... while everyone was asleep (13:25)
is this a message about staying alert or about covering you tracks later?
tom in ga
I read something that really made me think. The judge who will separate the weeds from the wheat is the same one who, last week, scattered seeds about so indiscriminately. To us it would seem wasteful to throw seeds on the road or in the middle of thorny bushed or where the ground has not been properly prepared. This sower spreads the seeds around so freely. Now we hear about the judge who will separate the weeds from the wheat. He's the one who dies on the cross for the weeds. Maybe he doesn't want the weeds pulled out because they have the potential to turn into wheat before the harvest. In addition we should be careful that we don't try separating weed and wheat. Jesus doesn't send his disciples (us) out to do it but his angels. It's not our job to decide who gets uprooted. That's all for now. Tom in Ontario.
It seems to me that within each of us is wheat and weeds. There are those things that take planting and nurture (a spiritual life, family, relationships, education, etc) and there are those things that are just there (passions, drives). To divide them before the end of our lives would cause problems. Only at the judgment! A psychoanalyst once said "Inside all of us there is a zoo, but we are to be the zoo keeper." Which means we must continue to take care of ourselves, to honor all the parts of our life, and realize that even the weeds come from God.
tom in ga
One of the things we see all too often in Christianity is the judgments people make against others persons; judgments which we are not supposed to be making. This aspect of the passage cannot be overlooked. We are ill equipped to deal with evil persons. We can do well with judging evil acts if we stick to God's word, but not the persons who do them. In reading in the Old Testament we find the death penalty for murder (not killing), homosexuality, kidnapping, and other sins. As a society we no longer carry out these responses to these sins. But we are at a loss as to what we should do. The result has led to confusion. Confusion is manifested in an attitude of washing our hands of some sins to overt approval of some other sins. We are called to recognize the difference between wheat and weeds; but we are not called to make the judgment of the ultimate destiny of the weeds. I hope this little bit helps in this complex issue. pastordon in IN
"Let anyone with ears listen!" Sometimes we listen to the news and all we hear is trouble. Discovery of another of Milosevic's massacre. Another senseless shooting. You get the point. When I listen to enough of that I get discouraged - actually depressed! I need to listen to the Word in order to see that God is still in control, forces of evil and cruelties of wicked persons will not win the Day. There is ample reason for the believer to have hope. It just depends on what we are listening to. A mother will hear her infant cry in the night but shut out the sounds of other things around her. We get used to the chiming of a clock and it does not disturb our sleep. Someone not used to it will not be able to sleep. Last evening a beautiful deer walked in front of our living room. He did not startle at sounds he was used to, even when my wife opened the patio door to scare him away from the peas. But he knew which sounds meant danger. We need to be vigilant, but we also need to make sure what we are listening to and see the overall picture that God's Word provides. It is still a beautiful world. It depends on what we listen to. Stan in Northern Wis.
How does your garden grow? Everything seemed to be going wrong! My wife's care kept blowing fuses; the doors kept locking and unlocking while she drove. Nervous breakdown, I thought. My new toy, a '57 John Deere tractor, model 50, would not start anymore and I wanted to work in the woods with it while I was on vacation; My computer refused to cooperate - everytime I tried to log on I got a "Server does not have DNS entry" message; the fuses I bo't for my wife's car were the wrong size; the test light for the tractor burned out the light (wrong kind); a nursing home resident wondered if God was being unfair to him with his deteriorating health, and as I described the field with the weeds in it to him, I realized that my spiritual garden was full of weeds, and THAT IS ALL I WAS SEEING! Life is like a garden. Everyone has weeds. Do we see the harvest that God is preparing? In time everything will be sorted out. God asks of us patience and faith, and God empowers us with faith and patience if we realize that how we deal with the weeds in our life makes a big difference. Patience, quiet perserverance, basic hope in God (see Romans 8), can create an entirely new attitude. The car is fixed. I have a new server and DNS entry for my computer, the tractor does not run but I have had quite an education in the meantime, and today is good! God is good. I'm alive, the birds are singing in the cool 45 degree morning dew, my wife and kids still love me, I have a meaningful task in life. The Kingdom of God is still producing a harvest. God is good, and eventually my tractor will start! Stan in Northern Wis
What are we to make of the evil weeds? in this week's Pulpit Resource is the following description: "Weeds are the demanding souls who drain the energy and budget of a congregation and then leave in a huff, saying they want to find a more caring church." Been there--Done that. I'm thinking of addressing this issue in the sermon. How to rid our congregations of the evil, destructive weeds. Any thoughts? Paula in Fl
this is in response to paula, who wrote on 10 july: your question made me think of a friend of mine who was struggling with many "weeds" in her congregation. her comment was: "there's nothing wrong with this church that a few good funerals wouldn't solve" !! to be honest, i've felt that way myself on more than one occasion. but as i've been thinking about this text in relation to my present congregation (also with its share of "weeds", in my opinion), i've tried to step back and realize that what i see as a weed - someone who gets in the way of what i've planted and want to see growing - may also very well have gifts that nourish and nurture, and which i've just not paid enough attention to. and then again, the folks i regard as "wheat" may have some qualities that choke or stunt growth in themselves or others, too. and i wouldn't be honest if i didn't look pretty hard at myself to see where there are weeds & wheat within myself, too. all of which is to say, take your time before addressing the issue of weeds in the congregation! nwolc/ct
RevJan, did you ever get ahold of the litany from the women's conference? MTSOfan
Well...
Here we have Scripture verses that the post-moderns (in the pews AND the pulpits) will simply dismiss.
Christ speaks of the kingdom of Heaven. Of good seeds and bad weeds. Of the righteous shining and Satan conniving. How will it be preached?
Especially if we ignore verses 41 - 43. Those have to be ignored don't they... we don't want to step on any toes now, we don't want to hurt any feelings, we don't want to sound too doom-ish and gloom-ish.
Last week someone wrote about how 'most' NT scholars had dismissed that portion of Scripture the Lectionary had ignored. I wrote a response but probably too late to be read my most of you.
I can't help but think that the same reasoning will be applied to dismiss the doom and gloom portion of this week's text. It simply doesn't fit with the current (and really not so current) notion that Hell is not to be mentioned from main-line pulpits. Might turn too many people off. Might not get the collection plate as full as it needs to be. Might get in the way of that notion so prevalent and widespread today, that notion whose foundation is to preach nothing that would make someone squirm in their seats or think about their sinful condition.
Even though the parable this week, and last week, and yes, again next week will deal with issues of heaven and hell, of righteousness and the wicked, of partaking of the joys of heaven or burning in a fiery furnace where there will be the gnashing of teeth.
Well, you desperate preachers who preach nothing but the Good News must realize that good isn't really good unless bad is defined. And over these three weeks, Christ's parables are defining pretty definitively what bad is. Oh we can argue about literalism, about what Hell really is, about the reality of Satan or the gnashing of teeth until we're blue in the face. But the bottom line is do any of us want to spend eternity there, no matter what the reality of it is?
Well, I guess we could always hang out in the Psalms or the Old Testament... Less doom and gloom over there...
Happy (effective) preaching folks... Really...
Rick in Va
What are weeds? I believe that the thistle is an emblem of Scotland. When a thistle grows in my garden it is a weed and I pull it out. I heard a story of a gardener who was pulling thistles from his garden. A passer-by asked if he was pulling weeds and he replied "I beg your pardon, these are thistles!" The same plants that are beautiful wildflowers in the forest or a wild meadow are weeds in a farmers wheat field. I think we have to look at ourselves and ask if we are wheat of weeds in God's Dominion. I believe that what we need to hear from this lesson is that Jesus does not send his disciples, or anyone here on earth to pull the weeds. He leaves that to the angels at the last judgement. Maybe he's holding out hope that some of those weeds won't be weeds any longer when the final roll is called. We need to preach law and gospel in every sermon. The angels sang about Good News when Christ was born, Jesus preached Good News at the same time that he pointed out the law. Our messages shouldn't be one sided either way but what we need to end on is the note of gospel. We are not saved by works of the law but by God's grace. Tom in Ontario
As a child I gathered a handful of dandilions for my mother because they were gloriously yellow, bright and beautiful. A weed is indeed in the eye of the beholder. The plant that is now seen as a medical wonder (I don't remember if it was echinachia or St. John's wort) was almost driven to endangered status a few years ago by ranchers who found it gave cows indigestion.
I am sure that I can spot some weeds in my congregation, and in myself. What I am less sure of is my omniscience. I can't know whether or not fruit will eventually be borne. Sometimes the most difficult passages of my life, even when my sinful nature has given rise to them, have equipped me for effective ministry to others.
In this garden I'm not the gardener. I am not aware of every purpose that the gardener conceives. I am nothing more or less than a seed, among many other seeds, that is given daily growth.
I am greatful.
SS in PA
Beware of the weeds for they may embody the good!
Weeds are those thorns in our lives (members of the congregation, disordered passions or desires, etc). They were not placed there by God but they are there to help us grow spiritually and to mature in Christ. Without them we would remain infants. They are important for our growth as difficult as they may be. We must be patient and let them remain until the harvest. Some people, who were mentally ill, use to have a "lobatamy" (?) in order to no longer feel their pain, so they now felt nothing. It is important that we experience pain, suffering, desolation for it is in these times that we learn alot about God and ourselves. Let them grow together until the harvest. We will never fully understand what is good and what is evil until the end which God will gather all things in Him/Her.
tom in ga
After a lot of effort to pull out and get rid of that "weed" in your congregation/workplace, you will heave a sigh of relief, turn around and find a new, but very similar "weed" has arrived. Anyone had this experience?
Doesn't that indicate that the "weediness" is in our eyes? We just can't abide a garden that is not according to OUR plan.
This lesson screams to me-- You business is to be a subject of the kingdom YOURSELF. You kids cut out that backbiting of your siblings, even if they ARE wrong. Develop your own relationship with God. Patiently (see intervening parables). God's in charge of the final call, you don't have that responsiblity.
Sara in GR,MI
Sara in GR, MI;
(Where is that by the way?)
I'm afraid that you ignore much of Scripture if I'm understanding you correctly.
If we are to do nothing but worry about our own 'weed'-iness then it seems we become a church of individuals. I believe we are called to be a church of community.
If we are not to seek fruit, and works of righteousness and holiness, especially amongst our clergy and lay-leaders, then we no longer will be preaching an effective gospel, a gospel that bears evidence of it's reality when transformed lives are seen by all.
God is certainly in charge of the 'final' weeding, and on that we can agree. But there are concepts of accountability and responsibility that believers have to each other that require consistent and loving weeding. A rebuke can be just as loving and merciful as an affirming hug. A reminder that we are to be Holy as He is Holy can be an act that prevents much more harm, much more sin.
