The Parable of the Weeds

Watch on YouTube/read the Bible story online

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FltYGgvxAfU

Context

Jesus tells some stories at a time when both the Pharisees and his own family are criticising him. In this story some weeds get in the way of the growing wheat. The weeds were probably a plant called darnel. Eating darnel can have similar effects to drinking too much alcohol, and too much darnel can be poisonous. Darnel is difficult to tell apart from wheat until the plants are nearly fully-grown and the ears appear. In modern farming we can get rid of any darnel seeds before they are sown. In the world of Jesus’s story, it would have been easy to get rid of some of the good wheat accidentally if the weeds were stripped away too early.

In the Old Testament, harvest is a symbol both of future judgement and of future blessing.

In the explanation, the angels get rid of ‘causes of sin’. The original word is the same one used for ‘stumbling block’ elsewhere in Matthew’s gospel. The angels get rid of whatever gets in the way of our growth and flourishing.

The idea of the righteous shining like the sun comes from the book of Daniel, where some of the earliest ideas about resurrection are found.

Plan

Icebreaker	/quickbuild Make an object – we will tell you what you have to create and give you five minutes to work on it!
Story	/home Make your way into church. We will read the first prayer (laminated sheets) and listen to the story.
Create Refreshments are served!	/weeds You have 20 minutes or so to build something in response to the story, either on your own, or team up with others. Some ideas: · Build a farm. How can you make it successful? · Build a structure with two or more similar colour materials. What would happen if you removed one of the materials? · What can you think of in Minecraft that requires patience? Write your tips on a sign If you don’t fancy building you can go back to the home village (/home) and read the story again in the church, or read some of the other stories in the library, or you might want to just explore the world, or work on your house.
Wonder	While you are creating, think about these questions with the adults on your table. I Wonder: · which part of this story you like the best? · what part is the most important? · where you are in this story or what part of the story is about you? · if there is any part of this story we can leave out and still have all the story we need? There are many other things that can make us WONDER – what are you thinking about?
Final Prayer	/home Back to the church for our final prayer (laminated sheet)
Dance	/home We’ll put some music on and let your Minecraft characters dance about using jumping or emotes!
Games	Free play while the adults tidy up!!