Weeds and Wheat
This is the reflection sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church regarding this Sunday's gospel. Any thoughts?
I am not a gardener. I do a good job of killing plants, which is why I am grateful for those that have that are so skilled. In fact, there are several pretty weeds that I can't tell apart from the flowers. This is part of the problem in Jesus' parable; the inability of being able to tell the weeds from the wheat and so they wait until the time of harvest when it's easier to tell them apart.
Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
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 weeds 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!”
I am not a gardener. I do a good job of killing plants, which is why I am grateful for those that have that are so skilled. In fact, there are several pretty weeds that I can't tell apart from the flowers. This is part of the problem in Jesus' parable; the inability of being able to tell the weeds from the wheat and so they wait until the time of harvest when it's easier to tell them apart.
What stands out to me is whose responsibility it is to tell the weeds from the wheat, the evil from the good, God's children from the enemy's children. They can look so much alike and one may be easily taken in by someone that seems like such a good Christian person.
Is it our job, at least according to this parable, to be the ones who judge between one person's faith life and another's? No, it's not. That is up to the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, which begs the question, "What is our job?" We can encourage and build up each other when we aren't concerned with judging. That frees us--frees us to be who God called us to be.
One other interesting thing, the Son of Man sows the good seed in the beginning and then is the judge of all in the end. Jesus is with us at the beginning of our lives, throughout them, and is with us in the end.
Beloved children of God, may God bless and keep you always in his love.
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