This idea that we cannot judge behavior is a softball from Satan. We certainly can, we certainly must, we are certainly called to do so. Lovingly, repeatedly, with forgiveness in mind and restoration with God and each other as a by-product.
If we are to worry about nothing but our own weeds, to the exclusion of rebuking those clearly in error, who harm themselves and their loved ones, then this Church of God can close it's doors now. (It won't, thank God, because God has said it won't).
The vacuum left by the Church's evacuation of it's moral responsibilities is harmful, and fulfilling Satan's duty to wreak havoc in this world.
Wake up Desperate Preachers... For Christ's sake. Answer His clarion call to love one another but understand that Scripture defines love a little differently than the 'free love' definitions of the 60's. We are reaping today the consequences of that kind of 'free love'. Let's remind those in the pews and each other that the love of God was costly. Just ask His Son to see the nail wounds in His hands, the scars on His body.
Love is not free. Salvation is.
"Let anyone with ears listen!"
Rick in Va
Seems to me that this is a reassurance that the "separaction" (or judjment) will not take place until the final harvest. Than -- as now-- many of the people were afraid of end time judgment/apocalypse, etc. Sometimes we have people ask: If God is good, why does evil continue? This may be partly the answer. If sin were destroyed and judged, the judgment would be harmful to all of us, for "all have sinned." Well, I'm just mulling this over early in the week...RevKK
For those of you, no us, suffering from those "weeds in our gardens" (congregations) look up "Antagonists in the Church" by Kenneth C. Haugk. It is published by Augsburg. It has great lessons on tending, and sometimes uprooting those weeds, and letting them grow in someone else's gardens. You see, killing these weeds is illegal and not very Christian. (We have a whole congregation waiting for the funeral of one stubborn weed.) Urging them to transplant themselves can be an effective solution to weeds ruining your gardens, however. It is also easier for us to then love them from afar. Also, AMEN to Rick in VA. revup
Hi rick in va. On first reading this I also responded strongly to the judgement aspects of this scpriture.. as you, a southern I was brought up under false teachings about Satan. (By the way it says devil here). That there was a war in heaven and that Satan was the most beautful angel and rebelled against God. God threw him out and now there is a tough of war between Satan and God. What false teachings. Please find that war for me in the Old Testatment. In the Old Testatemtn those people believed in only one God and the idea of a tough of war with that Being would have craze. Satan in the Old Testatment was God's prosacuting attorny. To being the charges against man at the judgement. In the New Testatment Jesus is the defending attorny. Guse who wins. Look very closely at the teaching in the common southern fundumentalist church. It is must closer to Zorastorism (?) and the dualist teachings of nostoism which Paul wrote against. If we have no changles, no weeds in our lives or in our church we become week weat. (Forgive the spelling I am very LD) At judgement the angels of the Lord will gather thoes things in our own lives and in us together that causes sin and unrepent evildoers and cast them into the furance of fire, may be as paul talks about to purify. We are called to teach the narrow way not to much to the right or to much to the lift but as the greeks say "the golden mean", in the middle. With love my friend..Thank you for being here. Ron of MS
Rick, you accuse Sara of ignoring scripture and it seems that you ignore precisely the Gospel lesson for this Sunday. The Master's servants are eager to do some heavy weeding but they receive and emphatic NO. The weeding is left entirely to God, the Son of Man and his angels. Why do you seem to defy Christ's teachings written right here in black and white?
To the Unknown poster,
My 'defiance' of Christ's black and white teaching may not be as clear cut as it seems to you, at least not in my view.
I thought (perhaps wrongly) that Sara's description of weeding fit into someone else's definition a little earlier where weeds were compared to sin.
I do still believe that we are to rebuke each other when we sin or to put it less offensively, to encourage each other to stop sinning (as Christ Himself did).
In this week's context, Jesus defines weeds as the children of the devil. And it is these children, who if they are not adopted into God's family, that will burn at the final harvest, at the hands of God's angels.
It would seem to me that it would be right to go out into the world, convincing them of the goodness that follows God's adoption of us. We are to convince these children of the devil to take the necessary steps that would lead to God's adoption of them. I think this is where repentance comes into play and adoption follows. And where rebuke plays a part.
My choice of the word 'weeding' may have been poor in my response to Sara and I apologize for that. But I certainly do not think that I'm defying Christ's teachings. In fact, I'm more certain that I'm following the whole of His teaching rather than those parts that seem suitable to me only.
To all DPS'rs,
I've just read about the killer mudlside in San Bernadino, California and ask that we pray for Pam and her congregation. Pray for safety for them. And pray that Pam (and other Christians) can console the victims and their families of this tragedy in the power of God's Holy Spirit.
Rick in Va
12 JUL 99
Sara in MI (Grand Rapids, per chance?), don't be too disheartened if someone attacks your musings. All of us have been judged through our participation in DPS! (That old "love" part of Ephesians 4:15 is the tricky part; most of us have little trouble believing we are "speaking the `truth'"). We appreciate your input. I know this is not the principle theme of our text, but what about "the world", the soil, the earth which hosts the venture of life? Seems to be pretty important. Perhaps there's a tie to the Romans 8 passage and a good reminder that God's creation--the whole of it, not just homo sapien, the earth-creatures--is longing for the liberating power of God. What indeed will we "who have the first fruits of the Spirit" do? Be not pre-occupied with final judgement, to be sure, but in our stewardship of all, be clothed with such as "compassion, kindness, humility..." (Col. 3:12). Patience and power to all who would accept this awesome task of proclaiming the Gospel. Peter in CA
We have a h'llava task! Representing God, proclaiming his message in a world that continues to think it can igore the message. We proclaim good news to the weeds, hoping beyond hope that the weeds will become wheat, a divine miracle, indeed! There are so many people in the church that only interpret the good news as positive thinking, and when we proclaim something that doesn't make them feel good, or if we say something negative, we are attacked (by those who think that the gospel somehow is to affirm their secular lives). It is really hard being a clergy person. We went into this business, not only because God called us and the church affirmed the call, but because we love people, and that is the two headed monster, loving those who will treat us like hired servants. Perhaps we out to be tent makers like Paul; and then we we would never be available. This parable of the weeds and wheat raise these thoughts in my mind; yet I also know myself well enough to recognize my own active iniquity in all of this, I am not innocent, I too am filled with many thorns and weeds, and need purify before I can truly judge those gather for worship. I need patience, understanding, and a kind of holy indifference to be a stronger pastor, and yet I come every Sunday with my own wounds ....
tom in ga
Old hat to you "old" preachers, but.... I'm struck by the beginning, "The kingdom of God is like..." and then we get the mix-up in the field. The Kingdom is messy, a mixed garden where the good stuff and the bad stuff is so intermingled it's not safe to separate them! The kingdom is not just when the weeds are burned and the wheat is gathered in, that is, at the END of the parable. The kingdom is like the present we live in right now.
What? You mean we are LIVING in the Kingdom? We don't have to wait to get there? We don't HAVE TO clean up the field to make it the Kingdom?
[Rick, I know we have responsibilities to community and holiness, I just think my people need to hear more about how graced we are and how we over do it on the judgment of others.]
Sara in GR, MI (Yes, that's Grand Rapids)
If Jesus had weeded out Judas would more of the disciples have been uprooted with him? Are weeds and wheat sometimes difficult to distinguish? Can we personally claim to be weedless fields? It seems that it may be disastrous to try to achieve a pure church by trying to purge those that appear evil to us. The passage seems to be saying that until the final judgement we should be patient and not try to put everyone into neat compartments. The church on earth will always be a mixed community. There is a problem, I think, in stretching too far to say that nothing can be done about the evil in our midst and our only response can be passive indifference. We heard this past Sunday that weeds can choke the wheat so they must be controlled if not eliminated entirely. The church needs constant reformation and positive action including a quest for holiness but we must should realize that total purism before the eschaton is unrealistic. Patience is necessary and one must leave the sifting to God. These are a few of the things that came up in my exegesis this evening. Tom in Ontario
Tom in Ontario...
Amen!
Rick in Va
To Sara in Grand Rapids - I like what you said in both of your postings. We are living in the midst of the kingdom, despite all the weeds out there. If we think WE HAVE PROBLEMS, just think of the stuff our lay people have to put up with everyday at work! They really do need some encouraging and empowering. Good Law and Gospel will always come out with the Gospel empowering people to live graciously and victoriously in the midst of the weeds. I also want to respond to "revup" about Ken Haugk's book. In my last parish I struggled with one particular weed for almost 14 years. Everything else was going well, but the weed was beginning to get backers and supportewrs. After reading Haughk’s book, I realized one of us had to either die or move. I chose to ask my District President for a new Call. That was nine years ago. Within in a year's time I had a call to a new congregation, and things could not be better. The pastor who succeeded me now has to deal with the "weed", and I don't know how that will come out, but I thank God for the new garden he gave me to work in. Stan in No.Wis.
Sara.. I like what you said. I believe this is about the kingdom. I am trying to understand what this “KINGDOM” is. It is more than just being saved (i.e. hell insurance) but a place of sanctifying grace. May be a “space” where we have “hearing hearts”, where the Holy Spirit speaks to each one of us to lead our actions. A mystical place.
Could some of our more learned cohorts speak on the subject of the “Kingdom:” message.
With love, Ron in MS
To Rick and others,
It seems to me that Judgement is never our's - we have the ability and responsibility to discern - "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2)- God is the Judge - and personally, I'm very happy about that
Revlunn on Kaua'i
Friends,
In the parable the evil one comes at night and sows weeds on purpose. The question in Matthew's church was what to do with evil persons who were disrupting the life of the church. The weeds just didn't happen, they were deliberately planted by the evil one. While I appreciate the advice of my brother, I beleive the time comes when we cannot just "love" those evil, hell-bent on destroying the church, types. Daniel Brown has a booklet, You don't Always have to be nice, which addresses this situation. We must confront the evil, or it willcontinue to grow. Separation without judging. Judgement is God's business not ours. I think that was in intent of the parable.
Still struggling, Paula in sunny, hot Fl
One of my homeletics tutors in seminary once challenged us on our understanding of the parables. Many biblical scholars, she said, are of the informed opinion that whenever there is an "explanation" of the parable's real meaning, that explanation did not actually come from Jesus but is in fact an intrepretation by the gospel writer. She suggested that looking at the parables without their attendant explanations might be a new way to begin to see Christ's words.
Here, her advice would mean looking only at verses 24-30.
I like what some have said about the wheat and the weeds being sown in each one of us. While I share the concern that this might turn this into an all-too individualistic message, I know that on most days I don't feel that I am either wholly wheat or wholly weed. Most of the time, there are both inside me. I find comfort in the thought that at the last judgement the weeds within me will be burned and the wheat will remain. In some ways, it recalls those phrases about God refining us like gold, burning us so that only the purest stuff remains.
