Reading and learning more about parables

Last Sunday, we discussed the Parable of the Sower on Matt. 13:1-23, one of the few parables that our Lord Jesus Christ himself gives and then explains to his disciples what it really meant. Today's Gospel reading is another series of Parables that the Lord teaches us. Mt. 13:24-43 starts with the Parable of the Weeds.

24 Jesus told them another parable; "The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field. 25 One night, when everyone was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 When the plants grew and the heads of grain began to form, then the weeds showed up. 27 The man's servants came to him and said, "Sir, it was good seed you sowed in your field; where did the weeds come from?" 28 "It was some enemy who did this," he answered. "Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?" they asked him. 29 No, he answered, "Because as you gather the weeds you might pull up some of the wheat along with them. 30 So let the wheat and the weeds both grow together until harvest. Then I will tell the harvest workers to pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them, and then to gather in the wheat and put it in my barn."

The Parable of the Mustard Seed; 31 Jesus told them another parable. "The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man takes a mustard seed and sows it in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up, it is the biggest of all plants. It becomes a tree, so that birds come and make their nests in its branches. The Parable of the Yeast. 33 Jesus told them still another parable: "The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A woman takes some yeast and mixes it with a bushel of flour until the whole batch of dough rises."

34 Jesus used parables to tell all these things to the crowds; he would not say a thing to them without using a parable. 35 He did this to make come true what the prophet had said, "I will use parables when I speak to them; I will tell them things unknown since the creation of the world."

36 When Jesus had left the crowd and gone indoors, his disciples came to him and said, "Tell us what the parable about the weeds in the field means. 37 Jesus answered, "The men who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world; the good seed is the people who belong to the Kingdom; the weeds are the people who belong to the Evil One; 39 and the enemy who sowed the weeds is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvest workers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered up and burned in the fire, so the same thing will happen at the end of the age.

41 The Son of Man will send out his angels to gather up out of his Kingdom all those who caused people to sin and all others who do evil things. 42 and they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will cry and gnash their teeth. 43 The God's people will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Listen, then if you have ears!"

Again, we count ourselves lucky that we don't need a priest or even a theologian to explain the Parable of the Weeds because our Lord Jesus Christ clearly explains what this means to his disciples. If you took time to read this parable, you too would easily understand what the Kingdom of heaven is like and consequently, you will also know where the Evil Ones end up… "in a fiery furnace".

To those of you, (that includes many people who profess that they still are Catholics) who do not believe in hell, this parable clearly describes what hell really is and the disciples didn't invent hell, it was told to them by our Lord Jesus Christ. So, to those who insist that hell doesn't exist, what you are actually saying is, Jesus Christ is a liar! For sure, you will go to hell for your disbelief!

As for the Parable of the Mustard Seed, I have read many accounts that this parable refers to the Catholic Church, a Holy Institution, which was founded by our Lord Jesus Christ himself together with his 12 Apostles, which has blossomed today into the most widely accepted religion on earth. From the seed of our Lord Jesus Christ, Christianity has blossomed into a huge tree with so many branches. Aside from the Roman Catholics, we have the Eastern Orthodox, the Greek Orthodox, the Protestant churches and even those claiming to be Christian churches, though most of them are really cults. No doubt that the Christian family tree comes from one single seed.

So going back to the Parable of the Weeds, I guess it is time for you to ask the poignant question, "Are you one of the seeds that our Lord Jesus Christ sowed on his field? Or are you one of the weeds that the Evil One has sown together with the weeds?" In the Parable of the Mustard Seed, a question should also be posed as to whether your church was founded by divine origin or was it founded by human origin? Ponder on these questions.

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