The eastern Ukrainians are enforcing a border that does not exist; the Americans are not enforcing a southern border that does exist. The world can look pretty arbitrary sometimes. This is compounded by tolerance and its fraternal twin, indifference.
Today's gospel is anything but indifferent. It contains so much, some things that are so commonplace now that they can be assumed and overlooked, for example the "slaves" inherent to the parable. But generally this is about as specific and pointed that Christ allows parables to get. In it a man sows his seed in the field and an enemy comes to destroy his work. The master's slaves question the master as what to do and he tells them to wait, that trying to remove the weeds will damage the crop. Christ then specifically, point by point, explains the parable.
So here an enemy of God, unable to destroy what good has been done, adds a poisonous weed to the mix (presumably darnel which, if ground with the corn, is poisonous to the meal.) That poison is inextricable, inherent now with the crop. It can be removed only at the end.
Emerson says that a weed is a plant for which no good use has yet been found. This parable is a lot less open-minded. There is real evil. God has an enemy. An enemy! Evil is intertwined with the good--part of the field now. Good must struggle with evil and survive it. And all will be resolved by the patience of God.
Today's gospel is anything but indifferent. It contains so much, some things that are so commonplace now that they can be assumed and overlooked, for example the "slaves" inherent to the parable. But generally this is about as specific and pointed that Christ allows parables to get. In it a man sows his seed in the field and an enemy comes to destroy his work. The master's slaves question the master as what to do and he tells them to wait, that trying to remove the weeds will damage the crop. Christ then specifically, point by point, explains the parable.
So here an enemy of God, unable to destroy what good has been done, adds a poisonous weed to the mix (presumably darnel which, if ground with the corn, is poisonous to the meal.) That poison is inextricable, inherent now with the crop. It can be removed only at the end.
Emerson says that a weed is a plant for which no good use has yet been found. This parable is a lot less open-minded. There is real evil. God has an enemy. An enemy! Evil is intertwined with the good--part of the field now. Good must struggle with evil and survive it. And all will be resolved by the patience of God.
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