Wheat and Weeds

Psalm 139; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

This week we have another parable of Jesus that is based on seeds. Last week, seeds were abundantly thrown all over the place, and where they landed defined how well they did. This week, we hear that the kingdom of heaven is like a field where good seeds were sown, seeds that would bear good fruit, would bear wheat, but an enemy came along and also sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.

The weeds came up, as they do, right alongside the wheat, and so the slaves asked if the master wanted them to go pull out the weeds. But then Jesus’ story takes a strange turn, as his parables were known to do. The master, Jesus tells us, instructs the slaves to “let both wheat and weeds grow together – until the harvest.” The reason is “in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.” But there is an end to the time that they will grow together. At the harvest, the master will instruct the reapers in the separation of the wheat from the weeds.

Now if you came upon this parable while reading through the Gospel according to Matthew, and you had reached chapter 13, you would see that this is the second of four parables in a row told by Jesus. The first was the parable of the sower and the seeds, the one we talked about last week. After this second parable, there are two more – “the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed”, and “the kingdom of heaven is like yeast mixed into flour”. All of these are intended to tell us, in various ways, what the kingdom of heaven is like.  

And after all these parables have been told, and Jesus leaves the crowds and goes into the house, the disciples come up to him and say, “could you please explain the one about the weeds?”

We can really relate to the disciples at this point, don’t you think? It makes me wonder whether they even heard the next two parables… you know how you are going along, listening to something on the radio or on whatever news show you might be watching, and all of a sudden your attention gets caught up in one story, and before you know it you have missed whatever was said about the next two or three stories? Apparently “somebody” caught the next two parables, since they were included in this gospel, but isn’t it interesting that this one in particular gets a closer look, a deeper unpacking in this gospel according to Matthew.

Jesus’ explanation to the disciples reads like a set of definitions:

·      the one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;

·      the field is the world;

·      the good seed are the children of the kingdom;

·      the weeds are the children of the evil one;

·      the enemy who sowed them is the devil;

·      the harvest is the end of the age;

·      the reapers are angels.

Put it together and this is what you get, says Jesus: “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!”

Then, just in case the disciples (and we) need additional explanations, three more parables are offered as descriptions of what the kingdom of heaven is like:

·      a treasure found in a field which is so valuable that it is worth selling everything you have to buy the field;

·      a merchant finding a pearl of great value, worth selling everything in order to buy;

·      a net full of fish of every kind, which will be sorted into good and bad at the end of the age.

At the end of all this, Jesus says to them, “do you get it? Have you understood all this?”

What do you say? Whether or not their heads were reeling at that point, they look at him and say, “yes…..” And Jesus accepts that – although of course he knew that they barely understood – and they continue on together.

So what are the key messages in all this? There are so many. Here are just a few for us to consider today:

·      God intends good for us, not bad, not evil. The good seeds, the wheat are sown for the kingdom. The weeds come into the kingdom, into the field, because they are sown by the enemy.

o   So God does not cause the sorrow in our lives or the lives of others. God’s will is for good. Was, is, and is to be.

·      God is still God, despite the presence of evil. God is the master of the field, the Lord of our lives. God will manage the separating of good and evil at the time of the harvest.

o   There will be a day of judgment for all. And God will take care of it.

·      Until then, the seeds of good and evil will grow together.

o   We are not called at this time – or any other time -  to be pulling out the weeds. We are called to bear good fruit in the field where we are planted, to be the yeast that leavens the large batch of flour, to be the salt that seasons the meal, to be the light that shines in the darkness.

§  It matters not if we are a seed as tiny as a mustard seed – we can grow as big as a tree, and make homes for many birds.

§  It matters not if the amount of yeast equals that of the flour; our leavening changes the whole batch.

§  It matters not if the weeds outnumber the wheat; whatever fruit we can provide is the harvest of the kingdom of heaven.

When we think about wheat and weeds, about good and evil, there are a number of ways to look at it.

