October 16, 2024

Today’s Reading: Matthew 13:24-43

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 14:1-2, 22-23, 14:28-15:15; Matthew 13:24-43

‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. (Matthew 13:28b-29)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A few verses before our text for today, the disciples ask Jesus, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” (Matthew 13:10)  “Seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” (Matthew 13:13) Jesus doesn’t speak in parables to confuse anyone; sin has accomplished this since the Fall. Neither does Jesus speak because the disciples or we Christians are better informed or more deserving of what Jesus gives… Jesus speaks openly and plainly because He is life and truth and also because it’s the Holy Spirit that gives faith, brings people into the church, and keeps us in the church, as the explanation to the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed states.

Jesus explains the parable in Matthew 13, and what He explains is what you and I see every day. That mixed up and growing together in this world are sinners and saints… people who you can tell the difference between. But Jesus would have us know that the one sowing the seeds of dissension, the Devil, is sowing seeds of sin, hatred, doubt, and temptation that grow up in us, too. Thankfully, then, Jesus doesn’t say that we should scrap the whole mess and start over again with better material, hoping for a better result. Christianity isn’t first and foremost about sinning less… Christianity is about Jesus, who buys back sinners with His precious blood and innocent suffering and death. Jesus would have us see that the seeds of doubt, despair, and dissension are eradicated not by tearing them out, ripping them up by the roots, and throwing them into a burn pile. Our Lord lovingly provides stern law… law that reveals the weeds and thistles that choke out faith in us… He provides pure sweet gospel by His church and His pastors to hear those sins confessed. From the mouth of the pastor, those sins are put to death. In the ears of the man who hears your confession and from the mouth of the pastor as from God Himself, the words of life and forgiveness are given freely to us.

The good seed, Christ Himself, has planted Himself in us. It is His word watered by Baptism and fed with bread and wine that is Body and Blood that gives life and sustains us in this fallen world. Life this side of heaven is fraught with sin and great temptation. Thanks be to God for Christ, our Lord, who has won salvation and bestowed that victory to us in His church. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, You justify the ungodly and desire not the death of a sinner. Graciously assist us by Your heavenly aid and evermore shield us with Your protection, that no temptation may separate us from Your love in Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

-Rev. Adam DeGroot, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.