Redeemer Lutheran Church, DeSoto, MO

Our July 19 Sunday worship service is available on video through Facebook. You may view it without being a member of Facebook. Our social spacing seating arrangement assures minimal risk. Due to technical difficulties, the service is shown in two parts. Click on the two pictures in order below.

The July 26 worship service will be held at 9 am on our church lawn with members and friends in attendance. Bring a lawn chair. In case of rain, we will move inside. It is scheduled to be streamed live on the DeSoto Redeemer Facebook page. We will post a direct link to the recording here as soon as it is possible after the service.

We are glad to share our worship with you. Click on “Contact Us” above to find out more about our faith family and what we believe.

Sermon, July 19
Isaiah 44:6-8 | Psalm 86:11-17
Romans 8:12-25 | Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

I, like many of you, have a garden. I like to see the flowers come up, as well as the herbs and vegetables. But, there is that phenomenon, besides squirrels, where you plant something. You watch to see when it sprouts. It does, along with a couple of other things. And you aren’t sure which are the weeds and which ones are what you planted. This is especially true when the plants are small. The only thing to do really, is wait until they get bigger, and are easier to identify. You don’t want to tear up what you planted, the squirrels will do that for you! However, I’ve also learned, at least in my garden that the weeds grow faster, and heartier, than what I planted and wanted to grow. I think that it’s part of Murphy’s Law – the worst will happen at the worst possible time. I do have a solution to a section of my garden this year. It’s called the lawn mower. That will take care of the whole issue.

Today’s Gospel lesson is usually called, “The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares,” or sometimes, it is just called “the Parable of the Weeds.” So, when we hear this text, most of us ask ourselves some questions, like “What is a Tare?” or “So what if there are dandelions in a wheat field? What does that have to do with religion?” Actually, the lesson today is quite a bit deeper than would appear on the surface, and it shows that once again, Jesus knew an awful lot about agriculture. The weeds he describes in the parable aren’t dandelions; that would be too easy. Jesus, in the Greek names a specific plant. They are tares, but, virtually no one calls this plant “tares” anymore. Remember, languages change over time. This one has had 2,000 years to change. Although, I think that tare is a good name for it in English. You want to tear it out!

The weed in question is more commonly now called “Darnel.” And it is a member of the rye family. It is also sometimes called “Cockle.” The problem with this particular plant is that as it grows, it looks almost identical to wheat. Wheat and rye can look very similar – for a while. You can’t really tell them apart until the head of grain develops, then darnel’s head is black. The other problem with darnel is that it is toxic, and too much of it can kill a person. My favorite name for this plant isn’t darnel nor cockle, it is its French name “ivraie,” which if you speak French, you know that ivraie means “drunk.” Drunk, because if you accidently eat a little bit of it, you start acting as if you are drunk, intoxicated. Eat more of it, and you die. It is probably one of the members of the rye family which can get ergot, a fungus which can cause these symptoms. Another problem with this plant, which shows us that Jesus knew his agriculture, and picked this illustration carefully, is that it tends to tear up the roots of wheat. That is why the farmer in the story says to his workers, “Don’t pull them out.” It would pull out the wheat as well. That is your agriculture lesson for today. But, that is not what Jesus is really talking about.

Jesus is really talking about the pervasiveness of wickedness and evil. Some scholars have argued that this parable was aimed at Judas Iscariot, and why Jesus didn’t kick him out. That Jesus was afraid others might follow Judas in leaving. I, personally, doubt that one very much. I think Jesus was looking at a much broader scale, like the whole world, or the whole Church. After all, Jesus tells this parable to the crowds, but he explains it to the disciples. And Judas would have been present when Jesus explained this parable.

There is the old adage that, “You have to take the good with the bad.” We all learn that one as we get older. We are surrounded by evil. Wickedness is everywhere. But, we are also surrounded by the good. Good is also everywhere. Sometimes, and this is the problem with the human situation, sometimes, we can’t tell them apart. Actually, we can tell them apart, but that is usually in hindsight. When we are in the midst of things, then it can be quite difficult to tell the good from the bad. And, as Jesus says in the parable, when you try to root out evil, you may root out the good as well. Often, as Jesus alludes in the story, the best course is to wait, literally until things come to a head, and then you can tell the difference by the fruit that they bear.

There is another way of looking at this parable, of course. Jesus’ stories are always much deeper when you delve into them than would appear on the surface. The wheat and the weeds/tares/darnel, the good and the bad, may also well apply to us as individuals. We don’t like to see it that way, but we do believe that we are “at the same time saints and sinners,” “Simul iustus et peccatur. “ That is the Christian situation. We are both good and bad. Because of baptism and our faith in Christ, we believe that the guilt of our sins is washed away. But, the part of that which we don’t like to remember is that the sin remains. It is in our flesh (that is what Paul is arguing about in the epistle text today). We are still sinners. But we hope and pray that we are forgiven sinners. Why do you think we begin the worship service with a Rite of Confession and Forgiveness? We recognize that we are capable of wickedness. We call that sin. In fact, we believe that we can’t help it. It is hardwired into us. But, we believe all the more firmly that Christ recognizes that, and forgives those who have faith in him. We believe that the sin in us, like the darnel, is toxic to us, and leads to death. But, through this parable, Jesus teaches that in the end it will be removed from us. And we shall be part of the Lord’s harvest, the wheat, taken into his kingdom in the end. There we shall share in the forgiveness of sins, everlasting salvation through Christ, and eternal life with God in heaven, where all is good for it is the home of God.
Pastor Rose

Our July 12 Sunday worship service is available on video through Facebook. You may view it without being a member of Facebook. Our social spacing seating arrangement assures minimal risk.