·      Good and bad things happen. They happen to everyone. Nobody can escape sorrow and trouble in this world. And everyone can tap into joy and hope in this world. And God says, let it be. One day I will sort it all out. God does not wave a magic wand and take away our cancer, our job loss, our pain and our sorrow, the weeds of our lives. They coexist with the wheat, the good fruit, no matter how much or how little it seems to grow.

·      We make good and bad choices and decisions, each and every one of us. Everybody sins. From the story of Adam and Eve in the garden, throughout the Bible, and in all aspects of our everyday lives, we can see how God wants good for us, and how when we take matters into our own hands, we create brokenness. There is evil working on us and in us all, individually and collectively, and that produces the weeds of this world.

o   The events of recent weeks remind us all too well of this.

§  The plane brought down in the Ukraine.

§  The increasing conflict between Israel and Palestine, and the effect it is having on so many people, on both sides of this conflict.

§  The humanitarian crisis as tens of thousands of young people flee Central America, trying to escape recruitment into criminal gangs.

o   And these are just a few of the innumerable situations, large and small, around the world, that remind us all too well how hard it is, actually how impossible it is, to clearly separate good from evil.

Can we separate the people involved in any of this into “good” and “bad”? Can we know if the ones who appear “bad” will or won’t someday be known as “good”? Can we predict if the “good” ones won’t someday be overcome by evil and “go bad”? Is anyone really “all good” or “all bad”, for “all time”?

We heard Psalm 139 just before the gospel text today. This Psalm is an interesting one, because when it is read, as it was today, there is a section cut out of it. It’s a troubling section – it’s difficult to read, to hear, and to understand, especially when it’s combined with the rest of the Psalm. I read all but three verses this morning – I’m going to read them now, along with a few from the beginning and end again, in order to remind you of the overall tone of the rest.

Psalm 139: 1-6

O LORD, you have searched me and known me.

You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.

You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely.

You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.

Psa. 139:19       O that you would kill the wicked, O God,

                        and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—

20       those who speak of you maliciously,

                        and lift themselves up against you for evil!

21       Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?

                        And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

22       I hate them with perfect hatred;

                        I count them my enemies.

23       Search me, O God, and know my heart;

                        test me and know my thoughts.

24       See if there is any wicked way in me,

                        and lead me in the way everlasting.

Pretty difficult words, right? Why are they in the middle of this beautiful Psalm, talking about God’s steadfast love and care for us, no matter where we are in our lives, God’s intimate knowledge of us from the beginning. Why would the Psalmist spew such anger in the middle of that? I’ve heard it preached that these verses fit the rest of the Psalm very well, once we recognize that we have good and wicked within us, and that God knows that too. We can express our wish that the wickedness within us be killed. We can express our outrage for our thoughts and deeds that oppose God’s will, if we acknowledge that they are there. God already knows that they are there, because, as the Psalm says, God searches and knows all our thoughts, and sees if there are any wicked ways in us. This Psalm is about the wheat and the weeds in our hearts, in the fields of our lives, and how God knows them, and God lets them be, and God will take care of them in God’s time.

God desires that we all “should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God will judge us all one day.

We pray, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”, because we know that we cannot keep ourselves or others from the evil ways of the world. Our lives are fields of wheat and weeds. Our choices, our circumstances, our outcomes, always fall short of perfect, always have weeds mixed in with the wheat, darkness as well as light.

And God says, let them grow together until the harvest. God has offered us redemption, free for the taking. God offers us redemption from every weed, every sin that we experience and that we cause. God tells us to give up everything else to be part of the kingdom of heaven, to recognize and take hold of that treasure, that pearl of great value.

God calls us to be salt, be light, be yeast, be mustard seeds, be wheat, to bloom where we are planted, to focus on the good we can bring to the lives of others, and to trust God to take care of the rest, in God’s time, when the harvest is ready.  May God grant that we be ready when the harvest time is here! Amen.