I also appreciate the point someone made earlier about not always knowing what is wheat and what is weed. I'm a really lousy gardener, and I just moved into a new house this spring. I pretty much let everything grow that was growing in the garden, no knowing what was weed and what was plant. Last week, my husband looked at one plant in our garden and said to me, "Isn't that a weed?" Understand, this plant is now about 2 feet tall and flowering. I told him I didn't care, it was pretty. It might be a weed to some, but I think that it has improved my garden.
I guess in the end, only God can decide what in me is wheat and what is weed. I know there have been times when things I considered to be shortcomings within myself actually heldped me grow closer to God. "In my weaknesses I am strong." I don't think this means that we take all of ourselves as we are without striving to live more fully out of our faith in Jesus Christ. But I find it a comfort that God accepts and loves me as I am.
Heather
Thanks for the interesting discussion. I have been rereading Helmut Thielcke's excellent sermon on this parable (In the book The Waiting Father). He suggests three reasons why the householder rejects the servant's offer to root out the weeds: 1. We dare not think that we can exterminate the evil in the world by our own effort -- primarily because we too are in its grip. 2. God's purpose is to save -- our premature judgment may prevent the Gospel from being heard and received. It would negate the invitation to come to Christ "just as you are." 3. Though to some degree we can distinguish good from evil, we are total incapable of carrying out a proper separation. Only God can do that -- and God isn't ready yet.
On another note, I remember preaching on this parable nearly 20 years ago and using a very effective "visual aid." I gathered weeds from the roadside (plentiful in Kansas in July)and arranged them as the altar flowers for the morning. Granted, most of the weeds were blooming. After the congregation had had ample opportunity to admire the altar flowers, I pointed out that they were indeed merely weeds from the roadside. Who is to say what's a weed and what's a wildflower??
Looking forward to your continuing comments,
Ev in Kansas
Am thinking of both Old and New Testament readings (why is it that the Desperate Preachers pay so little attention to the OT; Jesus set quite a store by it!). The OT tends to use mythologized individuals to get its point across, where Jesus and the gospel writers use parables. But the mix of good and bad in Jacob, and his continued blessing by God doesn't relate badly to the wheat and the weeds. I may use the theme of when good things happen to bad people.
On another note I'm wondering if we should pray that only Christians should console and support the folks in San Bernadino? If a Buddhist offers consolation, should they turn it down?
Unsure in Lenox; Jane
Have donlaoded the post for reading oof-linem but havne't looked at 'em yet. Meanwhile, some more "grist for the milkl", from "Aha!!"...
>> Notice Jesus' way of teaching. He overwhelms with a blizzard of stories.
Verses 49-50 change the emphasis of the preceding parables. The parables themselves all deal with unexpected effects. The tiny becomes large. And they deal with totality. The yeast permeates everything. The farmer and the merchant sell everything to get what they wanted. The net gathers in everything in its path. Just as, in an earlier parable, the sower's seed fell on everything. These parables are all radically inclusive.
These are parables of the universality of God. This is the God who rains on the just and the unjust - not a God who sifts and winnows for efficiency. It's the God who shows no partiality, to quote Peter (Acts 10:34).
The emphasis on judgment and penance belongs to the early church. Persecution tends to engender a desire for vengeance. Under persecution, the church looked for some way of retaliating. Armed violence was out of the question - everyone knew what the Romans had done to Jerusalem already. So they assured themselves, "God's gonna get you for this." --by Jim Taylor <<
Regarding the issue of weeds and wheat - what about hybrid plants that are grafted. I live in Florida where citrus is grown extensively. Here groves are established with "sour" root stock into which better tasting, juicier fruit stock is grafted. As such the sour bears the sweet. Is it not possible that the weed, with careful tending and nurture, and even grafting of wheat might also bear good fruits? Is that what we are to be about in our witness to the world - not condemning the weediness of any, but looking for the opportunity to graft even into the weeds the love of Christ which will in God's time and by God's grand design, eventually be transformed into fruitful lives of righteousness.
Just a thought.
Also, I have noticed in my short ministry often those who I condemn as weeds are most in need of love and care rather than judgement and "plucking up" or burying! Sometimes weedy behavior is a cry for help - like rebellious children. I hesitate more to pluck up now, and find myself seeking to understand the need and respond to it as I am best able. And, transfering the weed to another field - that really makes me wonder how we respect our colleagues to now burden them with our weeds as well.
PrMB
nevver kuld spell fore krapp... -- Barry in OH
The parable of the wheat and the weeds seems to be the second installment in a trilogy of parables aimed to either encourage us when we face setbacks in our ministry or to rebuke us for wanting to withold the Gospel from certain people.
The first parable, that of the sower in verses 1-9, focuses on spreading the good news without prejudice. Also, we are not to be discouraged if not all our seeds grow to fruition.
This parable, vss 24-30, concerns more with how we tend the crop once it has been planted. We are to care for the weeds as well as the wheat. Again, the message is that we are not to prejudice ourselves and we should not give up when we discover that our crop has become tainted.
The third parable, vss 47-50, is much like the second except that it focuses more on the harvest than on the sowing and care. Though this parable uses fishing imagery, it still teaches us that God will make everything right in the end. Our job is just to make sure that there is a good harvest.
Question of theodicy: Did evil come into the world because God and the angels were asleep? (v. 25)
DeepSouth Steve
I listened to a Thomas Merton tape the other day, he was talking about perfection - that the goal of the the faithful (monk) was to strive to be perfect; but an interesting twist, he suggests that true perfection is learning to work with imperfection, the acceptance of the self. Is not this what the parable is about?
tom in ga
From last week's parable we learn to rejoice even though the weeds will kill off some of our seeds. However, the weeds aren't so lucky in this week's parable. Not only do they not kill off the wheat, but they get pitched into the fire.
So that I do not repeat last week's sermon, I will probably focus on the final judgment. Though I give thanks that in the end there will be no sin and that God will erradicate all causes of sin, I am not happily at peace with the notion that God will also erradicate the evil doers. (We can't escape the fact that vs 41 clearly says that the weeds represent both causes of sin and sinful people alike!)
One of Nietchze's chief complaints against the church was its apparent glee at the idea of sinners being tormented in hell. How do I preach both to wheat and to weeds like Nietchze?
DeepSouth Steve
One commentator on the parables that I read from recently cautioned against allegorization of the parables, arguing that they were meant to be taken as a whole. The opening line is very important: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to..." The interpretive comments are indeed, I believe, to be understood as the Gospel writer's interpretation of the words of Jesus. The fact that this parable and its interpretation are found only in Matthew is of interest; it speaks to the Matthean perspective of the parable. I am struck by the reality that we are all part wheat and part weed, and that the final judgement which is spoken seems to be one of purifying that which is not righteous in all of us...God's judgment is cleansing and purifying. We may weep and gnash our teeth in giving up that part of ourselves that is sinful, but God knows best how to bring our lives to fruition. MJ in NH
One commentator on the parables that I read from recently cautioned against allegorization of the parables, arguing that they were meant to be taken as a whole. The opening line is very important: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to..." The interpretive comments are indeed, I believe, to be understood as the Gospel writer's interpretation of the words of Jesus. The fact that this parable and its interpretation are found only in Matthew is of interest; it speaks to the Matthean perspective of the parable. I am struck by the reality that we are all part wheat and part weed, and that the final judgement which is spoken seems to be one of purifying that which is not righteous in all of us...God's judgment is cleansing and purifying. We may weep and gnash our teeth in giving up that part of ourselves that is sinful, but God knows best how to bring our lives to fruition. MJ in NH
... the rejection of a premature gathering of the weeds and the effective separation of wheat and weeds at the harvest. Jesus does not agree with rash, excessively radical conduct. He disapproves of impatience. For the time being, good and bad people live together. But the judgment will come and then the separation of good and bad, with reward and punishment, will occur. The real and most prominent and original point is his opposition to a premature, intra-historical condemnation. “let anyone who has ears listen! Only a righteous life means safety, they will only be blessed if they hear. There must have been in our Lord’s time, and the time of the early church for a tendency to premature severity. <Jan Lambrecht, SJ, Out of the Treasure, 1992>
tom in ga
Dear All,
I will be concentrating on the first part of the Gospel, vs. 24-30, and ignoring the gloss.
When one looks at the first part only, the emphasis is not on weed vs. wheat, but on the enemy who plants the weed. They are not wild flowers, they are not a creation of nature, they are subversion, deliberately sown by the householder's enemy -- at least that's what the lesson says.
I personally think it a mighty stretch of Scripture to call anyone in a congregation "a weed", or to suggest that they are "the enemy". Parishioners are in a different places along the road in their walks with God, to be sure, but, they are in church, and not worshipping St. Mattress. That means that God wants them there, whether they know it or not, and whether I know it or not. The real question is not how to get rid of them, but how to nurture them in their walk with God, yes?
Having said all that, my guess about the passage (remember, I'm only looking at the first part) is that Jesus is reminding us that we are a combination of good and evil all wrapped up into one bundle, and that, at the time of our union with God, the evil which lives in us (that of "the enemy") will be eliminated, but that the good which lives in us will survive to dwell with Jesus in the presence of God.
For those with ears to listen, perhaps we get about our work of listening, and stop relying too much upon the interpretation of second century editors who were uncomfortable with enigma.
Peace,
Jim
A rather long post about contextuality in Matthew.
I was taught to apply the "5 W’s" to every preaching text: Who, What, When, Where, Why: > WHO wrote it, and to WHOM? > WHAT is the context, as best we can discern it (applies to all these "W’s", really)? What was the author’s situation? What were the circumstances of the writing? What, if any, pre-judgments does the author bring? What biases? What are his truths? What is his worldview? >WHEN was it written? When did the action being written of take place? > WHERE was it written? Where did the action take place? Where was it "sent"? > WHY was it written? Why did the author write it this way? Why (if there are parallels) did the author change it?
Obviously, we do not always know all the answers; and sometimes our answers are "best guesses." No one ever said Bible study was easy. Bible READING is easy. Bible STUDY never is.
As applied to the text in question...
> WHO wrote it? We don’t know. We call him, pseudonymously, Matthew. For whom is it written? For Jewish- Christians of the last third of the first century CE, just beginning to feel Roman persecution, along with increasing rejection of their own leaders and other influential teachers of their (Jewish) tradition.
