Dear friends,
I pray this finds you well. In the midst of so many challenges and heartaches, may we know the abiding joy of life in Christ. God is faithful.
Here is today’s worship service in its entirety:
If you’d prefer to listen to just the sermon, you may do so here:
https://soundcloud.com/stacey-nalean-carlson/no-other-rock
Today’s sermon is based on Isaiah 44:6-8; Psalm 86:11-17; Romans 8:12-25; and Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43.
Isaiah 44:6-8
6Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. 7Who is like me? Let them proclaim it, let them declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be. 8Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? You are my witnesses! Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one.
Psalm 86:11-17
11Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name. 12I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and glorify your name forevermore. 13For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the pit of death.
14The arrogant rise up against me, O God, and a band of violent people seeks my life; they have not set you before their eyes. 15But you, O Lord, are gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and full of kindness and truth. 16Turn to me and have mercy on me; give your strength to your servant, and save the child of your handmaid. 17Show me a sign of your favor, so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame; because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
Romans 8:12-25
2So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—13for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
18I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
24[Jesus] put before [the crowds] another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field;25but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ 28He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”
36Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!”
Why is there evil in the world if God is good?
This, it seems to me, is the question at the heart of Jesus’ parable—a parable unique to the gospel of Matthew. The community Matthew is addressing his gospel to has been cast out from positions of importance, been diminished and demeaned and rejected as a result of their proclamation of Jesus, their faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They’ve seen the weeds of sin clearly—they’ve experienced the burn of the stinging nettle and the poison ivy. They’ve wrestled with, and been wounded by, the wild parsnip. Why are there so many weeds in the field, they wonder, if God is good?
And what ought our response be to these weeds that invade our lives and cause such destruction, these weeds that have rejected us and wounded us over and over again? They wonder, should we be out weeding from sunup to sundown, always on the lookout for evil, ready to cast out sinners as soon as they emerge from the soil? Should we respond to others as they have treated us? Should we arm ourselves with herbicides and keep living on the defensive? Should we focus on weeding as our primary responsibility and mission, keeping the field of God’s church clean and orderly at all cost?
No.
No, Jesus’ parable tells them.
The weeding is not their job.
The field is not theirs to tend.
Their job is to grow. Their mission is to trust the one who planted them. The world is in God’s hands, not theirs.
I don’t know how you tend to respond to the weeds in your life, both the real weeds and the figurative ones. Over the years, especially now with a large yard that I can’t begin to keep a handle on, I’ve leaned more and more into this blessing: may all your weeds be wildflowers.
Still, I do know that weeds unchecked are problematic. I do see the destruction they can cause to other plants. I am aware of the work of the enemy in God’s good field, the power of evil to divide people and grow hatred and suspicion. I sometimes despair over the state of my yard and the state of God’s beloved world. I’ve been stung by the stinging nettle and I worry about how it might grow to burn others.
But today, I will trust the one who has planted us here. I will grow toward the sun and I will put down roots to drink of the life-giving water God provides. I will confess my sinful desire to take matters into my own hands. I will surrender to God’s will and purpose for my life. I will witness to the goodness of God. And tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that, I will wake with the morning light and do the same. Over and over and over again until the day of harvest.
That’s my job. That’s your job as wheat growing in God’s field.
Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth, the psalmist sings. Another translation puts it this way, Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness. God is faithful. There is no other rock. There is no other one in whom we can place our hope without fear that we will be disappointed or abandoned, left to be overrun by the weeds of the world. No, God is one in whom we can place our hope without fear. God keeps God’s promises. God is faithful.
All creation will be redeemed. The creation that now groans in labor pains will be redeemed. The righteous—the ones transformed by God’s grace—will shine like the sun. The enemy will be defeated, no longer able to sow seeds of hatred and division. Even death will be silenced once and for all—and there will be no more mourning, no more crying, no more heartbreak, no more pain.
This is the hope in which we live.
We live in hope. We grow in hope. And by God’s grace we bear fruit for the sake of this beloved world, bearing witness to God’s faithfulness.
Let us pray. Teach us your way, O God, that we might rely on your faithfulness alone. Give us undivided hearts to revere your name. Amen.