Seeds and Soil

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23; Romans 8: 1-11

A sower went out to sow.

Seeds were scattered in all directions, in the hope that some would bear fruit.

Some ended up on the sidewalk, where the birds ate them up.

Some landed in soil, but it was rocky, and so the roots did not take hold.

Some landed in better soil than the rocky stuff, and those seeds grew, but there were many thorns and weedy vines, which eventually overwhelmed them and choked them off.

And some landed in good soil, and and avoided being eaten by birds, or compromised by rocks, or overcome by thorns, so that they were able to remain, and take root, and grow, and bear fruit.

Luckily for us, Jesus went on to explain and interpret to his disciples the details about what this parable meant.

The seeds on the path, says Jesus, are like people who hear the word of the kingdom and don’t understand. The word never gets into their heart, and so just like the birds coming by and snatching away the seeds, so the evil one snatches away the word that was placed on their heart.

They never have a chance.

The seeds that land on the rocky soil are like those who hear the word of the kingdom and receive it with joy. The word endures for a while, but when trouble or persecution comes, these people fall away, because the roots were not able to go deep for them.

The seeds that land among thorns take root, but they bear no fruit because the thorns overwhelm them and choke them out. Jesus tells us that these are like those who hear the word of the kingdom, but are overcome by the cares of the world, or the lure of wealth, and those voices and urges eventually choke out the word, so it fades into the background and bears no fruit.

And the seeds that land in good soil are like those who hear the word of the kingdom, and understand, and remain in the word, so that their roots grow deep, and they can stand firm when trouble or persecution comes to them. 

They are unencumbered by thorns or weeds, so that the cares and desires of the world do not overwhelm them.

They bear fruit, some a little, some a lot, but it is good fruit.

So what is the path that prohibits understanding of the word?

And what are the rocks that keep us from putting down good, deep roots in the word?

And what sorts of thorns and weeds overcome our ability to stay focused on the word?

When I think about those who keep us from understanding the word, I think of false prophets. There were false prophets in Jesus’ time, and there still are false prophets today. Those who twist the word of the kingdom to promote their own self-interest, or to exclude or oppress others, or to mislead people into focusing on rules in order to earn their way into God’s favor, are examples of false prophets. I think, for example, of some of the radio and television evangelists whose main focus is to generate fear in their listeners, and who usually close every show by trying to get people to send them money.

Jesus steered the crowds away from the scribes and Pharisees whose focus was on the law and not on the love of God. This is a valid test for us to use today as well, in order to recognize false prophets. If the God they proclaim is not a God of love, there is reason to question the teaching.

And what are the rocks in the rocky ground that keep the seeds, the word of the kingdom from gaining roots that are good and deep? These seeds, Jesus tells us, are like those who hear the word, and receive it with joy, and it endures a while, but falls away when trouble or persecution comes. What kinds of troubles or persecutions would cause new disciples to question or fall away?

It could be the effects of loneliness, or hunger, or homelessness, or rejection, or judgment, or condemnation.

When the people of God do not take steps to help lonely or hungry people, or when they respond to persecuted people with condemnation or rejection, there is no way that those troubled or persecuted people can experience the love of Christ in the actions of disciples such as these.

Good roots cannot take hold.

We sometimes think we are doing God’s work when we focus on sin in others, and point it out, so they can recognize it and work on fixing it. But doing this is turning away from the amazing grace that Christ has won for all of us.

Even Paul calls this out, loud and clear, in our second text today. The very first verse is the essence of the Good News.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Hear again this good news. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

And think about this. The person writing these words, Paul, used to be the chief condemner of those following the Way, the word of the kingdom. Saul, who became Paul, was the persecutor. And he did so with the certainty that he was carrying out the law, the will of God. Until Jesus brought him up short, throwing him to the ground, taking away his sight, and saying “Saul, Why are you persecuting me?”  Now we know that Saul was persecuting the followers of Jesus, but Jesus asked him, “why are you persecuting me?” Clearly this means that if we persecute those who are trying to follow Jesus, we are persecuting Jesus.

