chapter eight
THE NEW KINGDOM
The kingdom
of heaven can be likened to a farmer’s wheat field, planted
with good seed. One night, while the farmer slept, his enemy came
and sowed darnel weeds among the wheat. When the first blades of
wheat finally pushed up through the earth, weeds appeared alongside.
Seeing this, the servants rushed to the farmer, and with distressed
voices wept: “Sir, did not we sow good seed in your field?
Why then are there so many darnel weeds?”
The farmer answered:
“An enemy has done this.”
“Shall
we try to remove them?” the servants asked.
“No,”
the farmer replied. “If you pull up the weeds, you will uproot
the wheat as well. Let them both grow together until the harvest
time; and at the time of the harvest I will instruct the reapers:
‘Gather first the weeds, and bind them into bundles for burning.
Then gather the wheat into my storehouse.’”
Here is the
lesson: he that sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field
is the world. The good seed represents the children of the kingdom,
while the seeds represent those deceived by the wicked one. The
enemy that planted the weeds is the evil one. The harvest is the
end of the world, and the reapers are the angels. Just as the darnel
weeds were gathered and burned in the fire, so will it be at the
end of this age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will
gather everything that has caused humankind to stumble, and those
who live lawlessly outside of the kingdom, and will exile them to
a place of weeping and regret. Then the righteous will shine as
bright as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. If you have ears
to hear, then hear these words.
Every kingdom
that is divided against itself is doomed; and every city or house
divided against itself will eventually fall. Likewise, if the evil
one is fighting evil, he is divided against himself, and his kingdom
will not last.
One cannot be
liberated from the kingdom of the evil one without first binding
his power. If I cast out devils and perform signs and wonders as
an ally of the devil, as some of you accuse me, then by what power
do your children do the same?
Let your children
stand before you as your judges; they can settle this dispute, for
if your children cast out devils by the breath of God, then the
kingdom is indeed come to dwell among you.
Have you ever
heard this reading from the scriptures: “The stone which the
builders have rejected has become the honored cornerstone; this
is the Lord’s doing, and marvelous in our eyes?” Behold,
the kingdom of God will be taken from you who listen and do nothing
and be given to a people working to bring forth fruit in their lives.
Beware of how
you treat this message: for all of the sins of humankind will be
forgiven, along with all of their blasphemies. But there is no reconciliation
for those who, seeing evil as good, and good as evil, blaspheme
the Holy Spirit. This transgression is eternal. Heed these words.
All about you, evil men and prostitutes are entering the kingdom
of heaven ahead of you. These have heard the call to life and have
turned to God, while the pious and religious have heard the call
and have deliberately turned away.
PART TWO
Prayer is not
achieved by repetition. It is not by reiterating, “Lord, Lord,”
that you will enter the kingdom of heaven, but by doing the will
of my Father who is in heaven.
If after midnight,
you approached the door to one of the city’s prominent houses,
long after the owner had gone to bed, and began to knock loudly,
and shout: “Open the door, I want to come in,” how do
you think you would be received?
Most likely,
the owner of the house would shout back, “Go away! I don’t
know who you are, or why you are disturbing me at this hour!”
What if you
protested in reply, “But we have eaten at the same tables,
and often I have heard you teach in the temple!”
To this, the
owner might reply, “Hear my words; I tell you I do not know
you. Leave me in peace!”
Even so, on
the day of judgment many will come with a similar complaint, saying,
“Lord, Lord, haven’t we prophesied in your name, and
in your name cast out devils, and in your name accomplished many
wonderful works?”
The Lord himself
will reply, “Depart. I do not know you, who have lived your
entire lives in darkness.”
I instruct you
with these stories because it is given to you to understand the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.
Here is another
parable that illustrates the kingdom: Once there lived a rich investor
who was preparing to depart for a distant country. Before leaving,
he called together three associates, putting them in charge of managing
his investments during his absence. He gave five accounts to one,
two lesser accounts to the other, and to the third he gave one insignificant
account, responsibilities equal to their levels of experience.
So it happened,
that the associate who had been entrusted with five accounts immediately
began to buy and sell, and before long, he had doubled his holdings,
so that his accounts were now ten instead of five. The second associate
did likewise, investing his two accounts until he had made four
from the two entrusted to him. But the third associate did nothing.
So fearful was he, that he locked his account in a strongbox and
buried it in the ground, terrified that it might be tampered with,
lost, or stolen.
A good while
later, the rich man returned from his trip. Immediately he summoned
his three associates, curious to learn how they had managed his
money during his absence.
The first associate
recounted how he had invested the five accounts, and now had ten.
At this the rich man said: “You have done well, and proved
faithful. Because you have been trustworthy with the five accounts
that I gave you, I will put more important ones under your trust.
You may begin today to benefit from these responsibilities.”
Then the rich
man called the second associate, who reported: “You put two
accounts into my care; now I have four.”
Hearing this,
the rich man repeated what he had said to the first associate: “Well
done! You have been faithful in managing two minor accounts. I will
put you in charge of many more. Go to your task with happiness.”
Finally, the
third associate was called, and immediately confessed: “I
have always thought of you as a difficult man. You collect profits
from other people’s money, and I figured that you would only
take back whatever profits I might make from my insignificant account.
I buried my account in the ground, where it has remained unharmed
until your return.”
