Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field

 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house.  And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."  He answered and said to them:  "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.  The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.  Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.  The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

- Matthew 13:36-43

Yesterday we read that Jesus continued teaching about the kingdom of heaven in parables, saying:   "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."  Another parable He spoke to them:  "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."  All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:  "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world."

 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house.  And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."  He answered and said to them:  "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.  The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.  Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.  The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"   In today's reading, Jesus explains the parable of the Wheat and the Tares, given in Thursday's reading.   Just as with the parable of the Sower (see readings of May 7 and May 8), in private Jesus explains the meaning of the parable of the Wheat and the Tares.   We recall that tares are plants that resemble wheat, but are weeds and do not give the grain of wheat.  Jesus explains the parable by giving us a vivid picture of judgment, and speaking of the end of the age.  It's strong talk, and comes together with changes in His ministry that we can observe.  He is being confronted by the religious authorities, who now have decided to plot against Him, to try to destroy Him (see this reading).  He introduced concepts of judgment in replying to the scribes and Pharisees who demanded a sign from Him, a kind of proof of His identity (in this reading), saying that those figures in the Old Testament -- all foreigners -- who responded to the work of the Holy Spirit in Solomon's wisdom and in the preaching of Jonah, would rise up in the judgment to condemn "this generation" that asks for a sign. 

In chapter 12, Jesus used strong words of Judgment after He was accused of casting out demons by the power of demons.  He told the Pharisees:  "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.  Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."   It is perhaps in this clear and plain-spoken reference to the Holy Spirit that we find Jesus' most explicit reference to Judgment and its workings in the world.  The greatest gift He brings us, the outpouring of the Spirit for all people, becomes something which has an effect upon us whether or not we want that effect.  It brings us choices, and significant choices.  When we are in the presence of the holy, remaining neutral becomes an impossible task -- we are faced with acceptance or rejection in our response, a "yes" or a "no."  But amidst this stark choice, there is also the gift of time, and of repentance.  There is the power to reconsider, to "change one's mind," which is the literal meaning of the Greek word for repentance, metanoia.  My study bible was quick to note, in the reading referenced just above, that Jesus does not say that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven.  The potential of repentance is key to our understanding of our faith and of ourselves.  We are beings in time, with a fixed identity only in the power of Christ, the image in which our Creator has fashioned us.  As human beings who may not only "change our minds," but also become more deeply molded in our faith, becoming unified with Creator who has come to call us back to Him,  beings within whom the Kingdom may dwell in the ongoing presence and work of the Holy Spirit, and who are ministered to by angels, assisted in prayer even with countless saints, we are not fixed in time.  Rather, identity is something that may expand and grow, casting off what is not good nor profitable, and the things which stand in the way of God's love in us.  Therefore, none of us can have an absolute sense of what judgment is like or will hold, even for ourselves, nor for anyone else.  We cannot have the perspective that God has, nor the love, nor the mercy, nor God's capacity for healing.  What we  can understand is the depth of love in which we are held, but also the worth and value to which we are called.  Our love means something; what we love and make a part of ourselves means something about who we are.   Perhaps Jesus' most telling words about the end of the age are in His statement about the work of the angels, sent out at His command, at that time: that they will  gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness.  These are the things for us to consider, and for time to heal and repair, for "change of mind" to address.  Let us remember that we all grow in understanding and that none of us are finished with what St. Paul called the "good fight of faith."  It seems, rather, that the beauty He looks for in us exists midst weakness and imperfection (2 Corinthians 12:9), even shame and all manner of things that are offensive to the world (1 Corinthians 4:9-13).  In this vein, let us remember that it was His Crucifixion that Christ called the hour of His glory (John 12:23-33).  Let us look to His love to teach us what it is to shine forth as the sun.