A way to live a mission in the wider world (all systems from labor and corporations to government)
Good and evil people, programs, and forces are often intertwined. Removing evil can result in removing or ending the good too. Be realistic and correct what you can to bolster the good. As time passes, evil may become visible for all to see and can be removed. If it is still not visible in this life, God will deal with it ultimately.
Based on Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
A way to live a mission in the wider world (all systems from labor and corporations to government) based on Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, a reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, 7/23/17.
Jesus says that life in God’s kingdom is like the story of a farmer who planted good wheat seed. At night, an enemy sowed seeds of weeds. At harvest time, both wheat and weeds appeared together. The slaves reported the problem to the master and asked what to do. The master said, “Let both grow together because, if you pull up the weeds, you may pull up the wheat as well. At harvest, the weeds will be cut first and burned. Then, the wheat can be cut and gathered into my barn”. Later, the disciples ask Jesus to explain the parable. The Son of Man sows the good seed; the field is the world and the good seed are children or followers of the kingdom (Jesus’ teaching of what God wants from us). The weeds are children or followers of the evil one. The harvest is the end of the world. The reapers are the angels that collect all the weeds (followers of the evil one) and burn them up in the furnace. The righteous will shine like the sun when God rules in fullness.
A theme: Often, good and evil are so mixed that to end what is evil ends what is good also. In the fullness of time, the evil will be burned up and the righteous will prosper.
