Tomorrow

Jesus said to the disciples: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

“Do you understand all these things?” They answered, “Yes.” And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there. (Matthew 13:47-53)

Jesus taught with parables.  That reminds me of one of my favorite carton strips, “Peanuts” and the Robert Short 1968 book “The Parables of Peanuts.”  At one time I laughed at the suggestion that Peanuts had biblical meaning.   I now have a different opinion especially since Linus often quotes Scripture in a very meaningful and relevant way.  This cartoon (above) has Snoopy refer to the prophet Elijah.  It deals with tomorrow: “There’s no tomorrow.”

Our tomorrows are what we make of them.  One would like to believe that our tomorrows will see an end to racism or at least very serious and effective attempts to address the results of racism.  One would like to believe that political divisions and us-versus-them attitudes commonplace in the United States would be replaced with community and friendship. One would like to believe Jesus’ parables would have a long-lasting effect on all of us especially government leaders.   

One would like to believe that the bad that exists in all of us would be thrown away and the wicked thrown away and out.  Tomorrow will come.  Do we understand what it must look like fashioned in a way Jesus would approve?

Deacon David Pierce