If there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, why are so many followers of Christ so focused on condemnation?

Can we really say that we are primarily focused on loving our neighbors, and that describes the principal purpose of our lives? Or are we consumed with worry about whether we are adequately or sufficiently condemning those who we believe deserve it?  

If we are, then we are adding rocks to the soil; we are making it harder for others to become grounded in the word, to put down roots, to trust when trouble or persecution comes.

Thanks be to God, there is no condemnation for us, even when we behave this way – but there are consequences in the way it affects others who might otherwise come to know and trust in the living God through our witness.

Now we come to the thorns that choke out the word. Jesus says the thorns are like the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth. For us today, these are the idols and desires and anxieties that consume us and shift our attention away from God’s kingdom.  It happens to us as individuals; it can be the relentless pursuit of comfort, of safety, of health, of things. It even happens to the church, when we become focused on our programs, our buildings, our budgets, our membership levels. These are like thorns that overwhelm us and choke out our ability to worship, to study, to serve one another and our community, to love God and to love our neighbors.

So finally we get to the good soil, where the seeds can flourish. Jesus doesn’t say much about this soil here, although elsewhere he talks about such things as manure, and softening the soil, and so forth. Here it appears that good soil is the soil that is unencumbered by such things as thorns, and rocks, and birds that steal the seed. These seeds are able to send down roots that are solid and strong, and the result is that they bear good fruit. Some bear more than others. But what’s common about these seeds is that they hear the word, they understand it, and the word in their lives bears fruit, because they live it out. They abide in Christ Jesus. Remember what Paul said? “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” They boldly live as the body of Christ in the world today. They dedicate themselves to loving God, loving their neighbors, even loving their enemies.

One more question. Who are we in this story? Are we the sowers, or the seed, or the fruit? When Jesus told this story, it sounded like he was the sower, teaching and sharing and living the word of the kingdom, and that the listeners were the seeds. But here we are today as the church, the body of Christ, his hands and feet and voice and representatives in the world today. We are called to scatter seeds all over the place.  We are the sowers. But we are also the seeds. Our ability to live as disciples is dependent on the soil in which we are planted, and on the thorns and rocks that threaten to cause us to fall away. And, if you think about it, we are also the fruit. Somewhere along the way, we are the produce that came from someone else in our lives who put down roots and abided in Christ, lived in good soil, and showed us the way. We are all of these, just like every follower of Christ. This is what a life of discipleship is all about.

We are the body of Christ in the world. Our lives are gospels for others to see and receive the love of Christ firsthand. We do it because it is what Christ would do. We are given the power of the Holy Spirit to keep doing it in the name of Christ. Thanks be to God! Amen.

No Win

Romans 7: 15-25a; Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30.

Tim Howard is the goalie on the US soccer team that played in the World Cup up until its loss to Belgium on July 1. The US team lost 2-1. So Tim Howard was the losing goalie. But. Tim Howard blocked 16 attempts, breaking the record for World Cup play for the most saves in World Cup history. Tim Howard was diagnosed in middle school with Tourette’s syndrome. He has not overcome it; he lives with it, and he plays through it. Tim Howard has been married and divorced. And he is a follower of Jesus Christ. In an interview in 2006 that was written into an article for Athletes in Action, made while he was in England playing for Manchester United, he said this, in response to questions from teens ranging from "How did you give up that goal?" to "What does it feel like to not be the starting keeper?"

Tim told them, "The most important thing in my life is Christ. He's more important to me than winning or losing or whether I'm playing or not. Everything else is just a bonus."

