The Seeds of Faith
There was a panel of four on a major news network who were discussing the pros and cons of a possible drug that might extend one’s youthfulness for a number of years. They were all for that. One of the members speculated, “If they offered a drug that could make you live forever, would you take it?” The answer was, “No, I don’t want to live forever.” I thought to myself, “When will we ever learn that we will live forever?”
When John the Baptist talks about eternity he was blunt and to the point,” Repent and be saved.” The Bible tells us that John the Baptist said the following. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:12
There is a separating going on here between those who are in and those who are not. In this Sunday’s text Jesus is teaching us about this very thing and He uses a parable to do so. “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed and bad seed was then sown by another person. Matthew 13:24 His disciples ask Him why He uses parables. This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. Matthew 13:13
When Jesus healed the deranged, the diseased, the demonic, the utterly helpless and uninformed, the powers of the Kingdom of heaven were demonstrated. But His enemies refused to see Him as coming from God. And the reason for that was because Satan was blinding their spiritual eyes. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4
This may read like legend to you, while all around us the depths of evil is paralyzing the human spirit. We watched a documentary on the holocaust. Images become fixed in our minds; the images of millions of corpses were thrown into mass graves and plowed over by bulldozers. How many times throughout the history of humankind have these same realities been played out? Therefore, to say that Satan is a mythological figure demonstrates the depths to which the human mind has plummeted.
Scripture tells us that Satan is a real person—a leading angel in heaven. The Bible tells us he rebelled against God because of his pride. “Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor” Ezekiel 28:17 We are given this record of Satan in Isaiah 14:13-14 “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'”
C. S. Lewis once said, “Pride is competitive by its very nature: that is why it goes on and on. If I am a proud man, then as long as there in one man in the whole world more powerful, or richer or cleverer than I, he is my rival and my enemy.” That is why Jesus taught in parables. Pride, the hallmark of Satan, had blinded their eyes.
That is why Jesus said, Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. There are places in the New Testament where Jesus is downright angry at what Satan has done to them. “You hypocrites, your father is the devil.” A hypocrite is one who pretends to know, but fails to.
Today’s parable is about those who pretend to know and the God who knows who pretends and who doesn’t. Take the example of Job wherein it is God who knows. God gave Satan permission to test Job. Job 1:6-22. Satan, the fallen angel and his hosts, likewise have full access to the very core of every person living here on earth or anywhere in the universe. Just as God knew Job was a righteous man, God knows who He has made righteous. Again it is the Bible that tells us the following. The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let hear. Matthew 13:43
Who knows and who doesn’t know? When we are baptized we are baptized into the Spirit of Christ’s death and resurrection. It is the indwelling of the spirit that supplies us with the faith to accept what our minds are not capable of knowing. It is through believing in Jesus Christ that we become the elect of God; the chosen of God; God’s highly favored. These are they–the righteous [who] live by faith, (Galatians 3:11b) a righteousness we accept through Christ’s death and resurrection; a righteousness that is bought and paid for; a righteousness that is not temporary but eternal.
Before we get swept away in the seemingly magic of it all, faith leaves a bittersweet taste. In the Bible the apostle John was told to swallow a little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” Revelation 10:9
We are sinners filled with guilt, shame or shear hardness which can result in personalities warped, bent and distorted by the sin in us. The sweet news is that God knows the innermost workings in us and offers us His Spirit, which He has given us through the Pentecost of baptism. His Spirit will then lead us. This Spirit is present in us 24/7. God has given us this Spirit. We can explain its workings in this way. God recognizes the voice of this Spirit because it is His own Spirit. This means that when our prayers are born of the Spirit they are in strict accordance with His will. As one commentary writes, “The Spirit, as an enlightening Spirit, teaches us what to pray for; as a sanctifying Spirit, He works and stirs up praying graces; as a comforting Spirit, He silences our fears, and helps us over all discouragements.”
The reason all this is possible is because God is Spirit with a capital “S.” God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:24 This means to me that my experience of God is totally up to God. Any human relationships I have had cannot contaminate His relationship to me. Regardless of one’s earthly experiences, genetically, relationally or whatever, it is the Holy Spirit dwelling in you that is the proof that a relationship with God has already been established in you.
