Reading: Matthew 13: 24-30
Jesus told them another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field. 25 One night, when everyone was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 When the plants grew and the heads of grain began to form, then the weeds showed up. 27 The man’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, it was good seed you sowed in your field; where did the weeds come from?’ 28 ‘It was some enemy who did this,’ he answered. ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’ they asked him. 29 ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because as you gather the weeds you might pull up some of the wheat along with them. 30 Let the wheat and the weeds both grow together until harvest. Then I will tell the harvest workers to pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them, and then to gather in the wheat and put it in my barn.’”
Reflection
What’s in your paddock of life? Are there weeds intermingling with that which is healthy, hope-filled and lifegiving? Hope grows when we least expect it. It is unseen and often hard to describe. Yet, brings with it a certainty that cannot be shaken. Hope springs up like an unexpected shoot, where all other things have been cleared away. It is not like a weed, that is so often aggressive and encroaches where it is not wanted. Hope is based on values that give stability, inner wisdom that gives certainty, sweet anticipation that brings wellbeing and energy, and faith that cannot be held tangibly, but is there in reality. While outsiders may try to ‘weed’ out your hope in God, or ‘poison’ your thoughts and try to ‘remove’ your peace, your faith-filled hope will remain, when you return to the root of its Source. God is ever present. Darkness is as light. Righteousness will shine like the sun in God’s realm. God’s truth will always remain.
Prayer – Working Through The Weeds, Harvesting The Hope
Loving One,
You know me and see me.
When I am most vulnerable
I am often afraid to face what is truly upsetting me.
Stay with me, as I bring before you what is on my heart…
A silent prayer is offered
You hold me, when I am most hurt,
and do not leave.
It is I who turn away, so raw are my emotions.
Stay with me, as I bring before you what is on my heart…
A silent prayer is offered
Your thoughts are clear and sure,
and yet my thoughts are confused by fear-filled, poor judgement.
I let truth disappear, like water leaking from a cracked pot
and let twisted thinking to convey impurities into my soul.
Heal my brokenness. Cement my fractured being.
Stay with me, as I bring before you what is on my heart…
A silent prayer is offered
Words of Assurance
God of peace,
our soul seeks your restful assurance.
Let us breathe in your presence,
and be refreshed by our baptism.
Let us see your light, dissolving our darkness
Let us feel your warming love in the sunrays every day.
For you are present, closer than we know, and never draw far away.
Rev Anne Hewitt