The July 19 worship service will be held in our church sanctuary with members and friends in attendance. It is scheduled to be streamed live on the DeSoto Redeemer Facebook page. We will post a direct link to the recording here as soon as it is possible after the service.

We are glad to share our worship with you. Click on “Contact Us” above to find out more about our faith family and what we believe.

Sermon, July 12
Isaiah 55:10-13 | Psalm 65:[1-8] 9-14
Romans 8:1-11 | Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Through the 12th Chapter of Matthew, which we don’t have before us, we are told several stories, particularly concerning the Pharisees and the religious leaders, having conflicts with Jesus and his message. That isn’t too surprising. It flies in the face of the accepted Jewish understanding of God and God’s relationship with humanity. Basically, they reject Jesus and his message. In fact, in Chapter 12, after an argument over healing on the Sabbath, we are told that the Pharisees depart to plot how to kill Jesus – most of us, usually think this comes later in the Gospel story. Things are coming to a head already, and we aren’t even halfway through Matthew’s Gospel. By the end of Chapter 12, even his mother and brothers aren’t sure what to think about Jesus. In light of these events, Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower, which we have today, at the beginning of Chapter 13. It explains why some people have faith, and others don’t, markedly in light of the arguments of Chapter 12. By the way, it is told to the crowds, but notice that it is only explained to the disciples (the ones with faith). It describes 4 basic situations – which pretty well describe reality as I’ve experienced it.

The first situation, the path: It reminds me of seeding along the back yard fence – hard ground, no water, direct sunlight, almost nothing ever sprouts, let alone thrives. The Path is those who hear the Word of God, and don’t understand it. They lack understanding. There are more of those out in the world, in this country, indeed, in this area than many of us suppose. For too long, we, the Church – its leaders and people have assumed that we live in a Christian world/nation/neighborhood. We don’t. Period. That has never been true, ever. Throw that idea completely away. It is, and always has been, a time for Evangelism (that great terrifying word for Lutherans). Evangelism is something which all Christians are called to do. And, it is an ongoing task. For every newborn babe, there is someone who needs to have the Gospel shared with them. That is our task as Church, as disciples of Christ himself, to tell his story, because not all have heard it! That is part of the task. Another important task of the members of the Church, is to explain the message. More than ever, I believe that that is the most important part. I have heard a number of non-believers over the years tell me what they think the Gospel is, and I am astounded by what they tell me. And they usually tell me in anger by the way. They are on the path, and ground underfoot and trampled upon by those who don’t understand. They are usually quelled to calm when I correct them, teach them. We are to be evangelists and teachers.

The second situation is what I call fox hole Christians. They are looking for a place of safety and security, perhaps to hide from the world, to get some personal issues resolved, to get some personal needs met (which is okay). But, they have no root, no Christian background. They want the joy and hope, but lack commitment. They will sprout and endure for a while. But, they are on rocky ground. If Christianity, or their perception of God, does not become the “fix it all” which they feel they need to get their lives in order (usually without any effort on their part – only divine intervention), they fall away. This group tends to be self-seeking, not God-serving. Although we may hope that they will find commitment, and guide them in that direction, to be strengthened in faith through Word and Sacrament, because of that lack of rootedness, this type of faith will wither and fall away.

Third, are those who have every chance to grow in faith, except that they are overwhelmed by the world. They fall among thorns. It reminds me of my garden. The weeds spring up and surround what I planted, and chokes them off. These people can no longer hear God because the cares and desires of the world deafens them to God’s call. It is hard to fight the world when you face it alone. They cannot see the sunlight of God’s love in Christ, because of the darkness of the world. They are suffocated by that which surrounds them and the seed of faith dies of starvation. It’s kind of like the beans that I planted this year. They’re gone.

I would like to add another type to Jesus’ examples that kind of goes along with this type. Looking at the plants in my yard, and what goes on there, I think we should call them the “Squirrelled Christians.” I’ve notice that squirrels are really good at finding flower pots where something has sprouted, and then digging in and tearing up the plants in the pot as they look for walnuts that they buried last year, or thought that they buried in that place. I’ve been told that squirrels only remember about 10% of what they bury. The world and evil can do the same thing to this type of Christian, tear them out by the roots and discard them to the side. My solution would be to kill the squirrels (bushy tailed rat), unfortunately, I live in town and the Police Department said no. However, for a couple of years, my neighbor had a nesting pair of hawks in their tree. That worked, the squirrels didn’t go out much. Especially since the male hawk liked to rest on Colleen’s old swing set. Maybe we need to pray for some more angels to look out over us, or an occasional lightning strike to keep us safe….

Then there is the last type. Everything is right. The soil is good. They are properly nourished in the Church, in Word and Sacrament. They have the strength of a whole community of faith from which to draw upon. Their roots run deeply into the Gospel. These are the disciples who are the heart of the Church. These are the saints whose labor for the Gospel brings a great harvest for our Lord. These are the ones, who no matter how many times they are trampled or cut down by adversity, they still grow. Their faith is even strengthened by the adversity. These disciples are the ones who show us the power of the Word, for it dwells in them bodily. Disciples of this kind strive to always follow the example of Christ and his love, for they know it well. Indeed, faith is even proclaimed through them by the examples of their lives. These always amaze me by their faith, love and commitment to Christ. They are a rich harvest to God’s glory.

May each of us continue to grow in faith. May the Spirit nourish our faith, so that our lives proclaim our Lord Jesus Christ in word and deeds, who sowed our faith and claims us. And may we help to bring forth his harvest in ourselves, and in our examples, and so glorify God our Maker.
Pastor Rose