> WHAT is his context? He is a Jewish Christian, writing to other Jewish Christians, after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. His world is one of persecution and rejection. His fellow Jews are struggling to understand why their nation is destroyed. Matthew wants them to see it in view of the ancient prophesies fulfilled in Jesus, whom Matthew sees as a new Moses (and of his people’s "rejection and crucifixion" of Jesus...when actually this rejection and crucifixion was only by a small, powerful elite in cahoots with the Romans). In their torment, the Jewish people do not embrace Matthew’s view, his eschatology, or his reinterpretation of their sacred history. The destiny of the nation as perceived by Matthew was not the accepted destiny of the people, if they even perceived a destiny in the wake of the terrors they had endured. There were indeed many competing groups with different claims and "destinies." Matthew’s group was one of the smaller, less accepted ones. His rhetoric reflects this sharply.
> WHEN did he write? Again, AFTER the fall of the nation and the Temple, sometime between 70 and 90 C.E. (consensus = 85 C.E.)...i.e., an EASY time to read backward to the prophets and say "See, we told you so. We told you this would happen...JESUS SAID this would happen (if you interpret him as we do)." The early Christians are seeking to establish their own boundaries and identity apart from rabbinic Judaism, which is also a new and growing movement since the fall of the Temple. The action of the text itself (the telling of the parable as one of an originally unconnected series, and its "interpretation" by Jesus) took place at least 50 years earlier than Matthew’s writing/retelling of it.
> WHERE was it written? No one can say. It was, however, written in Greek, not Hebrew.
> WHY did Matthew write? "The Gospel according to Matthew is a manual of Christian teaching in which Jesus Christ, Lord of the new-yet-old community, the church, is described particularly as the fulfiller and the fulfillment of God’s will disclosed in the Old Testament. Jesus is set forth as Israel’s royal Messiah in whom God’s purpose culminates and by whose words and life his followers, the true Israel, may gain divine forgiveness and fellowship." (Oxford Annotated NRSV). The key words here are "messiah," "fulfillment" and "true." As applied to the parable, it is quite clear that Matthew’s purpose in interpreting the parable (allegorizing and "de-parable-ing" it) is to draw clear and sharp boundaries between those who accept his understanding of Messiah, and Jesus AS THE royal Messiah, and those who do not. He puts words in Jesus’ own mouth (Jesus interprets his own parable), so that the Christ is issuing Matthew’s viewpoint in the first person.
NOTE: this is not a rejection of the parable or of Jesus (nor a "dismissal" of vv. 36-43--Rick in VA is correct: we dismiss these verses at out peril). What we have in this text is a GOLDEN opportunity to confront the appalling biblical illiteracy and simplistic bible reading of many persons in our pews. Here is a chance not only to proclaim or exhort but to TEACH, to open up a window on the world of the Bible and the creation of the gospels in a bold and powerful way...to show that there is BOTH "wheat" and "weed" in the scripture, if by "weed" we simply mean later layering of the early church’s teaching--their inevitable watering down of Jesus’ uniqueness--which may "choke off" the radical, original intent of Jesus himself. Matthew wasn’t "wrong" or "wrong-headed"; he was simply being Matthew, and updating his tradition (using oral and written sources that predated him) as only he could, in only his time, in the only way he could understand it in his circumstance.
This does NOT mean that WE have to understand the parable that way. Indeed, that original, radical intent of Jesus upset every apple cart, was exclusive in the extreme, and itself came as an outright rejection of the "winnowing" and "weeding" views of the powerful/elite of his day...those in charge of the Temple and the purity system in the religious life of Israel. Matthew the TAX COLLECTOR (again, not our author) would never have become a disciple of anyone if not for Jesus and his radical inclusiveness...i.e., his introduction of the BROKERLESS realm of God, open to anyone and everyone, regardless of social/religious/cultural standing, or their "purity" in the eyes of the judgers and gate-keepers of the status quo. Jesus cared far less about sin than sinner, far less about divine retribution and judgment than about divine compassion and equality.
No doubt by now the criticism of many is rising: "come down out of that ivory tower of intellectualism and preach the true Word."
Well, that is exactly my aim.
The Erie Preach-Creach
I accidently went to June 18 posting. Boy was I confused! HA. Thanks Jim Taylor for your comments. since I think I know who you are, I respect even more what you have to say. :) As for the comment that we are part weed and part wheat or "good seed" -- I don't think I agree. I may not be the best I can be. I may even follow my human tendencies toward sin (missing the mark) but I don't really believe that my human failure is "evil." The evil described here is like the evil we see in the actions of powers and principalities. The actions of sociopaths, Miloshovic, Hitler, and others. My life is affected and marred by evil, but I am not part good and part evil. Even those I would consider "weeds" in my congregations (and I have had them!) are not what I would define as evil. It is this defining of evil to people we don't agree with or who don't behave like we do that causes a problem. The parable infers that we can't tell the difference between the two just by looking -- especially in the early stages. This doesn't mean we don't fight against evil, wrongdoing, oppression, etc...I think it "just" means that God is the only one qualified to do the judging, the separating and the sentencing, as many of you have already said. Wasn't Hitler's and Miloshovic's evils done within the guise of "ethnic" (and Christian) cleansing??? Scary thought. RevKK
Sorry, my gramma wasn't too very good in that last posting. Kinda like the other guys "khrapy" spelling. :)RevKK
The dawning presence of a Kingdom come on earth even in and within our common place is the Word and Vision preached/taught by Jesus. Those who have eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to understand, (a faithing frame from which to perceive, and hear, and make meaning with insight), become aware that this really is "my Father's world"! and nothing can ever destroy, overcome, nor separate us from that victorious love in Christ regardless of how deep the despair, how wide the guilt, or how vast the hate that seems to be in power in the tragedy of our common place! Where some may see the "absence of God", Jesus is declaring Presence, the Kingdom Come. God's Covenant of Grace is in charge in such a way that thrones are but tthe revelation of the rose, nurturing us and our community of faith in growth. Sara has so beautifully witnessed and called us to focus on the essence of the parable which is centered in the Kingdom of Heaven, ( the core of Jesus' ministry in preaching, teaching, and healing). PaideiaSCO in north ga mountains.
Thorns, not thrones! sorry for mis-spelling.PaideiaSCO.
This is the first time I have used this site. I am truly a desperate preacher. I have to preach at a Wednesday evening worship tomorrow night -- 7/14 and I have no inspiration.
No Inspiration; The first steps are to read, read, and read again. Then pray, pray, and pray some more. But you probably already know that. Now, just don't forget to do what God has told us; "Be still and know that I am God." You do the first and you will know that He is God, for He will surely speak to you.
pastordon in IN
I think it so important to remember that, " the field is the world." I have seen this scripture used to suggest that there are weeds sown in the church by Satan, and that if you aren't one of the "real believers" in this church, by whatever standard in vogue at the time - spiritual giftedness, theological leaning, you name it - then you must be one of the weeds. BD
From http://sermonillustrations.com/, something I can sink my teeth into:
Judging others
At a recent gathering of seminary professors, one teacher reported that at his school the most damaging charge one student can lodge against another is that the person is being "judgmental." He found this pattern very upsetting. "You can't get a good argument going in class anymore," he said. "As soon as somebody takes a stand on any important issue, someone else says that the person is being judgmental. And that's it. End of discussion. Everyone is intimidated!" Many of the other professors nodded knowingly. There seemed to be a consensus that the fear of being judgmental has taken on epidemic proportions.
Is the call for civility just another way of spreading this epidemic? If so, then I'm against civility. But I really don't think that this is what being civil is all about. Christian civility does not commit us to a relativistic perspective. Being civil doesn't mean that we cannot criticize what goes on around us. Civility doesn't require us to approve of what other people believe and do. It is one thing to insist that other people have the right to express their basic convictions; it is another thing to say that they are right in doing so. Civility requires us to live by the first of these principles. But it does not commit us to the second formula. To say that all beliefs and values deserve to be treated as if they were on a par is to endorse relativism -- a perspective that is incompatible with Christian faith and practice. Christian civility does not mean refusing to make judgments about what is good and true. For one thing, it really isn't possible to be completely nonjudgmental. Even telling someone else that she is being judgmental is a rather judgmental thing to do!
Uncommon Decency, Richard J. Mouw, Page 20-21
And a quote that has become one of my favorites, from John Adams:
"Be not intimidated . . . by any terrors, from publishing with the utmost freedom whatever can be warranted by the laws of your country; nor suffer yourselves to be wheedled out of your liberty by any pretenses of politeness, delicacy, or decency. These, as they are often used, are but three different names for hypocrisy, chicanery, and cowardice." JOHN ADAMS (1735–1826)
Imagine if you would, a household where the parents of 5 children decide to never make judgments about their kids behavior. After all, they want to be loving. They want to be affirming. They don't want to hurt their children's self-esteem.
How long would you visit?
Although an argument could be made that this week's lesson, taken completely out of context, argues strongly against judgment, the reality is that it teaches that God will ultimately deal with evil, and that the wicked, although they may 'hide' amongst the righteous, will be ferreted out in the end, and God's justice will prevail. It does not imply, despite the best efforts of well-intentioned but poorly misguided desperate preachers, that Christian should not make judgements about good and evil, righteous and sinful behavior.
And those who decide to attach your own 'interpretations' to the 'author's interpretation' of the parable seem incredibly arrogant and overconfident. Either the Scriptures are canonical or they aren't. You have no authority to decide otherwise or to pick and choose. To deny or diminish the Word of God, is to unmask evil, for you are calling God a liar.
If the parable is accurate and true, than the consequences of being evil, while masquerading as one of the righteous, is severe.
Let anyone with ears listen!
Rick in Va
What if God had allowed for Jacob to be pulled out of the garden before he had a chance to bloom/produce fruit. Would we still be worshipping the God of Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob? It seems to me that this parable is about the grace of God. The patience of the farmer in the parable itself is ignored in the interpretation (Douglas Hare, Interpretation). Maybe the "Sifting out of souls, before the judgment seat" is when the weeds will be removed from our lives. For all of us, not just the "heathen". Deke of the North
Rick, what do you mean by "canonical"? I don't recall anyone saying that Matthew (or our parable in question) be removed from the canon.
A canon, by the way, which has changed and changed again over the centuries, and is still not standard across all Christendom...
Be that as it may, contextuality is merely my doorway to understanding scripture. If it is not yours, so be it. But I would not degin to label your approach evil, arrogant, over-confident, diminishing, or "masquerading" as righteous. If you truly feel that way, you may wish to look at your owb coception of "dialogue" (whic, if you recall, you labeled as a kind of leftist intolerance on WTS).
Deke, PaideiaSCO -- thanks for your comments. Right on!
Nailbender -- WE NEED A STORY!
Erie P-C
DeepSouth Steve commented about Christians rejoicing when evil is destroyed. Whenever any of God's creation is destroyed, it is never a time for us to rejoice. We are too be sad and mournful because God is sad and mournful over the loss of his creation. God wants all to be saved, yet those receiving negative judgment made their own decision to turn away from God and turn to the enemy.