Here is where the beauty of the word “heart” as used in the Bible gives deeper meaning to this relationship. Heart here means “all of one.” The Spirit of God enters into the very depths of our heart crying “Abba Father.” This term refers to a vibrant loving relationship God establishes in us through adoption. Through His grace and mercy we, by faith, become His sons and daughters forever in the kingdom of heaven.
There is a passage in 2 Chronicles about Rehoboam, the king of Israel, the grandson of David who inherited the throne when he became 41—at the death of his father Solomon. It tells us that his heart, at first, was sensitive to the will of the Lord. But he stopped seeking the will of the Lord which lasted for only 3 of the 17 years of his reign. And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord. 2 Chronicles 12:14
As the commentator said, “I don’t want to live forever.” No one can say this unless they are unprepared to seek the Lord. “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.” Genesis 3:4 It is Satan who wipes from our eyes what the Word of God tells us. To not believe that we shall surely die and then comes the judgement grieves the Spirit of God because this Spirit is life. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30
The Greek word translated as “grieve” means “to cause to feel sorrow, pain, unhappiness, or distress.” Since the Bible tells us that we were created in the image of God–So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27—does it not mean that the Godhead also possesses personalities and emotions as in grieving the Spirit of God?
So what should this mean to us? Again we begin with our human experiences. Relationships mean a lot to us–especially faithfulness in a relationship. Most of us enjoy doing things with people. Psychologists tell us that relationships are essential to our mental well-being. We like to do things with people: talk, visit, go to restaurants, attend games, and enjoy dances, and go hunting, and fishing. These are also the relationships that become the causes of great conflicts–sometimes earthly relationships become too possessive. Hateful personalities that some people just seem to be born with are an example or addictions that steal us away from any relationship. Mental illnesses derange relationships–all of the above leave us with regret, sadness and despair.
Add to this the sensitivities that become particularized. We may protest the killing of a fish because “fish have feelings” while tearing a child from its mother’s womb for the mother’s sake. This is the puzzle that just does not add up in the courts of the justices of God. What we end up with is issues rather than the truth: races, animals, genders, sports, sexualities, and the dying earth; these are all “spirits” that become the gods of lesser things that rule our relationships.
This Sunday’s text destroys the illusion that we can fix it now. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ Matthew 13:28 The bitter truth is we cannot and never will be able to fix the sin in us. Those who come to realize this are led to a state of humility that can lead to repentance.
In these recent texts after Pentecost the focus has been on Jesus teaching His disciples. He had called them. They left everything and followed Him. Does this mean they followed Him like little wood ducks trail behind the mother duck? They were being led spiritually. The Holy Spirit was leading them because their spirits had been awakened and their deepest physical longings were met in Christ. “I am the bread of life;” “I am the water of life;” I am the truth;” “I am the life.” All of these are spoken in terms of the Spirit.
Jesus is speaking of a “beyond them.” On a clear day I can see forever; there will come a time, all of which can be mistaken for poetic effect. That is not the case with this Sunday’s text. There will come a time at the end end of the age, when in truth the angels will come and pull up the weeds and throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Paraphrasing of Matthew 13: 40-42
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let hear.
Matthew 13:43
Ears are a feature of all biological life, in one form or another. A slightest sound a deer will instantly turn its head and ears to where the sound is coming from. Much more should the human being become attuned to its Maker.
When the disciples asked Jesus why He spoke in parables He refers to the prophet Isaiah chapter 6. The prophet Isaiah was called to a people who had eyes and ears but they had hardened their hearts and chose to ignore what God was telling them in His Word.
Seeking God’s truth takes energy, time, focus and effort. It’s not a onetime deal at public worship. It takes the willingness to change which comes when we seek repentance. And what is more, we have been given the soil through which this faith can grow–the Word of God, the Holy Sacraments and our own confessing what we believe with our lips.
If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved.
Romans 10:9-10
