tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859222.post114070585070347852..comments2023-07-06T14:46:27.373+01:00Comments on John Camp: A (sort of) morning meditation:Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859222.post-1140798208000220792006-02-24T16:23:00.000+00:002006-02-24T16:23:00.000+00:00Also made me think of Luke, where J.theB. is talk...Also made me think of Luke, where J.theB. is talking about Jesus' winnowing fork clearing the threshing floor separating the kernels and chaff--has to be people.<BR/>Tim--your comment about the "right answer" always being God makes me think of our Children's Chapel at church (part of Sunday School) The 3's and 4's are practically programmed to answer "Jesus!" whenever we ask "who" questions, bec. that ususally goes with what we're teaching....works pretty well, except for when we ask things like "Now, who can say that whole Bible verse?" or "Who spilled all this glitter on the carpet?" It cracks us up to hear "Jesus" and we say it to each other---"Who can teach during Srping Break?" "Jesus!" "Who can do the lesson on the 7th commandment for the 3's?" "God!" It is a nice catch-all, and as the 3's have found, it IS usually right.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859222.post-1140797367039549762006-02-24T16:09:00.000+00:002006-02-24T16:09:00.000+00:00John- Also in 28b, besides offering to "fix the ...John- Also in 28b, besides offering to "fix the problem" or "get rid of it", it speaks to your main point: " I am able to distinguish between the wheat/weeds--those going to heaven and those going to hell".<BR/>I think the wheat/weeds here ARE the church (us).<BR/>This parable reminds me so much of working with AIDS patients back in the 80's (back then, most of them died of the disease)---Another hospice nurse and I used to worry so much about the eternal destination of so many of these people that we truly loved, and one day our chaplain said, "Well, the really great thing is, it's not up to YOU to decide, or figure out. All YOU can do is talk to God about it." What a relief.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859222.post-1140791946446020492006-02-24T14:39:00.000+00:002006-02-24T14:39:00.000+00:00TG -What I'm saying is that in Matt 13 the phrase ...TG -<BR/><BR/>What I'm saying is that in Matt 13 the phrase "kingdom of heaven" is the operable word. We tend to interpret that as some post-death floating-on-clouds-with-all-the-other-good-people thing so we read this much like we read a Matt 25 sort of parable. I just don't think that is what Jesus is getting at. Jesus' contemporaries would have definately heard "kingdom of heaven" as an earthly thing, not a post-death construction. <BR/><BR/>Also, I'm not saying that the sower isn't God and that the parable doesn't have eschatalogical implications. I'm only saying that the field might represent the person or the church and the wheat virtue, grace, love, etc. rather than the wheat being "those who are saved."<BR/><BR/>And, as for Luke 20, yes, God is the vineyard owner. That parable is a whole other story, since it obviously speaks to God's faith in our free will and humanity's ability to reject/accept God. (But I won't go there!)<BR/><BR/>MJGMattiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07301704521074201603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859222.post-1140768477587871572006-02-24T08:07:00.000+00:002006-02-24T08:07:00.000+00:00Mattie, why must we always argue?!Read Luc 20:9-16...Mattie, why must we always argue?!<BR/><BR/>Read Luc 20:9-16. This parable is CLEARLY about God, but it starts with "a man planted a vineyard..."<BR/><BR/>Same deal with the prodigal son. Unless it's actually a metaphor for the journey that our food takes when we become ill.<BR/><BR/>Jesus doesn't have to say "and the man is actually representing God", since he assumes we're not complete morons. Yeah, the parables are hard to understand, but most of them are extremely eschatological in nature, and also tend to portray the Father as the main man in the story, consistant with the way Jesus spoke of him in non-parable contexts.<BR/><BR/>Remember, the right answer is always "God"!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859222.post-1140744484428414712006-02-24T01:28:00.000+00:002006-02-24T01:28:00.000+00:00Mattie, you might find it interesting (as did I)...Mattie, <BR/><BR/> you might find it interesting (as did I) that Augustine interpreted this Parable to be about the Church, and used it as his main scriptural defense in the Donatist controvery.<BR/><BR/> --JZJohn Zahlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13961782491031169865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17859222.post-1140743347823686602006-02-24T01:09:00.000+00:002006-02-24T01:09:00.000+00:00JZ -The most puzzling thing about this parable for...JZ -<BR/><BR/>The most puzzling thing about this parable for me is that it says "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed..." It doesn't say "God is like a man who sowed..." I wonder how we are to read that. <BR/><BR/>In light of that preface, I wonder if it is more appropriate to read this as a personal tale of a believer as opposed to an explanation of the saved/unsaved. By this I mean, I think that I am increasingly led to read this as a call for me, as a Christian, to live in the world (i.e. among the weeds) instead of withdrawing from the world. In other words, if we reject the things of this world completely we risk "rooting up the wheat" by missing out on the beauty and grace that God has given us as creatures.<BR/><BR/>MJGMattiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07301704521074201603noreply@blogger.com