A mentor once told the story of when he was attending a basketball game during the Gulf War. The announcer came of the PA system to announce another hit and kill. The crowd erupted in cheers. My mentor in tears.
<>< Kingdom DJ
Erie: I agree with much of what you have posted but isn't all of that appropriate for a bible study and not necessarily a sermon? We should be preaching law and gospel. I also believe that some of the authors of the bible may have been putting words into Jesus' mouth but that does not mean that we have to dismiss them outright. Those leaning too far to the left seem to be watering down the gospel too much while those leaning too far right seem to be setting the scriptures up as an idol (which is a pretty grievous error since their idol specifically prohibits that). Other than that I like a lot of what people have been posting this week. I think I'll have quite a good sermon on Sunday. Tom in Ontario
14 JUL 99 The discussion about the (combination) of weed and tare in each of us is certainly pertinent to (though perhaps not the central idea of)the text. In a related topic, I saw a good review of an ancient tradition of sin. We have within us the "internal precondition" for sin (Augustine and others). This is NOT sin, but may be called "anxiety", a pre-cursor to sin which denies to value of the finite creature (our self) and longs for more (e.g.., to be as unto the creator). the "EXternal precondition" is temptation, the crisis where our actions betray our anxiety and proclivity to idolotry. I'm fond of Luther's simul justus et pecator--simultaneously saint and sinner--and that ongoing struggle for, ironically, we who have entered into relationship withChrist (see Romans 7). Don't we have a certain "weediness" within us--and sometimes withOUT? My guest preacher's sermon title last week was "Seedy Christians." I'm considering "WEEDY Christians" for this Sunday. Peter in CA
14 JUL 99 ...my other possibility (for title) is "The Foolish Farmer". I was raised on a farm. With almost every crop we took action--early and often--to erradicate those weeds that were competing for the finite nutrients and water... not this farmer. "Let both of them grow together until harvest..." Foolish, it would seem. Of course with God, the "nutrients", the "water" (of baptism?), the "grace" are unlimited and Jesus was known to surprise even in his imaginative stories like this parable. I had a guest preacher because I was ministering to a Battalion of Marine Reservists (I'm a Reserve Chaplain). I had several long sessions with one Lance Corporal ("Mike") who was depressed, suicidal. We talked for hours. I was firm, at times, confronting him with his need to make decisions, take incremental steps to put his life on the right track; turn to Christ who has been there all along, willing and able to transform his life. Near the end of our last session I asked him "what he got/felt from our time together. "You're the first person who didn't judge me." Interesting, because in ways I had--or at least "directed" him a bit; advised him to follow up in certain ways. But what he most felt--and arguably, most needed--was some affirmation, assurance, grace. Was Mike a weed? He had heard that from many. Was there still grace and hope? He heard that from me. Peter in CA
Two comments to add to what has been a very animated discussion (I hope I followed it OK).One: WE're told not to weed the garden of the world because we don't always know the difference betweeen wheat and weeds. I understand that in Palestine there is a variety of weed, the bearded darnel, that looks a LOT like wheat. However, it's poisonous to eat and is NOT wheat. I feel some humility about trying to classify wheat and weeds, these days (because we ARE simulatanueously saint and sinner as Luther says--He gets it from Paul). Also, often what we mean for evil, God manages to use for good.Two: In response to what we ARE to do in God's kingdom, Fred Craddock writes that we are to avoid judging (Mtt. 7:1) and are to be about forgiveness and reconciliation (Mtt. 18:15-16; 21-22)Thanks, everybody. Peace.bc in MT
Two comments to add to what has been a very animated discussion (I hope I followed it OK).One: WE're told not to weed the garden of the world because we don't always know the difference betweeen wheat and weeds. I understand that in Palestine there is a variety of weed, the bearded darnel, that looks a LOT like wheat. However, it's poisonous to eat and is NOT wheat. I feel some humility about trying to classify wheat and weeds, these days (because we ARE simulatanueously saint and sinner as Luther says--He gets it from Paul). Also, often what we mean for evil, God manages to use for good.Two: In response to what we ARE to do in God's kingdom, Fred Craddock writes that we are to avoid judging (Mtt. 7:1) and are to be about forgiveness and reconciliation (Mtt. 18:15-16; 21-22)Thanks, everybody. Peace.bc in MT
Thanks to Tom in Ga, Stan in Wis, SS in Pa, and others. I'm going in your direction this week (agreeing that this parable is not as Matthew presents it), with the "we're boith wheat and weeds together" idea.
I'm gonna call my sermon, "Wheeds".
--Barry in OH
Sandy was 14 when she started coming to my church 9 months ago. Sandy will be in 9th grade again this year. Between skipping school, failing classes for lack of effort and being suspended for fighting three different times there was little hope she would make it to tenth grade. Her writing skills leave much to be desired. Sandy has been smoking for two years now and sneaks out of Sunday School to have one more before worship. She loves to wear short skirts, high heels and low-cut blouses to church. Recently, I asked Sandy to help babysit during a program at church. Before the parents and children got there, I was called to the convenience store next door to the church where Sandy had just been picked up by the police for shoplifting cigarettes. People would look at Sandy and say she was a weed if they ever saw one. Surely this wild child would amount to no good and may as well be plucked up and written off. But when the harvest does come, people may be surprised to find that Sandy is still standing after the weeds have been gathered and thrown into the fire. This past week she was one of the 8 youth from our church that went on a mission trip. When it was time for prayers for meals or devotions or whatever, Sandy always volunteered to pray. She worked harder during her devotional time than just about anyone else. Her new Bible is now filled with highlighted passages to prove it. When we were painting the home of an elderly woman in 100 degree heat, Sandy painted more window frames and painted them more quickly than anyone. When another girl on the trip began crying one night because she was suddenly overcome by thoughts of her father who passed away this past February, it was Sandy who held her and cried with her. She even shared some scripture with her the next day to try and comfort her. How could anyone dare to cut Sandy down and throw her into the fire without giving her a chance to blossom and to discover that it was not thorns, but golden heads of the finest wheat that crowned the head of this beautiful child of God. Whatever evil Satan sowed in her, the grace of God is overcoming as she grows among the wheat he has sown in those around her who dare to love her and find joy in her for who and what she is.
As I posted before reading the latest entries, I did not see the anonymous slam/gutter name-calling against Rick. Whoever you are, KNOCK IT OFF. There is absolutley no place for that on DPS. NONE. Take it somewhere else. Or better yet, lose it altogether.
--Barry in OH
Barry in Ohio,
Your Sandy story reminds me why it is I desire to serve. It's that kind of transformation that God desires in all His people. Turning weeds into wheat is what we are called to do, in community, by love and rebuke, with the Law and the Gospel.
Thanks be to God for all the Sandy's in the world and for Godly people used by God to minimize those weeds destined for the fiery furnace of God's justice.
Rick in Va
It seems to me that these two weeks (The Parable of the Sower; and the Parable of the Wheat and Tares flow from the Epistle three weeks ago: Romans 7 - where Paul speaks of the constant tension between Flesh and Spirit; I seek to do something good, but I discover that there is another law in my members! For the past three weeks we have been called to discernment - looking within us at the good and the evil. The worst thing in the world is a good person who is unable to see his own sin. Every single one of us is capable of terrible acts of crime; and it is important that we know that we have this capability within us if we are going to live healthy lives. There is no doubt that the early church (eg John Chrysostom) speaks of heretics as the tares. He says something like: First truth comes (the good seed is planted, Jesus Christ) and then follows the weed (the heretic); the heretic cannot come first, because it would not know what to attack!
Now we may certainly go this line. There are people within every congregation that needs to be pulled from the field, they are dangerous and poisonous weeds. But I also know that there is no purity in me, and I don't have enough light to judge others. I can only truly know myself, and the better we know ourselves, the better we will know God. So I, myself, am a field of good and bad, wheat and tares, and I need to understand myself, before I start pulling out the big log in my brothers eye!!!!
tom in ga
Here's a line from a current movie (The Ideal Husband) that seems relevant to this week's discussion. I'm not sure whether I'm quoting or paraphasing, but it goes something like this: "It takes courage to see the world in all its tainted glory and still love it."
Isn't that what God does by divine nature -- looks at the "tainted glory" of wheat/weeds growing together and still loves and waits for the right time to complete the work of creation??
The movie by the way is an interesting study in what happens when people view themselves as pure and everyone else as weeds.
Thanks for the discussion.
Ev in Kansas
There's a line from a current movie (An Ideal Husband) that seems relevant to this week's discussion. One of the characters says something like this: (I'm not really sure this is a direct quote, but it's close) "It takes courage to see the world in all its tainted glory and to still love it." I love that image "tainted glory". Isn't that how God sees the world (and us) in all our tainted glory, weeds and wheat mixed together, and loves anyway, and waits patiently for the right time for judgment.
The movie, by the way, is an interesting study in what happens when persons see themselves as pure and everyone else as "weeds."
Ev in Kansas
Wish I could claim the Sandy story was mine...but not so, Rick! Don't know what happened to the rest of my entry (which by coincidence followed "Sandy"), but it was a short, terse diatribe against senseless name-calling on DPS, asking the offender to cease and desist.
Thanks for the good words nontheless!
--Barry in Oh
Heather, You stated, "Many biblical scholars, she said, are of the informed opinion that whenever there is an "explanation" of the parable's real meaning, that explanation did not actually come from Jesus but is in fact an intrepretation by the gospel writer. She suggested that looking at the parables without their attendant explanations might be a new way to begin to see Christ's words." I would point out when we go about assuming the scriptures have been added to we are on very dangerous ground. The same dangerous ground that the "Jesus Seminar" tries to stand on. Any time we use the words "whenever" we are saying ALWAYS or NEVER, words that are in the same dangerous area. Unless I can find earlier textual proof that scripture has been added to or changed (ie: Acts 8:37 or Matthew 16:9ff) I accept the text as authentic. I feel "informed opinion" is just that, opinion. That is my opinion, at least! revup
Some random thoughts (that could use some help):
Seems to me we are applying the wheat and weed status to individuals here (which may be the case). But what happens when we move our interpretation to consider wheat and weeds as images of a way of life (of the individual or the community)?
