Proper 11 Year A RCL
July 20, 2008
Matthew 13:24-30,36-43
Jesus put before the crowd another parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 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?' He answered, `An enemy has done this.' The slaves said to him, `Then do you want us to go and gather them?' But he replied, `No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 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.'"
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." He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 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!"Let the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. In the name of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
This Sunday we once again get a parable about seeds being sown in a farmer’s field. Last week’s parable dealt with the quality of the soil. This week we deal with the quality of the seed. Weeds start to grow in the field with the wheat and the slaves go to the farmer and say, "Why are weeds growing, didn’t you use good seed?"
This is the age-old question: why is there bad in a world that God created to be good? But this parable doesn’t answer that question, rather it explains why God is waiting to separate the weeds from the wheat. God is waiting because he wants what he has planted to have the maximum amount of time possible to show their true identity. You see the weeds in this parable are a plant called darnel.
I looked up darnel on Wikipedia. It says, "The similarity between these two plants is so extensive that in some regions darnel is referred to as "false wheat." It bears a close resemblance to wheat until the ear appears. The ears on the real wheat are so heavy that it makes the entire plant droop downward, but the "false wheat", which ears are light, stands straight."
You can’t tell the difference until the plants mature and the fruit is ready for harvest. In the parable, the farmer (God) doesn’t let the slaves (followers of Christ) cull out the weeds because God knows full well that the slaves in their zeal will ruin a bunch of wheat. Instead, the farmer is going to hire professional reapers when the time comes. Those professional reapers are angels. Now that is some good news knowing that the slaves (the human followers of Christ) are not going to be the ones picking and choosing which plants are going into the fire and which are going into the farmer’s barn. Good news, indeed. I need to tell my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ this good news that they do not need worry about doing the culling, either now or at the time of Judgment. God’s angels are better suited for doing the job and the responsibility will rest with them, not us. What a relief! (Please note the sarcasm.)
And how will the wheat be distinguished from the weeds? By their fruit. So I looked up the fruits of the Spirit in the Book of Galatians. It is chapter 5, verses 22 and 23. St. Paul lists some sinful acts and then he says: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Love is listed first. It is agape love, the type of love that comes unconditionally from God, which we are supposed to emulate. It reminds me of the hymn that goes, "They will know we are Christians by our love." True enough.
But it isn’t our job or duty as Christians to look for and document these fruits (or the lack thereof) in other Christians. God, using the angels as His agents, will figure it out. And God is going to take His time. He isn’t in a hurry. So don’t be expecting the Second Coming to occur any time soon. Be ready in case a bus hits you this afternoon and you find yourself standing before Christ this very day. But don’t expect a global day of reckoning any day now. St. Peter said it best, "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:8)
==AMEN==