Three Parables
Jesus taught in parables so we would learn to think and discern for ourselves.
He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.” Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. - Matthew 13:24-34a
The first parable explains why there is unpunished evil in the world.
Instead of rooting out all the weeds, the farmer waits until the crop is ready to harvest, and then sorts out what is good and what is bad, tossing the bad into the fire.
It may be difficult to imagine a parallel among us humans, but I am sure that is our challenge. Those who are weeds may not be pulled up and tossed out, but allowed to grow and flourish, making us think they are getting away with their behavior.
Eventually, they will meet their destiny. Of course, that may not be good enough for us. We may want justice early, until the day comes when we are being accused of something. Then we may think otherwise.
While the kingdom of heaven is huge, the world has a way of shutting the kingdom out, making us subject to injustices.
The woman with the bread dough is our hope. Eventually, it will rise and take over the world. Until then, we grow with the weeds.
More to come...