Wheat is wheat. Weeds are weeds. Wheat is not (and cannot become?) weeds. Weeds are not (and cannont become?) wheat. I like to think that to follow The Way is to be living a life attributed to the wheat. The existence of evil is the weeds. Evil does exist. And evil, no matter what divine miracle we may hope for, does not become good. Rather, evil-—being the weed it is—-must (and will by the grace of God) die. Can we name evil for what it is (racism comes to mind)? Most certainly yes. Can we uproot it? Maybe, but it appears to be the job of the householder, not the servant. But even to suppose that we can DO something to make sense of the evil (weeds) pushes us beyond the mystery it is. We cannot make it something it is not. Rather, we can allow it to die (sort of on the order of overcoming darkness with light). As wheat grows—-as we concentrate on following and living in The Way—-the wheat grows taller and stronger and bears grain that becomes bread for a broken world. And the weeds will not have a chance, not much of a future.
Perhaps this text can remind us to concentrate on our call to live like wheat that grows and overshadows the weeds and is harvested and used for the divine purpose.
ml in pa
Thanks again folks for the wonderful thoughts. The Susan story sounds like a Nailbender to me, yes/no? It is great. I ran across a Thomas Merton quote that I feel has a lot to say about these texts and just maybe something to those of us you use DPS. He wrote, "The beginning of love is to let those we love be perectly themselves andnot to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them." Deke of the North
Ditto to what Barry in Oh said!
"WE're told not to weed the garden of the world because we don't always know the difference betweeen wheat and weeds."
This is not the reason we are told in Scripture not to weed. The servant is told not to weed because in pulling up the weeds we might up root the wheat. May be apply it like this: If we kick the weeds out of the church we might actually up root some good wheat who are family members and loose them all together. Or try this: By trying to weed out a specific sin in a person's life who is otherwise a strong Christian, the person gets angry in the confrontation and also leaves. Weeding in the individual or corporate body needs to be done, but it also needs to be done with love and grace, encouraging the person to follow the holiness of Christ with their whole being. Some times this takes longer than we are patient to wait upon, but slowly and gently the weed will come out. It gets frustrating sometimes, but my wife reminded me that sometimes these weeds have roots in the heart, soul, and mind that have been growing for years - 50, 60 years even. If we chop off the top or don't get all the root the weed remains and will return.
<>< Kingdom DJ
Hi folks, I am really struggling with this sermon because this will be my first in my new church which has been going downhill for over 10 years because of one particular weed. This weed is a member of the staff who has harrassed another member of the staff and is currently suing her--this church hasn't pulled the weed out, it wouldn't dare to lose his musical talent, but the weed has certainly been doing damage to the wheat. I love the idea of Transformation, I pray that this weed would be transformed and be able to find reconciliation with the other staff member. But looking at this church's record it doesn't seem possible to wait much longer or the church will be in serious financial problems by the end of this year.
SO, do I preach that we have no right to judge the weeds among us and should work for transformation (Me of little faith, I really don't think its going to happen!) or do I preach on transplantation? My senior pastor and I have already been chatting with the personal committee on how to gracefully get rid of this guy--can I backpedal now when we all know its in the best interest of the church to get rid of the weed? I and former pastors have said that he is truly evil and probably planted by the enemy. How can I not protect the church? Maybe I'll change the sermon topic.
Adwoa
Once again I stood at the back edge of the yard looking at the wild tangle. Hadn't I just cleaned all these out? Certainly it was no more than a month before when, bush hook and swing-blade in hand, I had ventured out to the back edges of my father's yard and had beat back these invaders. Yet, here they were again. The relentless march of kudzu, thistle, and all other manner of weeds. And so, in the heat of the early July sun, I started swinging and cutting, hewing at weeds that never seemed to die. The pungent order of the newly cut tormentors filled my nose. Brown dust stuck to my sweat soaked T-shirt and with each gulp of air I could taste the grit thrown up from the cutting. Once again. Weeds … how I hated them.
My hands were still stinging when, a few days later, our emergency assistance case-worker entered the office. "Oh no," I thought. Anytime she came in it always meant something more for my already overwhelming schedule. Didn't she know that I was to preach on Sunday morning and give a missions presentation on Sunday evening? Didn't she know that with a full week of work teams and repairing homes, I had simply not had enough time to prepare? Didn't she know that I could not take on anything else? If she did, it didn't seem to matter, for in she came and with her, another distraction.
She explained that she needed me to take a man home. We had just assisted him with clothing and food but with no transportation, he had no way to carry the goods. Of course, the housing project where he had just moved was on the other side of town. Of course. I sighed, resigned myself to another late night, and headed downstairs where he was patiently waiting. Weeds.
There he was, a frail man wearing dirty and rumpled clothing, no different than the other battered folks who always seemed to find their way to this place. Beside him was a massive pile of clothes, food, and other assorted items requiring transport. Reluctantly, I retrieved a cart from our clothing room and began to load the mountain of stuff. After completing the task, I then pushed the over-packed cart across the gravel parking lot, with it's wheels sticking in the rocky dirt, forced down by the heavy load. Arriving at my truck, I first had to unload all the material and tools which had been used to support our housing ministry. Then, with perspiration streaming down my face brought about by heavy exertion in the oppressive July heat, I moved the massive pile from the cart to the bed of my truck. With each armload, my resentment grew.
Just as I had finally arranged all his goods in the rear of the truck, the case-worker again appeared. "Oh, aren't you going to take his couch and chair?" I could feel my blood slowly beginning to boil. How I hated weeds.
Soon, we were driving toward his home. Generally, I truly enjoy such trips. They are times for sharing and fellowship, times for connection and community. However, on this day I was feeling anything but friendly, my frame of mind now being on a slow burn. He seemed not to notice my state of mind as he continued to thank me, jabbering on incessantly, thanking me over and over and over. Couldn't he just be quiet? Did he need to go on and on like this, telling me what he thought I wanted to hear, telling me that which would guarantee our support the next time, dancing the dance he thought we wanted to see. "God, will you not make him just shut up!?" But God didn't seem to be listening, and the litany of praise continued.
He told me he was from New York. He explained that he had come to this piece of the world because he had heard it was a friendlier place, a place where you would not be killed for looking at someone the wrong way, a place where people said good morning and asked how you were. "I don't like the heat, you understand, but at least here, people care about you. The heat is so bad for me." He glanced over, giving me a long look, the kind one gives when trying to determine if another can be trusted. He slowly offered, "I have sickle cell, you know. That's why the heat is so bad."
When we were almost to his small apartment, he again thanked me and expressed how much God had blessed him in bringing him here and providing for his needs. But in my cynical state of mind, I thought, "Yeah, the right dance … the right dance." Weeds.
I helped him get his things inside and could not help but notice the emptiness of the apartment. It was completely devoid of any furniture. The only suggestion that it was occupied at all was a pair of shoes in one corner and on the counter by the sink, a change of clothes. Nothing else. Just the echo of our shoes on the hard linoleum-tiled floor.
Then my eyes fell on it. There, sitting on the counter, just beside the open space where the refrigerator would normally sit, was the open bible. I walked by and glimpsed down - "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever."
And I felt so ashamed ...
Here was a man, with sickle cell anemia, a stranger in our land, with nothing but a few shreds of clothes, a few cans of food, and some broken down furniture, and yet … and yet …
Forgive me, Oh Lord. For truly, I am nothing more than a weed. Weeds.
Shalom my friends, Nail-Bender in NC
As an infrequent contributor, I've enjoyed reading everyones' perspectives on this Sunday's Gospel lesson. I'm particularly thankful for Sara in Grand Rapids; your calling our attention to the kingdom of heaven as a present moment made this pericope seem much clearer. Thanks.
On another note, the bishop under whom I formerly served said that in Jesus' parables, there is always something that didn't make sense to the listener. For example, in the parable of the leaven hidden in the 100 measures of flour, it made no sense to the ancient Palenstinian listener to hid the leaven in the flour, but instead could contaminate the flour. My question regarding this Sunday's parable is, what's the element that doesn't make sense? Is it letting the weeds grow right along with the wheat? Peter in CA referred to his childhood growing up on a farm and eradicating weeds at the earliest possible stages. The same was true in my grandfather's corn fields; today my cousins plant corn rows so close together, they never hoe.
Interestingly enough, one of the churches I serve is presenting 18 scholarships to 18 local youth this Sunday . . . talk about seeds. It's going to be a preaching challenge.
Scott on the Northern Neck of Va.
My friends,
The story of Sandy is a story of miracle, but only of miracle brought on by the love, dedication, and life of a most courageous pastor who never sees weeds ... only flowers. Thank you Kellie. I love you my sister.
Shalom, Nail-Bender in NC
Tom in Ontario, eh?--
I agree that the depth to which I described the context of the parable would be difficult to work into a sermon...but certainly not a meaningful exposition. I would then pull back and look at the implications of the context, and compare it to our time...is our time at all like Matthew's?
Yeah, a lot. Our Christian purpose and identity is as much an issue now as any time in this century, it seems to me. I would focus on that, on how we--in OUR context--must deal with the "weeds among the wheat" i*ssues (pluralism, multi-culturalism, moral relativism, rampant individualism...you know the list). I think a very powerful sermon can develop from "comparative contextualizing" with this parable.
And to ignore the context (which sadly, we do too often, judging from some of the posts -- myself included) would miss the opporunity to touch upon these issues, WHILE raising the foundational biblical knowledge of the folks in the pews at the same time. When I have preached this type of sermon, I have received almost unanimous positive feedback from my congregation. "Wow, we never knew that before; I never saw that before, it makes sense!"
Erie P-C
PS--
Tom..my PS got lost!
I was going to say that I'll bet you'll have a great sermon. Wish I could hear it! (one of the real bummers about parish service is that the only preahers we get to hear are ourselves!).
Erie PC
 The temptation in any parable is to get lost in the details and miss the main point. In the parable of the wheat and weeds that point is essentially the same as the parable of the seeds & soil – in spite of turbulence God will eventually land the plane. Therefore, in spite of the fact that evil still takes its toll and the devastation seems overwhelming at times, we can trust that God will eventually sort it all out and that eventually the kingdom of heaven will produce a bumper crop. Your efforts and your trust in Jesus is not in vain.
First century Jews listening to Jesus already had certain expectations about the kingdom of heaven/God. They expected that the Messiah would come as a purifying force removing the heathen Romans and restoring the land to a Davidic-type reign. We struggle with the idea of judgment but for Jesus’ hearers it was already a given – even passionately anticipated.
In the story Jesus is explaining that his kingdom isn’t like the one people are expecting – especially in time frame. The people would be asking, “If the Kingdom of heaven is in our midst why are there still weeds in the garden?” Jesus is answering, “ Indeed, the time of judgment and purity will come but for awhile the kingdoms of heaven and evil will co-exist. Therefore, don’t get too caught up in trying to bring down the existing regime. God will take care of all that when he brings his kingdom in its fullness.”
