July 21, 2002
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Mindekirken Pr. Jens Arne Dale You Are Not Weeds Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 A fairytale tells about a husband who is supposed to manage the home. It did not turn out so well. This summer, a man in our congregation was supposed to manage the home while his wife was in Norway. That went all right. But when his wife returned to Minneapolis, she thought her husband hadn’t weeded in the vegetable garden. When she began to do it herself, it was not easy to see the difference between the garden plants and the weeds. The result was that all the bean plants were uprooted. Jesus has a good moral in today’s parable. The servants ask if they should pick the weeds, and the landlord answered: "No, for in gathering the weeds, you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest." Some people act like spiritual experts. They think they may be able to see who will go to heaven and especially who will not. Such people might be tough moral judges. But it’s not our job to judge people in that way. The Lord of the harvest shall decide. Maybe the day of judgement will bring surprises. Maybe the greatest surprise will be that oneself has gone to heaven. For who really goes to heaven? Jesus speaks of evil and good people today. He uses the expressions "all evildoers" and "the righteous." Jesus operates with a distinction between people. But the distinction does not go where we humans tend to think. We would decide between Mother Theresa and Adolph Hitler, but the radical message of the Bible is that there is no distinction when we take God’s serious judgement into consideration. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:22-23. In the words of the parable – the world is full of weeds. We all deserve to be uprooted and perish. But that’s the last thing God would like. He treats us not as we deserve, but according to his grace. His greatest wish is to give us a future in his kingdom. "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Father," Jesus says. Who are "the righteous?" Are they the ones who manage to live a decent life? No, it’s the ones who are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Rom. 3:24. "Redemption" does not mean birth (same word in Norwegian), but to be bought free. We were bought free from sin and guilt when Jesus died on the cross. Therefore the bread of communion has the shape of a coin where Christ on the cross is printed. In our baptism, God declared that the righteousness of Jesus would be ours. This is what we may believe, and we receive a visible sign of it in communion. "But I’m not worthy of going to communion," many say. Maybe it’s a typical Norwegian way of thinking. I remember someone told that he didn’t use to go to communion in Norway. But when he moved to the US, he realized that almost everybody did. "And then, I also began to participate in communion," he said. I tell this with a special wish that you, our guests from Nordfjord today, will feel welcome to take part in communion. But don’t let anyone intimidate you, neither by American nor Norwegian habit. Let the habit of the kingdom of God be decisive. That habit says that it’s the unworthy, themselves, who are welcome to take part in communion. We may receive God’s gift, not because we deserve it, but because we need it. Jesus has sown the good seed. It’s a picture of you and all what he has given you for time and eternity. You are not weeds… Glory be to God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.
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The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church · 924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 · (612)874-0716 |