Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father

 

 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 

 

 We are reading through chapter 13 of St. Matthew's Gospel, in which Jesus begins to preach in parables to the crowds.  Yesterday we read another parable which He put forth to them, 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!"  Here again Jesus explains the parable in private to His disciples, while it was preached in public to the crowds.  This parable builds on the previous parable of the Sower, while we can find His giving of the parable of the tares of the field here.  As Jesus explains to His disciples, the enemy who sows the seeds of the tares is the wicked one, the devil, and the tares (or weeds) represent his "sons."  As previously explained when we read the parable, tares are weeds that closely resemble wheat, but they are indigestible for human beings, inedible.  The wheat represent the sons of the kingdom; those who feed on God's word and live it and become sons by grace.  Jesus indicates that all grow together in the world, until the end of the age.  Here He teaches that it is He, the Son of Man, who will send out his angels to be reapers, gathering all -- those things that offend and those who practice lawlessness, to be thrown into the furnace of fire.  Then, He says, the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

 

As was noted in the reading and commentary of His giving of the parable to the crowds (see Thursday's reading),  my study Bible explains that as falsehood came after truth and false prophets after the true prophets, so the Antichrist will come after Christ.  In this parable, the weeds (tares) appear to be similar to the wheat, and this is the way that lies so often present themselves, as half-truths or perhaps we may call them "crooked truths."  Heresies are such.  It also explains why the Church does not condemn nominal members or judges those who are outside of it (1 Corinthians 5:12-13).  As the wheat would be destroyed in weeding out the tares, so many people who might ultimately find salvation would otherwise be lost if condemned before Christ's judgment.  It's important to remember at least two things about this parable.  First, the tares are so many, and so intermixed among the good wheat, that they can't be removed before the time of the full harvest.  Second, that as human beings, we don't live in a steady state of being.  We are changeable beings.  Indeed, salvation itself is only possible because of this quality of change and changeability, which is linked to our living in time and not in an eternal state.  Our lives are lived moment by moment.  At any particular moment, we might get a very partial picture of ourselves.  Therefore, judgment cannot happen through our limited perspective, for just as my study Bible indicates, we don't know that if ultimately people will come to salvation, no matter where they are or how they are at any given moment (or how they seem to be to us, for only Christ fully knows the hearts of people).  We don't have the full picture; that belongs to Christ.  And since we are time-bound beings (we live in time), and salvation and repentance are always available to people, we simply don't know the final outcome of anyone's life.  It's also important to know that this furnace of fire is the same fire of the Holy Spirit that we know, but so much depends upon our own acceptance of where God would lead us in terms of the fulfillment of who we can be as "sons of God."  What we cling to is what burns in this fire if we cannot dwell within it, if we are not compatible with it in the kingdom of heaven.  But let us take heed of the wicked one, and know that we are meant to be responsible for what we learn and accept from God, for so much depends upon the seed we keep and nurture and take in, and which grows in us -- to become sons of the kingdom, or of the wicked one.  For this is also our malleable capacity. and our freedom to choose what we love in our hearts.