Angel’s declaration that “the Lord was with [her],” that this was a call from God out of the quiet, hidden life she had always known, to something public and extraordinary.  But when the Angel tells Mary, “Do not be afraid,” she obeys.  When the Angel tells her that she is to bear a child, and that this child will be great and holy, she believes.  Her question, “How can this be, since I have no husband?” was an admission of her inability to understand as a mere creature, this great and seemingly impossible thing that God would do.  But unlike Abraham, who believed upon the reassuring word of the Lord that his descendants would be in number like the stars, but later gave in to doubt when he consented to beget a child by Hagar, Mary’s response of “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  Let it be to me according to your word” was spoken once and for all.  It was the profession of a perpetual vow to obey and follow the call of God, making no protest, but always responding in silent obedience, “keeping all these things in her heart.” 

For Mary, the call to be the mother of the Messiah meant a complete change in her life, and in her identity.  As a woman pregnant and not yet wedded, she was subject to shame and scandal, even stoning, first in the eyes of Joseph, her betrothed, and also surely in the eyes of the community.  From the moment the Word was made flesh in her womb, and forever thereafter, Jesus’ very existence, His very identity, directly affected Mary—and not only Mary.  Through Mary, beginning in her visitation to her kinswoman Elizabeth, that same existence and identity of the child in her womb already began to change and sanctify the world.  For Elizabeth, Mary was no longer her kinswoman, but became, “the mother of my Lord,” and by merely being present as that mother, sanctified and filled the child in Elizabeth’s womb with the Holy Spirit.  And as Elizabeth further declares, Mary was blessed above all women, as “she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” (Luke 1:45)