Thursday, July 14, 2011

Weeds and wheat...which is which???

Matthew 13:24-30 (36-43) The tares among the wheat

Another gardening parable, but this time Jesus seems more interested in the weeds. So much so that this parable is often referred to as ‘The Parable of the Weeds’. So let’s take a look at the parable and see what it says to the people of Jesus’ day and to us today.

24 Jesus told them another parable:
The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field.

So the story begins. Your typical landowner sows his field in anticipation of a good crop. Everyone knows that to get a good crop you need good seed. But Jesus is already asking us to listen closely and think deeply. This is not a morality tale or some fable, but a picture of the Kingdom of heaven. A glimpse into the workings of the Kingdom of God...so pay attention!

25 One night, when everyone was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.

Feuds between families and individuals and nations are as old as history. Jesus’ hearers would not have been surprised by this action. Neither are we. An enemy’s purpose is always the same, to get revenge and make it as costly and difficult as possible. In the parable today what better way than to corrupt the good seed by sowing weeds among it. This enemy must have been pretty determined to have taken time to harvest the weeds when they were in seed to have enough to create the havoc he intended.

26 When the plants grew and the heads of grain began to form, then the weeds showed up.

The weed Jesus is referring to here is a poisonous darnel which is closely related to bearded wheat and in early stages of growth is hard to distinguish from it. The difference between darnel and real wheat is evident only when the plants begin to approach maturity and the ears appear. The ears of the real wheat are heavy with seed and will droop, while the ears of the darnel are light and airy and will stand up straight.

27 The man's servants came to him and said,
Sir, it was good seed you sowed in your field; where did the weeds come from?
28 It was some enemy who did this, he answered.

How could this happen? The answer is clear and simple. The landowner knew that the seed was good so the appearance of the weed in such profusion points to a deliberate act of sabotage.

28aDo you want us to go and pull up the weeds? they asked him.
29 No, he answered,
because as you gather the weeds you might pull up some of the wheat along with them.30 Let the wheat and the weeds both grow together until harvest. Then I will tell the harvest workers to pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them, and then to gather in the wheat and put it in my barn.

The eagerness of the servants to get rid of the weeds is understandable. They know the heart of their master and that he had sown good seed for a good crop. Their desire is well intended. But the master points out the problem. Trying to remove the weeds at this point, probably before everything has fully ripened, will simply cause greater damage to the overall harvest. People tramping through the unripened grain trying to remove the weeds will damage the good grain. The profusion of the weeds indicates that its roots are intertwined with the wheat so when you pull out the weed you pull out the wheat as well. Patience is called for. Waiting is the answer. The solution will come at the harvest when the reapers will begin to work their way methodically across the paddock separately weed from wheat, tying off the bundles of weed for use as fuel for the winter fires, and storing the wheat in the barns for food.

Now this is one of those times when Jesus also gives us an explanation of his parable. Let’s listen...

36 When Jesus had left the crowd and gone indoors, his disciples came to him and said,
Tell us what the parable about the weeds in the field means.
37 Jesus answered,
The man who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man;38 the field is the world; the good seed is the people who belong to the Kingdom; the weeds are the people who belong to the Evil One;39 and the enemy who sowed the weeds is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvest workers are angels.40 Just as the weeds are gathered up and burned in the fire, so the same thing will happen at the end of the age:41 the Son of Man will send out his angels to gather up out of his Kingdom all those who cause people to sin and all others who do evil things,42 and they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will cry and gnash their teeth.43 Then God's people will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Listen, then, if you have ears!
No need to explain the explanation. It is pretty clear. What we need to consider is why this parable? What is Jesus calling us to do as his disciples who are awaiting this day of harvest and of separation.

Firstly, why this parable?

Perhaps there were some overzealous "weeders" in Matthew's congregation who wanted to purify the community by rooting out the bad seed. This seems to be a temptation for followers of Jesus in every age. We whip ourselves into a weeding frenzy, certain that we know the difference between weeds and wheat, and that we know how to deal with the weeds!

Jesus' parable makes clear that any attempt to root out the weeds will only do more damage to the crop. This has played out far too many times in the church...in congregations and denominations...with some determined to root out anyone who does not agree with the "right" interpretation of Scripture, liturgical practice, or stand on a particular issue. There are also those who pronounce judgment on people outside the church -- on people of other faiths, for instance -- declaring them to be destined for eternal damnation. Whether judgment is focused within the church or without, it does serious damage to the church and its mission.

Jesus makes clear that we simply cannot be certain who is "in" or who is "out." In fact, God's judgment about these matters will take many by surprise. Thank God it is not up to us!

Secondly, what is Jesus calling us to do as his disciples who are awaiting this day of harvest and of separation.

Maybe I should begin with some of the ‘not’s that are part of this parable.

Notice that Jesus does NOT advise taking revenge on the enemy. He does not advise continuing the feud by getting back at the enemy.
Notice that Jesus does NOT advise that WE try and make the situation pure and perfect. He rightly points out that OUR trying to makes things perfect will only make things worse. The wheat and weed PLANTS can be separated, the ROOTS cannot. Pulling up weed plants will also unavoidably pull up wheat roots.
Notice that this is a parable about the FIELD - about the collective experience. It should be understood as a comment on the collective experience of the whole world; or a whole congregation; or a whole person because in all cases we find an unavoidable, inseparable mixture of good and bad, wheat and weeds together sown. According to this parable, we should expect that to be true; and we should not expect that God is going to come and take out all the bad things and make everything and everyone wholly good and pure.
Notice that is not lost; all is not left muddled and pointless. At the end, the weeds ARE separated and burned. At the end, what is pleasing to God is taken in to God's care and keeping. But remember, you are also the FIELD. At the harvest, the weeds in you are removed, and the wheat in you is gathered in.

So what are we to do?

Put simply, this is a parable of patience, particularly a call to patience in judgment. Three reasons come to mind for having patience.

1. We cannot carry out the separation effectively because we cannot discern the heart of another individual. If we attempt to do so we could make a mistake/error of judgment. Remember some people may think you are one of the ‘weeds’.
2. God has fixed the moment of separation and the time of the harvest. All must be ripe before harvest begins.
3. God is giving people time to come to know Jesus and repent…cf 2 Peter 3:9

This world is not the place to judge people. We are to seek everyone for the kingdom of God. We are to tell everyone about Jesus Christ. Everyone is welcome in the church…everyone…no matter what. Lifestyle issues and personal issues are dealt with within the family of God through the Word and the convicting power of the Spirit. That is why we are called into this fellowship...this body...this church...so that we get alongside one another and learn of and from one another.

Verse 30 has a point for us to remember. When the servants are keen to pull up the weeds and the master stops them he says...

30 Let the wheat and the weeds both grow together...

That word so simply translated as ‘let’ in the text today can also be translated as ‘permit’ or ‘allow’ or even, (and most frequently in the New Testament it is translated this way), as ‘forgive’.
So to put it another way, the master calls on the servants to ...
"Forgive them to grow together until the harvest."
This is how evil is dealt by the people of God. Not with judgement, but with forgiveness.
We can leave the weeding to God, and get on with the mission Jesus has given us -- proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God drawing near.

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