Year A Proper 11 2023 Bethel

Year A Proper 11, 23 July 2023

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Bethel”

Collect: Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Old Testament Genesis 28:10-19a

Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” 

So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called that place Bethel.

Gospel Matthew 13:24-30,36-43

Jesus put before the crowd another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” 

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!” 

Making room for God is no easy task. We fill our lives with so much. Sports. Hobbies. Work. Family. All these things are good. But the task of a follower of Christ is always to have a spirit of Discernment, knowing the voices to which to listen, the gentle nudges to follow. 

Discernment is not about picking between the Good and the Bad. That is, and should be Common Sense. Good and Bad are easy. Choose the Good. Duh!

Discernment is about choosing between the Good and the Best. The Great and Sanctified. The path God does not call you down, and the one God does. This is much harder.

We live in a microwave oven, drive-thru, instantaneous satisfaction world. We are in such a rush we spell through in Drive-Thru, T-H-R-U. God help us. But Discernment does not work that way. Discernment is like erosion, it takes time for God to wash away the hardened outer layers to get to our hearts, that part of us that is still malleable and changeable.

We want spiritual growth, but we want it now. We want maturity and we will pitch a tantrum till we get it. We want wisdom without the work.

We tell the story of St. Paul’s conversion, which makes it sound like a lightswitch. On/Off. Bad/Good. Persecutor/Saint. But we forget the three days sitting in the darkness blind, waiting for a trepidatious saint to lay hands on and heal him. Even more, we leave out the three years he spent in Arabia figuring out what all this meant, attacking the Church, and then being called directly to be in it and work the rest of his life to grow it. We tell the conversion story like it is a singular event. But friends, I find that I have to be like Joshua (24:15) where he demands, “Choose you this day whom you will serve.” Conversion is an event, yes, but an event that I have to have every morning of every day for it to be real.

Discernment takes time. In today’s parable that Jesus told, the farmer had to wait to see what was a weed and what was wheat. It is easily seen in maturity. We may want to start with a blank slate and wipe everything out, but God is a gracious God, and if even one can be saved, God waits for the one. One stalk of wheat among the whole field of weeds would have been worth it to God.  This parable shows that amazing side of God. And teaches a lesson to us. Discernment takes time and patience. God’s Wisdom is seen in the Waiting. Thanks be to God!

And when the winnowing happens, may we be wheat and welcomed into Bethel, the House of God!

We get the name Bethel from our story with Jacob. He is running for his life after he stole his brother’s birthright. It is the beginning of a long journey, but this portent, this vision, or dream, of viewing is one of the key promises given to the patriarchs. 

In his flight, he stops to rest for the night, and takes a stone for a pillow. And he says a ladder going up to heaven. Notice the literal nature of this vision. A ladder going to a physical heaven atop the dome of the sky. That is how they saw things then. And God's messengers, for that is what angels mean, angelos: messenger, angel. And the angels are climbing up and down to do God’s bidding. Then Jacob hears from God himself this promise:

“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

So much good and so much evil have been done from these verses applying them to modern contexts. But from these verses, this scared man-boy that is running for his life changes his attitude to one of hope. He has been given a promise that his story is not over, it is only the beginning, and that at some point he will be coming back and that he will prosper. Our choices are so much easier when we know we cannot fail.

Despite having been a cheat who usurped Esau’s birthright. Jacob means Usurper or one who trips up, by the way, and according to the story he was born grabbing hold of his twin’s heel and not letting go! But God, despite his flawed and self-serving nature, Jacob is given this vision and the promise. God’s salvation lineage is going through him. The Cheat. The Second-born. The Momma’s Boy. He is still seen as being blessed because of the story this morning.

Discernment is what took place here. He heard God’s word to him, that he will come back, he will have children, and the land will be for his offspring. And even more, God is with him until all that is promised has been fulfilled. As I said, it is easier to make choices when we know we cannot fail.

There have been times when I was so disappointed on how something went. Promised jobs suddenly welcoming someone else. Promised support that did not appear. Life is like that.

But I have lived long enough to see patterns, patterns where I gave it over to God and everything worked out, often better than I could have imagined or hoped for.

And then there were those times when I took matters into my own hands. And these are some of the things I regret the most. I need to have faith, and give it over to God.

Thankfully Jacob’s promise has been given to us as well. Jesus’ final words to his apostles, and to his Church which includes us, were these: 

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18b-20

Jesus is with us. Jesus is with us in the hard times. Jesus is with us in the lonely times. Jesus is with us when we are working so hard. Jesus is with us when we are too tired to lift another finger. Jesus is just with us. Forever.

It makes those days when we face hard choices easier. It is promised that he is with us. And if he is with us, it will be okay. Whatever that path leads to, whatever it is that he would have us do.

What a comfort! What a relief! When the ingathering happens, all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well. And we will be welcomed home to Bethel, the House of God.

Tomorrow, when you get up, you will be given a choice, and again repeatedly throughout the day. Discernment is a gift, a chance to connect with God, and forge a righteous path. Being bad is easy, and the outcome is guaranteed. It takes a truly brave person to be faithful when that is the harder choice, the longer road, but consider the alternative. As for me, and hopefully all of us, we will choose God’s way. Amen