More fodder: + Why is it that the existence of evil in our lives and the world challenges our faith in God? + Is the church the same as the kingdom of heaven? + Does this story fly in the face of Puritan theology? Why or why not? + Verse 25: Barclay notes that one of the big problems in first century agriculture was the existence of a weed called “bearded darnel” (or bastard wheat). In the early stages this weed “so closely resembled the wheat that it was impossible to distinguish the one from the other.” The people were familiar with such weeds in their personal experience. + Harvest was a common metaphor for judgment in OT writing–e.g. Jer. 51:33, Hosea 6:11. How is it that the disciples missed something so plain and obvious and required the explanation of vs. 36f.? + Do the weeds have any impact on the integrity of the wheat in the story? + If we’re agents of the coming kingdom of heaven, how then do we relate to the evil which lives next door? + “Evil exists only so long as we don't use spiritual power to live our lives. It’s as if the power we don't use is relegated to worldly influence. We would sooner rip and tear at evil and God says, ‘Let it alone.’ That's tough for compulsive moralists in Christendom. Not fight evil! I have to be a skinhead some place--why not against evil. Well folks, ‘not by might nor by power but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.’ -Dr. Lloyd Ahlem (psychologist, former college-president)- + Is this a blanket order to simply ignore evil trusting in the inevitability of judgment?
-Brad in Turlock CA-
I am currently serving in a Church that has a long-term history of "unpleasant" relationships with clergy. The last clergyperson here was fired and several before him were asked to leave for a host of good reasons. What I am finding out is that there is a small but visible and vocal core of folks, who really don't want to learn how to "BE The Church" in "healthy" ways......they really enjoy keeping things stirred up and generally unpleasant for the clergy. They are constantly acting "weedy" and "choke out" the growth of those who are attempting to live in healthy ways in the Church. It's amazing how counterproductive and destructive a few hearty weeds can be in a Church. I have been struggling with a seemingly "unsolvable" music issue since I arrived several years ago. What I am beginning to believe is that these folks DON'T want this explosive and divisive issue solved, because they get "power" and?or attention from keeping the issue alive. I just want to dis-engage from the issue and say.....I've tried everything I know to put this issue to rest....nothing has worked.....so I don't want to discuss it anymore. Maybe this would diffuse the energy of the issue. It's like dealing with some pretty immature children......if a child refuses to try to work within the limits or boudaries of a family's ways of operating, it can sometimes HELP tremendously to just disengage.....to step away from the conflict. When the child sees they aren't getting your attention by "acting up", they sometimes give up the cause and move on. Does this sound like I have a bunch of immature children as members of this Church? I wouldn't argue with this assesment! By the way......how can we stimulate maturation in the members of our Churches. I talk to other clergy who say their folks act immaturely a great deal, too. Do I sound frustrated? I am! Lone Ranger in Va.
Brad in Ca,
Ignore evil? That is the inevitable result of my understanding of tolerance... discount, diminish, or deny (in other words, ignore) sin. Secularly speaking, we could certainly save a lot of infrastructure money on police departments, judicial systems, etc). Law-breaking would go away since we would have no law. No more need for incarceration. The legal system would die since nothing would be illegal.
Umm... I'm hoping we come up with a different solution...
Rick in Va
Dear Lone Ranger -- I know you feel like the Lone Ranger, but you are not. However it helps, know that a community of love and grace are here, many of us have gone through similar situations. It is frustrating. Sometimes churches need an outside counselor, just like marriages do. Otherwise, if you haven't already, you may wish to read some books like "Antagonists in the Church" by Haugh, and others. (I think that is the author's name.) If nothing else, maybe you could turn to someone in counseling or reconciliation ministry...at any rate, I myself will remember you in prayer, and I am sure there are many others in this cyber community who will do the same. Grace and peace to you, my friend. RevKK
Thank you, to RevKK and others who listened to my plight at a most conflicted Church. Thank you, too, for your prayers. I have indeed had the counsel of a very good Consultant at this Church. I also have a great Support Group of other clergy in very conflicted Churches.....so I do know that I am not alone in this. By the way, does it seem to anyone else that there are more and more "conflicted" Churches around these days? Why? A clergy friend of mine says she believes it is because immature and/or angry people, who regularly keep things stirred up in our Churches can't act that way anywhere else in their lives, so they save it all up and "vent' at Church. Interesting, huh? Anyway, I am struggling on how to best preach this parable of good wheat and bad weeds to a Church filled with weeds (admittedly....my assesment!) Thanks again for prayers and support. Lone Ranger in Va.
Question. I am fairly new to this website. How long does it usually take others to see their entry added to the contributions? It is taking an inordinate amount of time for me. Am I doing something wrong, I wonder. Also.....Can you print out just the latest additions to the contributions without printing out the whole, long thing over and over again? As you can, no doubt, tell, I am not particularly swift on the computer. Thanks for any pointers. Lone Ranger in Va.
I remember when my wife taught school on the west side of Chicago, in what called a ghetto then. She was teaching new words and they came to "weed". She never was able to expain to the children, for whom the only green they knew in their neighborhood we would call weeds. Doug in UT
I remember when my wife taught on the west side of Chicago, in what we then called a ghetto. She was teaching new words to her 2nd graders and came to "weed" She never was able to expalin to the hcildren what a weed was, for everyhting that was green in their neighborhood we would call a weed. Doug in UT
Some random rambling thoughts, cast out to see what comes forth. When I gardened, my gardening book defined a weed as a plant in the wrong place. Grass in the lawn is good, but grass in the drive way or the garden is a weed. I suppose a tomato in the lawn or the drive way would also be a weed. In the divine plan, are weeds those planted in the wrong place? I also remember that morning glories are classified as weeds, so much so that the sale of morning glory seeds are forbidden by law in some places, even though some consider them beautiful flowers and grow them on purpose. I have seen evil in many guises. I have seen evil ones in my congregations who delight to gain power by their negativity. Good luck and God's blessing to those who stand against evil and for the truth of the Gospel. Weeds can choke out the wheat. The bearded Darnell story reminds me that judgment is in the hands of God because one cannot always tell the weeds from the wheat. Is this the same with the obvious ones, like poke weeds? It is sometimes difficult to let the judgment lie with the angels By the way, I put a late post last week thanking those who gave their prayers and support as I faced the cancer of my son. The surgery went well and it appears the post-operative treatment will be successful, thank God! Gil in In
Rick in Va looked at my contribution and asked:
"Ignore evil? That is the inevitable result of my understanding of tolerance... discount, diminish, or deny (in other words, ignore) sin."
I don't really think that this is what Jesus is communicating. He's not saying ignore or tolerate -- but "get real." As I said, "Therefore, don’t get TOO CAUGHT UP in trying to bring down the existing regime. God will take care of all that when he brings his kingdom in its fullness."
No matter how hard you work to eliminate evil in the world it's just not going to happen until the kingdom comes in its fullness."
IOW, Jesus is telling people to adjust their expectations and to focus on living out the kingdom of heaven rather than through their own efforts swatting at every manifestation of evil in the world. To do that you'd not only end up hitting a lot of innocent bystanders in the process but you'd wear yourselves out to the point where you have nothing left for the kingdom itself.
Earlier Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice/righteousness..." (6:33). The NLT is good in 6:33, "...make the Kingdom of God your primary concern." This parable is a fleshing out of that teaching.
Now, as Rick correctly notes, this leaves us with a little bit of a tension to work out (understatement!!! -- Jesus is never very tidy in these matters). If we are not to be driven by a desire to rid the world of evil and bring in the kingdom of heaven on our own what is the proper response to evil?
The prophets and the NT writings make it clear that God expects his people to be on the side of right–even to the point of sacrifice. Yet, at the same time we have to realize that even Jesus didn't address every issue of evil that came his way. He didn't try to eliminate slavery or sexism. He didn't condemn the brutality of the evil Roman Empire. His PRIMARY FOCUS was elsewhere and as his followers so is ours.
Does this mean, however, that these issues were unimportant to him? Or that he would have his followers do absolutely nothing about them? The bigger scriptural picture suggests that this is not what Jesus is saying. This is a tension through which we have to struggle. So how do we resolve the tension?
I suspect that the answer lies in the context. Jesus was addressing a society that was chomping at the bit to bring in the kingdom of heaven – the Pharisees through their religious structure, the Essenes through their purity, and the Zealots through their revolution. But Jesus is saying: “None of the above works. You’re bound for discouragement because evil will not be eliminated until I bring the kingdom in its fulness. On that grand burn day you see the elimination of evil. Until then spend your time getting ready for the harvest – planting small seeds (31-32); permeating like yeast (33); and selling everything you’ve got so you can buy a field with hidden treasure or a beautiful pearl (44-45).
The issue being addressed in the parable is confidence and faith in the kingdom of heaven. Will we become discouraged because there are weeds in the garden? Will we spend all of our time trying to get the weeds out? Will we pretend that we’re the Messiah and declare evil defunct? No, with the kind of faith that is willing to sell everything to invest in the future we’ll live with the fact that once Jesus brings his kingdom to full fruition the harvest will be great.
-Brad in Turlock CA-
Thank you all, desperatos!
Great and wonderful insights. We should have the church a-rocking on Sunday morning with weeds and wheat looking at one another with fresh eyes trying to figure out if they were right all along about what kind of plant stands before them -- perhaps, no longer will anyone in the body of Christ be put down ever again.
tom in ga
Thank you all, desperatos!
Great and wonderful insights. We should have the church a-rocking on Sunday morning with weeds and wheat looking at one another with fresh eyes trying to figure out if they were right all along about what kind of plant stands before them -- perhaps, no longer will anyone in the body of Christ be put down ever again.
tom in ga
Brad in Turlock, CA,
Thanks for expounding...
Much wisdom in your post.
Gil in Ind,
Praise God for HIs goodness! We're all glad to hear about your son. Know that prayers continue.
Lone Ranger,
I can help you with your posting delays. Pleas e-mail me at rickinva@desperatepreacher.com
Rick in Va
dear friends, just a few random thoughts, as i've been reading along... i've been thinking that this passage is a wonderful "exegesis" of another passage: II Peter 3:15, which reads: Count the forbearance of the Lord as salvation." indeed! it's a good thing that God is more patient with us than we are with each other, or with ourselves for that matter. we (o.k., i) assume all too often that i know whether persons, actions, or situations are going to turn out for good or for evil. it's not just a matter of saying that i know what it is now, but that i know what it's going to become. what incredible arrogance on my part! and just as much, or more, as i want to see the good (in my estimation) get its reward, i want to see the bad (again, my view) get its punishment. as if i know! the epistle lesson for this week says "hope that is seen is not hope," in other words, we DON'T know the end result, we MUST put our trust in God. when i hope for specific reward or punishment, i'm saying that i can see the end. "but if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." we need to trust God's gracious ability to let things grow to their intended outcome, and to be just in dealing with that, whatever it is. it seems to me that the "explanation" part of this passage (36-43) is an expression of the author's own inability to be patient with outcomes, to tolerate ambiguity, to trust in the Lord with all (his) heart and lean not on (his) own understanding. just like me, like us, matthew's community wanted answers NOW, and couldn't wait on God. so the question to be asked, as i see it, is: how do i grow in this field with friend and enemy about me, and trust God's working, and be part of God's working, while still letting God be God? by the way, i've been weeding around our church with kids from vacation bible school this week, and had some great comments from them, too! nwolc/ct
Brad in Turlock CA: Very good post, except I would put in a word of warning for some out there. It is about juging people of the past.