To this the
rich man answered: “Foolish associate. You know the manner
in which I conduct my affairs. At the very least you could have
entrusted your account with the currency dealers. Only one account
was assigned to your care and you have chosen to bury it in the
ground. Now even this will be taken from you and given to the others
who did wisely. What is left to you, except to dwell on your own
regrets?”
In the kingdom
of heaven, those who use what they possess, no matter how insignificant
it might seem at the time, will continue to receive more and more.
Abundance will be theirs! But those who act in fear, unfaithful
in the least of life’s matters, will eventually lose all.
PART THREE
Another
example is found in the story of a landowner. Early one morning
he went out to hire workers for his vineyard. Finding the skilled
laborers he needed, he agreed with them on a wage of one silver
coin per day. The contract accepted, he sent them into his vineyard
to work.
Later
that same morning, the landowner returned to the town. Seeing a
group of unemployed standing idle in the marketplace, he said to
them: “Come work in my vineyard. I will pay you a fair daily
wage.”
Likewise, at
noon the landowner went back into town, and then again, much later
in the afternoon. On each occasion he hired the unemployed to work
in his vineyard. Finally, towards evening, he met a few stragglers
that remained without work, and asked: “Why did you stand
here idle?”
They responded:
“Because no one came to hire us.”
He said: “Go
now, I still have work for you to do in my vineyard.”
Night fell,
and the landowner instructed the vineyard manager to call the workers
in from the vineyard where they were working, and to give to each
of them their wages, beginning with the last, through to the first
that had been hired that day.
Those hired
last stepped forward, and each received a silver coin as their wage.
Seeing this, those hired early that morning imagined that they would
receive more. When their turn came, however, they too received one
silver coin each.
At this they
began to complain to the landowner: “Unfair! Those stragglers
that you hired barely worked one hour, and you have paid them on
the same scale! We are the ones who have done most of the work,
toiling during the hottest hours of the day!”
But the landowner
answered: “Friends, I have done you no insult. Did not you
happily agree on a day’s wage of one silver coin? So take
what is yours and be on your way. I have, from the goodness of my
heart, paid those hired at the end of the day the same wage. Have
I not the right to do with my money as I wish? Are your eyes so
full of envy because you see me being generous and kind?”
This too, is
a parable of the kingdom of heaven; understand it, for the last
will be first and the first last. Many are called, but sadly, few
are chosen.
The kingdom
of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field. One day, a poor
man discovered it. Immediately he covered it over, and then joyfully
sold everything he possessed, considering this a small sacrifice,
in order to purchase the field where the treasure lay hidden.
Those who enter
the kingdom of heaven do not allow any of their former, earthly
concerns to deter them. Like the merchant who searched his entire
life for a pearl of great price, they joyfully sacrifice all in
order to possess such a priceless treasure – new life, a new
way of thinking and being, hope in this world, and in the world
to come.
The kingdom
of God moves forward by divine command. The farmer sows seed in
his field, and when his day’s work is done he goes to his
bed. Each new day he rises again and works until night falls. All
the while, the natural order of the earth is at work. The seeds
sprout and begin their growth, a synthesis so complex that it is
beyond the farmer’s ability to understand it. Tender blades
appear, then ears of corn, until what was planted is a mature crop,
and the farmer takes up his sickle, for the harvest time has come.
The kingdom
of heaven is like a mustard seed, the smallest of nature’s
kernels, from which grows a great plant, as tall as a tree, a place
for the birds to perch and find shelter.
The workings
of the kingdom can be compared to a pinch of yeast used to make
bread. Even mixed into a great quantity of flour, it leavens throughout.
Like a fisherman’s
net lowered into the sea, the kingdom of heaven gathers up every
variety of fish. When it is full, the net is pulled back onto the
shore. There the good catch is collected into baskets, and the imperfect
is discarded. So it will be at the end of this age. Angels will
separate the wicked from among the children of God, exiling them
to a place of great sorrow.
Without material
goods, money, or support, I have sent you out as witnesses. Equipped
with the message of new life, you have blessed others. Did you once
lack for anything?
Do not allow
your worries to consume tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of
itself. Surely, there is enough to concern you each day, without
fretting about the future. Which of you by mental effort can add
one inch to your height?
Consider the
birds of the air. They are not consumed with worry. At night they
sleep soundly, knowing that their heavenly Father cares for them.
Do you not matter more than the birds?
Are not two
sparrows sold in the marketplace for a few pennies? Still, one of
them cannot fall to the ground without your heavenly Father’s
knowledge. Cease being afraid. You are of greater value than many
flocks of sparrows. Even the very hairs of your head are numbered.
Why then worry
about what you will wear? Consider the lilies growing wild in the
fields, blooming without effort. Even King Solomon in all of his
glory was not arrayed as beautifully as one of these. If God has
so cared for that which grows wild in the field, which is alive
today and tomorrow is cast into the fire, will he not care for you
much more? How can you have such little faith?
Therefore, stop
saying: “What will I eat? What will I drink? Will I ever have
enough to clothe myself?” This is how the faithless think,
anxious for everything. Be at peace! Your heavenly Father knows
that you have need of all of these things, and more.
Seek first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all of your needs will
be provided.
turn to chapter nine: THE ROYAL COMMANDMENT
|
