Fire and Brimstone

If ever there was a reading crying for a fire and brimstone homily, this is the one. (MT 13:24-30) The story is ripe with Satan and the followers of Satan, God and His followers, Angels, a fiery furnace, and gnashing of teeth. So where to go with this reflection that is honest and yet does not shout about damnation.

Let’s start with, Evil is real. Satan is real. People who do evil deeds and represent evil are real. We see Evil so regularly that we almost don’t notice. Or we do see it, and we choose not to get involved and avoid it as much as we can. We need to be clear from the outset that there is no getting away from Evil. It has permeated our society. No matter how many times we hold hands and sing Kumbaya, Evil is not going away. Satan is alive and well and living among us.

Some might think there are no evil people; there are only evil actions. That is much the same as the sentiment “hate the sin and love the sinner.” Both are true to a point. But evil acts, heaped on evil deeds, piled on evil acts without remorse or repentance sooner or later becomes Evil personified. 

Perhaps like the weeds growing up beside the wheat in today’s Gospel, Evil surrounds us. When the weeds were small, they were indistinguishable from the wheat. The Master did not want to risk losing the good with the bad. He let them grow together side by side. When they were fully grown, it was easy to distinguish the wheat from the weeds. In human terms, one evil action does not make us evil. There is time to repent and choose the good and the holy. But, bad action on top of a heinous act, with no attempt to repent, change our hearts, or renew our souls, does make us evil. It makes us one of Satan’s followers.

Even as I write that, I know it sounds awful. My soft Christian heart wants everyone to be one with God, in real life, some people choose Satan over God and Evil over Good. Some people live their whole lives desiring and acting out evil desires. God has given us the freedom to choose. And we have to acknowledge that some people choose Evil over good and Satan over God.

Jesus preached a message of love, acceptance, mercy, and compassion. But he was not naïve. This parable demonstrates his awareness of the presence of Satan in the world. He wants us to be aware of the Evil that surrounds us, growing up, side by side with us. 

Jesus is alerting us to not be unaware but rather to be vigilant. This doesn’t mean we become cynical or hopeless. Instead, it means we must dig our roots down further and further into the heart of God and keep consciously choosing the high standards of love and forgiveness. We need to be conscious and deliberate about choosing the virtuous and the honorable.

Jesus, in this reading, is reminding us that we always have a choice. We can be wheat, or we can be weeds. The outlook for the weeds, in the end, is not good. But that ending only comes if we consciously choose it. 

God invites us over and over to be the wheat. He wants us to be one with Him. Love cannot be forced; it must be chosen. That is what free will is all about. If God forced us to choose the good or forced us to love Him. That would not be love, it would be servitude. 

Our God is outlandishly loving and gracious. In the fullness of His love for us, He lures us always toward oneness with Him. At any time, we have the freedom to turn away. We can choose to reject His love for the enticements of Satan. The reading today is a reminder that God’s tender and openhearted love is always there for us, we need only place our heart in His and whisper, “My God, I love you.”

In God’s Unending Love,

Gwen