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Sermon July 23, 2023
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, MSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen’s
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A, Track 1, Proper 11
https://lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/AProp11_RCL.html
Audio: /documents/Eucharist__July_23__2023
Video: https://youtu.be/VqLwLRj3j6w
He 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….’ Matthew 13:37-38
For decades, I have loved the work of Alice Walker. I have had the pleasure of meeting her and hearing her speak a number of times, too. She is one of my favorite writers.
Many of you may be familiar with her book and movie, The Color Purple. By the way, that book is on the “banned books” table at the bookstore. This book has been challenged many times since it was published in 1982.
But this week as I looked at the Gospel, it was another of her books that came to mind, Possessing the Secret of Joy, published in 1992. The book is about the complexities of life in staying true to one’s culture, and yet needing to resist that culture when what it is doing to you is wrong and leading to death.
The last line of the story, which is my favorite line, is what came to me from the Gospel lesson. You see, the title is Possessing the Secret of Joy and what is that? The book says, “RESISTANCE IS THE SECRET OF JOY!” (P. 278)
Resisting the parts of a culture that are wrong and death dealing leads to joy, even if it means you are going to your death.
In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares. A farmer plants a wonderful field of wheat. And while the farmer and workers are sleeping, we hear that “an enemy” or as Jesus explains, “the devil” sows weed seeds among the wheat.
The workers are appalled when the weeds grow up right next to the wheat. It is believed by scholars that this is a particular weed from the region, a type of grass that can be deadly to eat. It can also be difficult to distinguish the wheat from this grass weed.
When the workers ask if the weeds should be pulled up, the farmer says no, because pulling them up could disturb the wheat and all would be lost. The farmer explains that at harvest time, they will separate the wheat from the weeds.
Jesus explains that the wheat represents “the children of the kingdom” or the followers of God. The farmer, of course, is Jesus. The evil one is the devil and the weeds are the children of the devil. The field is the world.
As we live our lives, we want to be the wheat, don’t we? We want to be the children of the kingdom, the followers of God and Jesus Christ.
What we are also being told is that we will be surrounded by evil. That evil will be so close that even uprooting it could be problematic for us. We are being told that we must stand strong as the evil surrounds us. We must stay focused on following God and Jesus Christ.
We must live a life like Christ taught us. Love God. Love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
When we have a baptism, we are reminded about the statements we made or that were made on our behalf. Turn to pgs 302-303 in The Book of Common Prayer and say these along with me
Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?
Answer I renounce them.
Question Do you renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?
Answer I renounce them.
Question Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God?
Answer I renounce them.
Question Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Savior?
Answer I do.
Question Do you put your whole trust in his grace and love?
Answer I do.
Question Do you promise to follow and obey him as your Lord?
Answer I do.
We are fortunate to have reminders all year of our baptismal promises, which provide an excellent shorthand for how to live our lives. Turn to pgs 304-305 in The Book of Common Prayer and say these along with me:
Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers?
People I will, with God's help.
Celebrant Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
People I will, with God's help.
Celebrant Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?
People I will, with God's help.
Celebrant Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
People I will, with God's help.
Celebrant Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
People I will, with God's help.
Evil will surround us during our time on this earth. We must resist it and keep doing the work as children of the kingdom of God, because resistance is the secret of joy.
Amen
