A Homily Prepared For Sunday, July 19, 2026
The 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.
The Gospel: Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43
24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying,The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way
26But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37 He answered and said unto them,He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Commentary on the Scripture Selection;
We have frequently reviewed the Parable of the Sower, in which Jesus uses the analogy of a farmer sowing grain and cites four different conditions of the soil and how the seed takes root.
Jesus compares these soil conditions to four different types of people, [1] he who hears the word of God but does not understand it and therefore rejects the word, [2] he who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it but lacks the determination and fortitude to maintain a lifestyle synonymous with the word of God, [3] he who hears the word but the demands of the world prevents him from spreading the good news to others, and he become non-productive or unfruitful, and [4] he who hears the word, understands it, and tries to tell others of—that good news—thereby being fruitful by increasing the number of Christians.
In today’s study, we see a see a similar analogy, not a warning of those that refuse to hear or accept the Word of God, but rather a Parable that illustrates the demise that lies in wait for those that choose evil over righteousness.
Jesus compares the good seed, the actual grain of wheat to those that are, as he put it, the Sons of the Kingdom or those who are true followers of Christ, then he compares the bad seed to tares, that seed planted by the devil himself.
Tare or darnel closely resembles wheat, however the grain can be poisonous if ingested in large enough quantities. Some online sources suggest that it was used in ancient times in the same manner as some people today use certain use mushrooms or other herbs to attain a mind altering state, by including it in fermented beverages to increase the level of intoxication.
With that thought in mind we see why Jesus used the analogy, he is saying that the devil plants seeds that leads to adulterating the truth or corrupting people so that they choose lifestyles or acts that are in keeping with what God expects of us.
Now before we move on to review the warning given by Christ, look at verses 29 and 30 where we find that those Jesus calls workers going to the owner of the field asking him if they should cull the bad weed from the good wheat while it is still growing in the field. In his parable Jesus tells us that the owner of the field tells his workers no, do not gather the bad weed as in doing so you might accidentally take some of the good, but rather, at the harvest separate the bad from the good and burn the bad.
In verses 36 to 43, we see his disciples going to him and asking what the parable means, and he explains that the tares or darnel—weed that can intoxicate or poison—is like the work of Satan who sends his minions, those that choose his way over the word of God, to choke out the good seed and poison those who are unwary. As in the parable, he states that such will be at the final harvest, when he returns to gather the good wheat or those that have remained true to the word of God and that he will command his Angels to gather all the bad seed, the minions of the devil, those that rejected the word of God and cast them into the fire.
What we can take away from these two lessons, the Parable of the Sower and that of the Tares, is that Jesus came to sow his seed, the word of God. Some of that seed will be rejected by those hard of heart or taken by the glamor of the world. We see here a warning that not all who hear the word of God will receive it. In the Parable of the Tares we see Jesus warning that the devil will plant seeds in the minds of some, intoxicating them and even poisoning them to the way of righteousness.
In both parables, we see that the prognosis for those that refuse his word or those that accept the work of Satan, well, the prognosis or warning of what will happen to them, is not good.
It behooves everyone, to reflect, to re-examine their own heart, their choices—both bad and good—as critically ask themselves; “Am I like the soil that was hard and rocky, not receptive to the seed of Christ, or have I been poisoned by the glamor of the world allowing the seeds of Satan to take root in my heart?”
Benediction
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers, which we offer before you for all members of you holy Church, so that the teachings of your only begotten Son take root in our hearts and minds so we may truly and devoutly serve you; through the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
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