12. Retrieves

13:36-52

Housemaster - new and old things

13:36-52 Then sending away the crowds he came (back) into the house. His disciples approached him saying “Explain to us the parable of the tares in the field. And he answering said “The one sowing the good seed is the Son of man. The field is the world. The good seed consists of the sons of the kingdom. The tares (weeds) are the sons of the evil one. The enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is at the completion of the age. and the reapers are the angels. Just as the tares are collected and consumed by fire, so it will be at the completion of the age. The Son of man will send forth his angels and they will collect out of his kingdom all the things that lead to sin and those who are lawless and they will cast them into the furnace of fire where there will be wailing and the gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous people will shine forth like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Let the one who has ears for this hear. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure which

has been hidden in the field. A man finds what has been hidden and with joy goes and sells whatever he has and buys that field. Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls. Finding one very valuable pearl he goes away and sells whatever things he had and he buys it. Again the kingdom of the heavens is like a net someone casts into the sea gathering up things of every kind. When it has been filled it is brought to the shore. Sitting down this person collects the good things into vessels. But the bad things are thrown out. Thus it will be at the completion of the age. The angels will go forth and will separate evil people from the midst of the righteous and will cast them into the furnace of fire where there will be wailing and the gnashing of teeth. Do you understand all these things?” They say to him. “Yes.” So he said to them. “Every scribe who is made a disciple of the kingdom of the heavens is like a man who is a housemaster. He puts forth out of his treasure both new things and old things.”

In previous paragraphs the Kingdom of Heaven could be interpreted in terms of the setting up of a society which includes (in dialogue) two societies which emphasise either law (c/f time) or order (c/f place) Yet this parable introduces the sense of an ‘end-time’ as in after one’s death. There is a saying about life after death. “What for the Christian if there’s no heaven. But what for the atheist if there’s a hell!” Traditionally hell has been depicted e.g. in the Sistine Chapel as a great fire. A problem with this imagery is that people can tend to reject it. Or as some theologians do, it could be argued that it conflicts with the sense of an all-loving God.

We could reflect about this in terms of the cosmology of the "Big Bang". It is now claimed and demonstrated by many scientists that the "Big Bang" was the beginning of our time and space. But what happens to the life of the spirit when one’s body ceases to function in both time and place? If (as the believer of an after-life would claim) one continues to live on, this could be in a dimension which is not confined to either time or space. In such case one would not have the many distractions and pre-occupations afforded in a world of time, change and material things. But if one's life has been unbalanced it seems there would be a sense of isolation.

If the very nature of the Originator of the Universe and all being, is that of love, then someone who has