The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost ----- 23 July 2017

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

24 He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27 And 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?' 28 He answered, "An enemy has done this.' The slaves said to him, "Then do you want us to go and gather them?' 29 But he replied, "No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let 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.' "

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." 37 He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

 The slaves said to him, "Then do you want us to go and gather them?'

·       Years ago, I worked with a woman who was quite friendly and pleasant to be around. She was also quite heavy. She moved on to a different job in a different workplace and we lost track of each other for a while. Years later, I changed jobs and we again worked for the same company. Our paths crossed and I was surprised. She had lost a tremendous amount of weight. She had also lost her warm and friendly demeanor. She had become sour and snappy. Now I don’t know the whole story, but I’ve thought about this and wondered if this was a result of her weight loss. I also wondered if it was worth it. She gained something, but lost something as well.

·       The Gospel story relates a parable that talks about the cost of pulling weeds. The quote at the beginning of this sermon is the slaves’ question to their master when faced with the weeds among the wheat. We also hear that what has happened is not a natural thing although weeds are quite natural in farming and gardening. In this case however, the master says ‘An enemy has done this.'

·       What he does next is not good farming practice. The weeds – actually a plant called “darnel” – looks like wheat but is actually poisonous and makes you ill if it is eaten. Such an illness can even be fatal. This is a toxic plant, not simply an annoying one.

·       Despite this, the master tells the slaves to let it stay in the field with the wheat and only separate them at harvest time.

·       Lay aside what you know of proper farming procedures for a bit. After all, the Gospel is not a text on agriculture. It’s about the kingdom of God.

·       This is actually a parable about judgement. The master expresses concern that pulling up the weeds would uproot the wheat as well… and it is his judgement that counts.

·       This is applicable to Christians and to the church on a number of levels, particularly the personal and the communal.

·       We know personally that we have both the good and the bad within us. How much damage would we be willing to do to uproot (not just control, but uproot) the less-than-perfect portions of our lives and personalities? What violence are we willing to do and to accept to perfect ourselves? Can we even perfect ourselves? We all know the answer to that last question. If we could, would we need a saviour? This brings us face-to-face with our own inability to achieve salvation on our own.

·       The Church throughout history has wrestled with this problem – the problem of weeds among the wheat, as it were. In any number of cases, the Church has not been able to resist the temptation to yank up everything perceived to be sinful, which has led to oppression and even violence.

·       On both the personal and communal levels, the temptation is to judge for ourselves in God’s name and to act on that judgement. As it is in many other situations, the real temptation is to make ourselves God. To judge and to act can be to put ourselves in what is properly God’s place.

·       Should evil be opposed? Yes, indeed. It should be remembered as well that those who strive for “the good” are not perfect and that very few people are completely evil.

·       There is a quote attributed to the German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer that speaks to this. (I’ve discovered that he did not write it, but it was written about him.): Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than courageously and actively doing God’s will.

·       Judgement – even the judgement of ourselves – is God’s business. Our role is to trust in the promises of God and to follow Jesus, even if that following is slow and limping, because even slow following is following. There is no speed limit and we will most likely fail at times. Still, the promise of grace takes us as we are, weeds and all.

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!