"He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’" (Matthew 13:31-32)

Prime Timers is a Christian Education group at St. Martin's for Episcopalians aged fifty and above. We are following a course of study based on the Revised Common Lectionary, the three year cycle of Bible readings used throughout the Anglican Communion and by many Protestant denominations worldwide. Next week's readings are right here, at the bottom of the page! You are invited to join us in the Parlor near the church offices, Sunday after the 9:00am service, 10:15am to 11:00.

St. Matthew by Fra Angelico, 1423-24, tempera on wood, at the Musée Condé, Chantilly

Prime Timer Good News!

A Prime Timer tradition is hearing what others are up to, and charging a dollar for the privilege! Currently we donate the money we collect to the Amistad Mission in Bolivia, helping underprivileged kids. Murray gave thanks for his Mother in Law getting out of the hospital after six weeks. Marty told how proud he is of his Mom, who ended up giving the keynote speech at the family reunion after originally deciding not to go!

Wheat and Tares

George Laigle led the Prime Timers today while our leader Carol Hartland is out recovering from knee replacement surgery.

Today's Scripture reading is the story of the field that is sown with wheat, and while the farmers slept an enemy comes in and sows weeds, or tares, in with the good seed. In today's sermon Rev. Mary Wilson explains that tares are a type of weed that looks a lot like wheat, until it blooms with an ear that can cause drunkenness and even death. Tares are thought to be darnel, and the Romans forbid the planting of darnel along with wheat. The lesson, of course, is that it is hard to tell if you have wheat (good) or tares (evil) until the plant has grown.

The Apostle Paul, in todays readings from his letter to the Romans, is concerned about sin and the final judgment. (Romans 8:13) "...if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." This led George to mention how many of his grandchildren are "living for the flesh" and yet, "small children really know how to have fun!" Last week George and Elizabeth were at a family get together in Bar Harbor, Maine, and the Acadia National Park. Bar Harbor got its name from a natural "bar" of sand and gravel and seashells that is exposed at low tide. It allows you to walk or drive out to Bar Island. One of George's grandchildren ran across the bar, high tide is another story, being nine feet above low tide!

Speaking of weeds and wheat, class mentioned the case of Casey Anthony that has filled the 24 hour news cycle with every sorry detail of this case and poor Caylee Anthony. Marty mentions how July and August are sometimes called the "silly season" by news people. In the absence of real news stories the death of the little girl become major news.

George is a movie buff and this week's is from 1942, with David Niven and Leslie Howard in a fact based story of the British Spitfire airplane, "The First of the Few." This airplane almost wasn't built, it was the time in between the World Wars and people were not wanting to start another war. The Germans, however, were building their terrible war machine. Airplanes at the time were the biplane type, limited in speed. Designer R. J. Mitchell (Leslie Howard) on the other hand, had observed birds and how they flew and from this came the idea for the Spitfire airplane.

From our class notes, Bishop John E. Hines, a former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, has explained in Thy Kingdom Come (Morehouse-Barlow, 1967) that we are challenged to see today’s Gospel parable as referring to our own “mixed” lives.

“One thing this parable is saying is that there is no field in the dynamic world of God’s creation and man’s activity where only grain grows or only flowers bloom. The weeds always are there, too, always. … Not only is there an element of positive evil in even the most virtuous life, but there is no possibility of our arriving at such a state of perfection that we can afford to dispense with the confession, ‘We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done."

Murray concluded class with a short prayer.

Lectionary readings

The Readings for Sunday, July 24th are from Lectionary Year One, Proper 12-A, "Valuing God's Kingdom": Genesis 29:15-28; Psalm 105:1-11, 45b; Romans 8:26-39 and Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52. The text this week is from the New Revised Standard Version.

Genesis 29:15-28

¹⁵ Then Laban said to Jacob, ‘Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?’ ¹⁶Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷Leah’s eyes were lovely, and Rachel was graceful and beautiful. ¹⁸Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, ‘I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.’ ¹⁹Laban said, ‘It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.’ ²⁰So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, ‘Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.’ ²²So Laban gathered together all the people of the place, and made a feast. ²³But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. ²⁴(Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) ²⁵When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, ‘What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?’ ²⁶Laban said, ‘This is not done in our country—giving the younger before the firstborn. ²⁷Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me for another seven years.’ ²⁸Jacob did so, and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife.

Psalm 105:1-11, 45b

¹ O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
² Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful works.
³ Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
⁴ Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually.
⁵ Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles, and the judgements he has uttered,
⁶ O offspring of his servant Abraham,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

⁷ He is the Lord our God;
his judgements are in all the earth.
⁸ He is mindful of his covenant for ever,
of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
⁹ the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
¹⁰ which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
¹¹ saying, ‘To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.’

^45b Praise the Lord!

Romans 8:26-39

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. ²⁷And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

²⁸ We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. ³⁰And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

³¹ What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? ³²He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? ³³Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. ³⁵Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶As it is written,
‘For your sake we are being killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’
³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

³¹ He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; ³²it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’

³³ He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’

⁴⁴ ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵ ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; ⁴⁶on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

⁴⁷ ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; ⁴⁸when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. ⁴⁹So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹ ‘Have you understood all this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’ ⁵²And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’

NRSV