Summertime. A time to sow, to plant and grow. A time to farm and to garden. There is a story here. If you have ears, listen!

Eyes are tearing day and night with destruction all around! Wars! People are suffering clearly, as the prophet, Jeremiah points out. God’s creation has gone askew! Then, the Gospel. Jesus teaches the parable of the weeds among the fields. Once again, he gives us an allegory of who is bound for heaven or hell with what is familiar. A Field.

Jesus does not mix words when He teaches about good and evil. Heaven or hell. Hello world? Does some of this truth sound remotely familiar for today? Can there be an experience of heaven or hell on earth in our time? Perhaps it is not necessarily in some imagined or foretold dimension of existence?

Jesus explains the meaning of the parable upon request by his disciples. They are still all students learning from the Master. Aren’t we all?

We are cognizant of heaven and hell. We know there is both good and evil in this world. We see it all too often with foreign wars and the violence in a variety of ways within our own country. Our tears well up and our chests constrict when we hear of one more death, one more war crime, one more mass shooting, one more parent grieves. Unfortunately, usually one can hear a chorus of grieving people.  We, too, grow anxious not knowing what we hear is true or not. We hear not knowing what to believe. Does the question or choice of heaven or hell hover over us when we wake in the morning and move though our day?

But wait…Jesus tells us…

If you have ears, listen! Listen to the TRUTH. Jesus is the Truth.

Alleluia, Alleluia! The seed is the word of God, Christ is the Sower;
all who come to him will live forever.

Our God is a God of Life! Our God is Life. We know this because we believe in Jesus, Son of God. Jesus who is God. Jesus who is our God’s totality of Love incarnate and present to, for and with us. Our God is one of Compassion and mercy as Jesus lived and taught. He knew, and knows humanity is not perfect. We cry out!

For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low…
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name's sake…

Let us dry our tears and open our ears with consolation of knowing our God, Jesus, is full of forgiveness, mercy, and compassion. He is the Sower. He is the WORD.

May we open our ears and our hearts to listen to the word of God lived out in and through the lives of each person and our own conscience.  Lived out as the seeds takes root or not! Lived out among the weeds. May we remove the weeds from our hearts so we can turn more fully toward the LIGHT. Choose life!

Humanity started out on fertile ground. We are here to help till the ground, make good soil for lives to live well in peace and with security. It is up to us to be a force of nature and tend this garden of life, of relationships that we have been given freely by our Creator.

We are disciples of Jesus missioned to carry out His word.

The “field” is full of life! Life for generations upon generations.

We will always be challenged to choose between good and evil.

We can always strive to live forever in heaven or hell.

Come! Let’s keep gardening! Don’t give up!

With you, Supreme Gardener, we are on holy ground.
Our lives are in your hands.

We, your people…
give thanks to you forever;
through all generations we will declare your praise.