July 23, 2023 Eighth Sunday After Pentecost The text is Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43.

-o0o-

²⁴[Jesus] put before [the crowds] another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field;²⁵but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. ²⁷And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ ²⁸He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”
 ³⁶Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weds of the field.” ³⁷He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; ³⁸the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, ⁴²and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!”

-o0o-

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

Grace, mercy, and peace are yours from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

This morning we find ourselves again in that portion of Matthew’s gospel where we read that Jesus is continuing the telling of parables which focus on agriculture as a metaphor for the kingdom of heaven.  Last Sunday’s focus was on the planting of seed in “good soil”.  And next week we will read about several more parables pointing to God’s kingdom, and along with yeast and pearls, the topic will again include an agricultural theme; this time, mustard seeds.  But today we encounter Jesus telling the parable of the “Wheat and the Weeds”.  And as always, what was obvious to those hearing Jesus teach 2,000 years ago may not be quite so apparent to our ears.  And the awareness of the specifics of the metaphoric items Jesus uses to make his point might go a long way in helping us to grasp a little more clearly the message he was conveying to his listeners in the first century.

Matthew notes that Jesus told the parable about wheat and weeds and the specific word chosen for “weeds” is rather significant to the point being made.  The Greek term Matthew uses is “zizania”, and this translates to a specific plant, one that is found throughout the Middle East even today.  The Latin scientific name is Lolium tementulum and this plant is commonly called bearded darnel.  This wasn’t any old green weed sprouting up among the rather distinguishable stalks of wheat.  It’s not as if a gardener today would discover crabgrass growing around their tomato plants, looking very different indeed.  The tomato plants are noticeably different from the encroaching weeds. 

It turns out that this darnel plant is nearly indistinguishable from domesticated wheat; it’s not until both plants grow to maturity and the heads of grain appear that any differences become obvious.  The grain heads are slightly different in color.  Only when the wheat and the darnel weeds have reached full growth is it possible to tell one from the other.  Oh, and by the way, this bearded darnel weed in Matthew’s gospel is highly poisonous if ingested.  And, somewhat contrary to Jesus’ statement in the parable, it turns out that darnel tended to grow wild just about everywhere in Israel; it would likely have shown up in the wheat field without being sown there.  Why then did Jesus mention the “enemy” in the parable, especially since those he was preaching to would have known about darnel’s propensity to grow wild in farmers’ fields?

Perhaps Jesus intended to make the point that the weeds of the world, that is the evil that surrounds us, are among the goodness God intends, and that the enemy is that which is always present.  Evil exists alongside goodness in the world; there are good and bad people; there are actions which cause people to prosper and behaviors that result in damage, physical and emotional.  It is possible for us to have corrupt thoughts as well as wholesome, worthy beliefs and intentions.  Our words are capable of bringing healing to others, and what we say can otherwise cause great harm.  We must acknowledge that the healing and harmful, the worthy and corrupt, that which causes prosperity and that which results in damage; the good and the evil, the wheat and the weeds exist simultaneously.

In this, yet another of Jesus’ parables describing the kingdom of heaven, we learn that it is God’s will that the weeds be allowed to flourish alongside the wheat.  That which might be detrimental to the kingdom must not be destroyed, in case that which is beneficial is inadvertently extinguished as well.  While both wheat and weed compete for the nutrients provided by the soil, any effort to root out that which is harmful cannot be effectively done; there is always the risk of the destruction of what should be allowed to flourish.  And like the darnel growing among the wheat, it’s not possible to be fully confident that it’s the weeds that are being pulled and not the healthy grain that is needed for nourishment.  We can’t tell which is which until both wheat and weed have fully developed; and anyway, it’s not our job to decide.  Jesus states that it will be he who will determine what has been beneficial to the kingdom and which has not.

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he makes it clear that the children of God are to wait patiently, with hope for the coming of the kingdom.  Keeping this in mind, along with Jesus’ admonition that it is not our job to judge what is to be included in God’s reign; difficult as it may seem, we are to tolerate with patience that which is different from us.  For how are we to be sure that that which we find contrary, is not in reality similar to us; our beliefs, moral standards, principals, ethics?

The owner of the wheat field said, “don’t you dare take it upon yourselves to decide what is undesirable in my field!”  “It’s not your job to pull what you assume are weeds; you might damage what is precious to me by mistake”.  We are to let whatever is growing in the field that is the world, continue to flourish right alongside us, to avoid overstepping our authority to determine what is good and right and what is not.

Jesus makes it clear that any attempt to root out the weeds in our churches, communities, and the wider world will only do greater damage to the overall crop; for the roots of the wheat and the weeds are intertwined below the surface.  Yet there are incalculable instances of attempts to judge others as weeds when some believe they alone are the wheat.  Like the darnel which seems to be everywhere there is a crop of good seed, the willingness of people to be overzealous weeders in God’s garden persists.

There are many who have determined that whatever they hold to be true is right and whatever differs from that is necessarily wrong.  The judgement that Jesus warns us against is not limited to simply reminding us to avoid declaring what we feel is evil.  We are also admonished to abstain from judgement of other’s denomination, political affiliation, social and cultural mores, and anything that isn’t aligned fully with us and what we deem as being the good wheat in God’s field.  For we don’t know how God views that which we may disagree with.  What we assume to be a weed, may in fact be God’s beautiful flower in the kingdom of heaven.

If we delve a bit deeper into this morning’s parable juxtaposing good and evil, we might find that Jesus is speaking not only about the wheat and weeds that exist together in the world; it’s also likely he is speaking about the dichotomy that is present within us as well.  Martin Luther deliberated greatly about the struggle that we humans face within ourselves.  He wrote that we are “simul Justus et peccator”.  We are “at the same time sinner and saint”.  This coexistence of good and evil within us also proved to be a lifelong battle for Saint Paul;

in earlier verses of his letter to the Romans he wrote, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.” 

It seems that Paul understood quite well what Jesus meant when he preached that the wheat and weeds must abide together within the human heart and mind.  Like the wheat and the darnel it’s often difficult to tell which is which; just ask Paul!  So, just as Jesus tells us not judge the worthiness of others, so should we also recognize that each of us internally has wheat and weeds existing alongside.  Let’s remember that through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross and by the grace of God, the sinful part of us has been redeemed.  By faith we are saved, and the focus of our lives ought to be on expressing thanksgiving for the goodness of God.  And let’s leave the judgement, of ourselves and others to the God who knows how to tell the weeds from the wheat.              

God is Good, all the time.  All the time, God is Good.  Amen.