Wheat and Weeds

Lectionary for July 19 (Track 2)

There is a problem with parables…those stories that we have become so familiar with…the stories Jesus tells to help highlight a point, to teach a lesson, to connect faith to everyday life. In fact, there are 22 parables in the book of Matthew alone and today we have the 2^nd (The parable of the weeds) out of 7 parables in chapter 13 alone. That’s a lot. And because we are so familiar with many of the parables, we may gloss over the deeper meaning that Jesus was trying to teach.

This week, I found that to be true for myself and then I read a text from Colossians chapter 1. I found myself connecting these two texts in some very rich ways. So I wanted to share that exploration with you in hopes that you may find some new connections with this parable for your own life.

In Colossians, Paul is writing to the early church…folks who are trying to understand the nature of Christ more fully especially in relation to how they are supposed to live their lives. And so Paul writes this prayer to them…

Here is why I wanted to use this text this morning…Paul is speaking to the people in Colossae about the very same things Jesus is teaching in his parable of the weeds from Matthew. It’s a beautiful look at common themes through two different lenses.

Paul names a few critical elements to a life of following Christ. Things like:

- The discernment of God’s wisdom and understanding through prayer

- The importance of leading a life worthy of God

- Bearing fruit through good works as you grow in God

- Gaining strength and preparation to endure difficult times

- Being patient, joyful, and grateful

Let’s see if we can notice those same themes in our parable.

Weeds come up with the grain. The master is told of the problem. It is recognized that an enemy has planted the weeds but the master instructs the slaves to not pull the weeds up because if they do so it will also uproot the wheat. Instead, he wants them to grow together until they can harvest the grain. At that time, they will separate the wheat from the weeds and they will burn the weeds and use the weeds for fuel.

That’s the story. Now, can we uncover the themes that Paul highlights in Colossians?

Here is the first thing I notice…The Master says to wait before pulling up the weeds. Don’t go for the quick fix. By pausing immediate action he is inviting the workers to discern. Discern what is truly good and what isn’t. To allow God to enter into the situation.

Ever want to do it all on your own? To not trust God when things are hard? To doubt that God is with you when life presents you with difficult choices or circumstances?

In the parable, the problem is evident, there are indeed weeds – there is no denying that fact, but the solution takes patience and prayer. The Master wants a good harvest and to get the fruitfulness he desires, the wheat and the weeds have to coexist for a while. They have to work together even though it may seem counterintuitive.

Ever want to judge a person or a situation too quickly? Ever want to shut out an opinion other than your own? Ever want to blame someone or something for the problems in your life before looking inward at yourself?

Jesus teaches that by our patience and openness to discern and to be with the difficulty will in time bear fruit and will create opportunities to use both the good and the bad for important purposes in the harvest. For Matthew, what seemed like a bleak situation was actually one full of grace.

Ever take the time to listen and learn from someone or something you disagreed with? Ever tried to find common ground? And did that ever result in a much deeper understanding than you expected? Were bridges built? Did anger cease? Did healing start to emerge?

The image of the field reminds us that our first reaction in a difficult situation is to often judge and determine who is right and who is wrong. We don’t like to sit with uncertainty and we don’t like to co-exist with things that we disagree with or that threaten us in any way. We want clarity and clean lines. We want to pull up the weeds.

This is the crux of the parable. We often act too quickly to pull up what we don’t like BEFORE we have ever discerned what God desires of us. Maybe you are wondering…well, why is that a problem? Bad is bad. Wrong is wrong. Doesn’t that matter?

Yes, it does but consider two things:

1. Don’t we all encompass both good and bad? Do any of us have the monopoly on righteousness?

2. Is it our place to judge or is it God’s? If we want God to love us through our own shortcomings, can we also allow God to do the same for our enemy?

So instead of pulling up the weeds in haste, stop and ask one simple question…God, what would you have me do? What good do you want to grow out of this situation?

Steve Garnaas-Holmes writes poetry every week based upon the lectionary and he wrote a beautiful poem that breaks down Jesus’ parable in applicable ways to our lives. Let me close with this excerpt…

Maybe, though we’d love to get rid of those we hate,
we shouldn’t, because we actually also depend on them,
and removing them would uproot us, too.

Maybe we should go easy on our judgments because
we have no idea what wounds or burdens people bear,
so that what seems evil to us is actually pretty good for them.

Maybe it’s not that we shouldn’t judge
but that we can’t: we can’t know
what grace lurks in even the worst person or situation.

Maybe resisting evil and injustice is so hard
because there are weeds of hate and fear in our own hearts
and sorting that out is hard and humbling.

Maybe the stuff in your life that seems bad
is also graced, and your work is
to glean the fruit from it.

Maybe God is so present in everything
that even despite the vilest wrong
grace is always possible.1

The parable reminds us that in the midst of our own field God calls us to have courage to live with hard questions. To cultivate the longing to seek and to know God. To grow the desire to be patient. To harvest a willingness to love.