Tim Howard didn’t carry the US team to a win. He struggles every day with a debilitating condition. He was ridiculed by the English because of his condition. But he broke the record for the most saves in the World Cup. And his fame has gone viral in just the past week – hundreds of pictures have been created and posted under the heading “Things Tim Howard Could Save.”  There are pictures of Tim Howard blocking an asteroid from wiping out all the dinosaurs; of Tim Howard blocking Simba’s father, Mufasa, in the Lion King, from falling off the cliff to his death; of Tim Howard blocking the Titanic from sinking.

So what do you think? Is Tim Howard a winner, or a loser, or none of the above? What do you think he would say? What do you say?

At the time that Jesus speaks these words we heard today from Matthew’s gospel, he is addressing the crowds, talking about John the Baptist. He has just received a communication from John, who is in prison, and who is wondering whether Jesus is winning or losing, essentially. John asks, “are you the one, or are we still waiting for another?” John’s not so sure, because things don’t seem to be working out so well. After all, he’s been thrown in prison, and the scribes and the Pharisees are having a fit over just about everything Jesus says and does. John seems to be struggling to know whether the key measures of success are landing where they ought to be. And here is Jesus’ reply: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.  And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

The underlying question here is not so much whether expectations are being met, for this Messiah they have all anticipated through scripture but had never before encountered, but whether the expectations are correct, on target. They have the law, and they have the prophecies. And they have scribes and rabbis who teach and interpret.

And Jesus is interpreting scripture for the people, too, when he points out to them that judging John for his strict vegan eating habits, concluding he must be crazy or possessed by some sort of demon, is no different from judging Jesus for eating and drinking freely and openly with sinners and tax collectors. What Jesus is saying is, “we can’t win with you people.” But, wisdom is vindicated, or justified, or validated, by her deeds, or results – literally the word here means her offspring. Wisdom is validated by her offspring.

Then Jesus expresses thanks that God’s revelation comes not to the wise and intelligent, but to the meek ones, those who hear it as little children.

And he says to the crowd, and to all of us who seek to follow him in all time and place, “Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

He says, give up, let go of the complexities of your life, of your striving to do everything right, to follow the law to the letter. Give it a rest. Rest in me. Take MY yoke upon you. Learn from me. Me, the one who is gentle, and humble in heart. Learn gentleness from me. Learn humility from me. This will give your soul the rest it needs, the peace that passes understanding.

It’s not about winning, says Jesus. Who wins and who loses, who meets the expectations of the law, who works hardest to abide by the law – that’s not what it’s about.

Let me and my Father worry about those things. You be gentle, and humble, and let go of your heavy loads. Rest in me.

Paul is expressing this, too, in the Romans passage Cheryl read. He expresses the utter frustration that comes from being unable to do the good he wants to do. He admits that it is sin dwelling in him that keeps him from doing good, that causes him to do evil. He describes this vicious circle from which there is no escape. Then he says –

“Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

And this is the only win there truly is – that Jesus Christ gave up his life for us, and redeemed us from our own death. Jesus let go of winning, let go of coming out on top, let go of success as it would be defined by our limited views of the world. We worship a Lord who allowed himself to be tried, convicted, and crucified – a description of a loser if there ever was one. But in a quiet victory before dawn a few days later, Jesus won the only win that matters – the victory over death – and gave it to all who would accept the gift.

So who are the winners and losers today? Is it those who fight through to come out on top? Or is it those who accept who they are and submit to a life of servanthood in the name of Christ? Who do we make into heroes and celebrities? How do we spread the good news that Jesus frees us from these success measures and instead calls us to love God and to love one another?

When we come to the table of our Lord and Savior, we participate in the body and blood of Christ, which was broken in love for us. We are accepted just as we are, with no thought of our successes or failures. We are reconciled with Christ and with one another. And we commit ourselves once again to love and serve God, one another, and our neighbors in the world, even those we would have called our enemies.

So let us put down our burdens and our worries, our judgments and our sins, leave them behind and come together as the body of Christ here at this table. The feast has been prepared for all God’s people.