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A Sabbath Day's Journey

By: Rev. Paul Landgraf
What is a Sabbath day's journey? First of all, it is a Jewish expression. We measure distances in meters or yards. The Jews had a certain distance that they could walk on Saturday before it would be considered work. So their synagogues that they went to on Saturday could not be very far away. The word appears only in Acts 1:12 and indicates a distance of about three-quarters of a mile.

With that in mind, I think it is important to remember the origins of Christianity. Just because we have an Old Testament, it does not mean that we call it the 'Outdated Testament'. Much of the Old Testament has a literary structure that we are not aware of because of our modern emphasis on chapter and verse divisions. Within many of these blogs, I try to get the reader to see a bigger picture, a larger perspective that often includes the Old Testament and the environment that was present when the New Testament was seeing the Light of the day.

Second, a Sabbath day's journey is intentionally short. These 'journeys' with a text, almost always one of the three readings for that Sunday, are deliberately brief discussions. This blog was never designed to be a comprehensive look at any text. Sometimes a specific word is studied in detail. But, as a whole, a blog entry, by itself, is meant to be quite brief.

Finally, since the term 'Sabbath day's journey' appears in Acts, it is meant to appeal to a wide variety of people. This blog is meant for those who cannot come on Sunday mornings. And it is also for those who do come on Sunday mornings but would also like a further study of the text. It is also for those who live somewhere else in the world (besides Drake and Freedom, Missouri, USA) and would simply like a further study of the text. It was meant to get these different groups of people to start thinking about the biblical texts. Part of the reason for this blog is that I am not able to have a bible class on Sunday mornings with either congregation, and so, to have a blog like this seemed like a good idea. I hope it is helpful for you, in whatever situation you may be.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. And thank you for taking the time to read this!

July 23rd, 2017

7/23/2017

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​The gospel text for this Sunday is another parable (and its explanation) from Matthew 13--this time the 'Parable of the Weeds'. And there is both the frightening and comforting phrase within it. That phrase is when the master of the house says this regarding the weeds and the wheat: 'Let both grow together... (Matt 13:30).'

The master is letting the weeds and the wheat grow together. That is both frightening and comforting.

It is frightening, first of all, in that the weeds are allowed to grow. Jesus explains that the weeds are the sons of the evil one. And he is not only letting them exist; he is letting them grow!

Sadly enough, this can be easily seen. Even more disappointing is that this can also be seen inside some churches these days. After the ecumenical movement of the last century, some churches have ended up having very similar beliefs to those who are already outside the church. To some, a church is a place that makes them feel better. But it could be so much more.

Allowing for the continued growth among the weeds hopefully makes the wheat even more quickly rely on something outside of themselves for help. Our words basically do not amount to anything. The words of God make eternal differences.

A wonderfully comforting thought is also found within Matthew 13:30, that the children of the kingdom are growing as well. God always grants growth to his Church. Certainly it may not seem like it at times--especially when it comes to numerical growth, but there is always growth when his Law and his Gospel are spoken to his people.

Having both the weeds and the wheat grow together, and having God deal gently with his people--by removing the weeds at the end and not any earlier--that focuses the action of God more on his love than his power. That is what we have seen with the way he dealt with Israel in the Old Testament and with Jesus in the New. 

God is in charge; we are not. And the way in which he is in charge is extremely comforting to those who are his, who are listening to his words.
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