I noted with interest your statement about Jesus that, "He didn't try to eliminate slavery or sexism." There is a great danger in putting the Bible in modern context, which I just wish to point out. There was a time for slavery, when uneducated and ignorant peasant people were unable to care for themselves. For example, the Hebrew people were preserved from extinction in drouth through their slavery in Egypt. God even promoted discrimination and ethnic cleansing in the Old Testament. That was to preserve His people for the time the Holy Spirit would come and begin to convert the "heathen gentiles" to Christianity. There was a time for women to not be allowed to lead because of a general lack of women's education. Yes, people have changed and education is more universal. I feel we must be careful though, not to judge Jesus' and His contemporaries' priorities in times we will never fully understand. Nor should we judge others of more recent past days. revup
It is a little like judging the early doctors for "bleeding" people. They did what the state of the science was at the time. Juging people of a different time period or in a different culture is dangerous. revup
Sisters and Brothers in Christ I request your council as I share a personal witness of "playing church" as a lay businessperson. Before God called me to be a Christ centered servant rather than a self centered accumulator. I told myself that I was working hard for my family. I was planting weeds as fast as I could. I handled a few grains of wheat. I "did my part" in the church. I held many "important positions". My spiritual life was a "field of weeds", Vs a field of spiritual dreams. Opportunities of self-centeredness were the driving motivation behind my daily choices. I invested in bettering myself at the expense of my family. My field of weeds helped choke the life out of a twenty four-year marriage.
God showed me other fields that God was tending. I witnessed events, which I could only identify as miraculous. I was witness to fields of miracles. God clearly showed me the power of God's wheat over the weeds of the world. God helped me identify the crops in my field which I though were producing a superior crop. A field to be envied. God showed me that the greater part of my crop was poisoned financial insecticides, which I generously poured onto my field. The toxic sprays of self-centeredness killed the small amount of good grain that existed in my weed-infested field.
Indeed, I am my own field. Within me and through the choices I have made in my life, my field has produced both weeds and wheat. Daily, God is teaching me to plant and nurture more spiritual grain. God is teaching me that as the Lord of the Harvest, God can teach me how wheat in my field can become more plentiful than the weeds I have planted. It is happening each day that I lovingly tend my field. God's amazing grace is turning my small amount of good works into an undeserved field of spiritual grain.
I will always be battling the weeds. The Lord of the harvest continues to encourage me to plant according to the ways of Jesus. Jesus' ways will produce.
"My heart was strangely warmed" when I read Hebrews 12:15. It's the spiritual fertilizer with a marvelous blend of God's amazing grace fertilizer and Pauline "bitter root killer".
As for me and my field, "playing church" will never be as fruitful nor as powerful as "living in the Spirit".
____
It is half past midnight. The Spirit tells me to rest my field of spiritual dreams for this night. My full mind, body, and spiritual energy will be needed in other fields tomorrow.
hhh in WI
NailBender,
I think it's safe to say that your 'weediness' would be welcomed in any of our gardens...
We are all born weeds. If only we would accept the weed eater that is the Holy Spirit...
Thanks,
Rick in Va
I have told several of my parishioners that I will be preaching on judgment this coming Sunday. Everyone who heard this got really excited. Believe it or not, they have been hearing too much grace recently and have forgotten why grace is necessary. (I mention hell from the pulpit only about once a year.)
My sermon will have three movements: 1.) We should not try to uproot those whom we think are weeds because we might accidentally be uprooting some wheat. The Sandy story should work nicely here. 2.) However, judgment is real. We had better prepare ourselves as best as possible. (Rick in Va could easily preach this part.) 3.) If you fear that you are a weed, remember that the weight of God's judgment has fallen upon Christ.
Question: the traditional Apostles' Creed says, "And He shall come to judge between the quick and the dead." Is there anything interesting in the etymology of this statement, or do any of you have a catchy way of explaining why we say "the quick and the dead" as opposed to something else? I want to use the Apostles' Creed to demonstrate that the Church still thinks that judgment is important. -Someone please answer this before Saturday night!!
Incidental point: There is a difference between "judging" and "uprooting." Every book in the Bible calls us to judge, that is, to discern between right and wrong, even in other people. However, though we may say to ourselves that another person is a weed, we shouldn't kill the weed. Rather, we must continue ministering to the weed in love. Read David's speech to Saul after sparing his life the first time (1Sam 24:8-15); it is an excellent example of calling a weed a weed but letting God execute the judgment.
DeepSouth Steve
This may be a stretch, but this thought just occured to me. At the crucifixion we have Jesus hung between two theives. A rose between two thorns or wheat among the tares? One of the weeds repents and is transformed into a wheat. Who can judge?
Pastor Tom in Wilmington, DE
Hi everybody,
I appreciate your various wrestlings. When the topic of judging comes up, I'm always troubled. "Thou shalt not judge" often comes across as a blanket condemnation against any kind of discernment between good and evil. Jesus also cautioned us against casting our pearls before swine. That certainly means making judgements. Of course we make judgements about people all the time, we have to. I'm amused to see many judgements taking place on dps as well as counter judgements about "judgemental attitudes". We have to make judgements about good and evil and all the shades of grey in between.
What then does Jesus mean? I guess I sort it out in terms of our final destiny. The day of judgement belongs to the ultimate judge, not to us. In the meantime, we see the weeds and the wheat growing together, and we water them equally.
Shalom, Larry, cny
Anyone who does any growing, whether it be flowers, house plants, a vegetable garden or a lawn, knows the problem with weeds. Weeds threaten to choke the good plants. We often wage war on the weeds. One gardener once asked me my definition of a weed. My answer was quite easily given since we were standing beside a beautiful bed of begonias in full bloom. "Well, I said, a weed is whatever is not a begonia." "What about this plant? Asked the gardener. Do you know what it is? "Looks like a sunflower to me," I said. "Right!" said the gardener. "But a sunflower is not a weed, is it?" The point he was making, of course, was that most of us wouldn't classify a sunflower as a weed, except when its in a beautiful bed of begonias. heaven11 in NB, Canada
Here's some stuff I have recently read. The parable in today's gospel reading sets forth what we may experience every day: evil coexists with the good. The conclusion to the parable - the weeds will be burned - seems simple, except for this: the one who speaks gives his life over to death, that God's mercy for all people may be revealed, and that God's power to bring good out of evil may be known. Is it possible that even weeds and thorns will be transformed into beautiful flowers and lush vines? Here is each Christian's mission: to speak and to act with mercy and justice in a world that knows too well the presence of evil. While we are pulling out the weeds, let's not be overzealous! Christians do a lot of damage when they try to prune too precisely the vineyard of the Lord. Good gets lost with the bad. It does no good for the surgeon to cut out all the cancer if the procedure kills the patient. The first principal of medicine is "do no harm." Never in scripture are disciples called to reap the crops and judge who is saved and who is not. The harvesting is left to God, the Son of Man, and angels. Disciples are only called to witness. The seed is sown everywhere, to everyone, without regard for ultimate receptivity. Judgement will come soon enough. And so keep your hands off the sickle. Rather, keep your hands in the sack of gospel proclamation. Keep your eyes on the world Christ came to save. And keep casting out the grace. Tom in Ontario
16 JUL 99
Pastor Tom, in DE: An old Christian (not a particularly merciful one?...) was near death and asked for his Lawyer and Doctor (preacher?) to come to his bedside. They entered, one at each flank, and thereupon followed a lengthy period of silence. Finally the preacher spoke up: "Tom, you're not long for this world... was there a reason you called us here to your bedside?" "Well preacher" the man said, mustering his last bit of strenght "I figured Jesus died between two theives and I would too." A stalk of wheat between a couple stalks of pernicious darnel? Of course, that battle between weed and wheat was waged within the dying man too... Peter in CA
I am reminded once of a collage of pictures in a "Country" magazine. The collection showed shots of various flowers. The trick was to guess which ones were domestic flowers and which were weeds. I found that I could not with any accuracy distinguish between the two. The lesson that I am hearing is...all have potential under the grace of Jesus Christ. How dare we even try to guess the weeds, let alone try to weed them out! We all have been flowering weeds at one point in our lives. Wheat is what we've become or are becoming because we love Christ.
Does anyone have an example of helpful weeds? Weeds that cure illnesses? Or weeds that are edible? As you can see ...a gardener, I am not.
Grace and peace to all wheat and weeds...
RB in Orby
I think everyone of us hungers to be free from anxiety, depression, difficulties; we would like to be rid of those who make us anxious and resentful, those who always seem to stand against us in life. We know who they are, the person who says he will do something, and then doesn't, the person who pledges and doesn't fulfill his pledge, the person who 'looks like a good christian' but in fact, well, we know lots of about him! We yearn for a place where only the good receive the sun and the rain, where only the good and faithful are lifted into the the very care of God; yet the truth is God cares for the weeds as well as the wheat, and only at the gathering in will there be a difference - we must learn to stay awake, wait, and learn to love those who differ from us. If we could finally realize that we need each other, then there would be a transformation of the field, but until then, well we know what we must do .....
tom in ga
In my preparation for Sunday, I've discovered some information about the "weeds" of the parable: Not just any weeds are being spoken of here - the Greek is "zinzanion," which was a nasty, bitter, drug-laced weed which, when newly sprouted, looks just like newly sprouted wheat. The two were indistinguishable! This zinzanel (tares, darnel, weeds) was so like thw wheat at sprouting, and so nast and noxious when grown, that the Jewish people called it "bastard wheat." Moreover, this plant would so entwine its roots with the wheats that to try to separate them early in the season (if one could even distinguish them!) would mean disaster for the wheat also. I have two comments about what I have read a lot of here this weeK 1. However you may feel about the "gloss" in the text, I think we make a mistake in assigning the field the ID of the church. I think the world is the field God sows on. Churches are what sprout up from this planting. This changes the focus from weeds in our church (by the way, I have had several nemesises in the churches I've served - crusty, cantankerous, contrary - real pains. But most of them were still dedicated Christians who loved their church. To the brother with the personnel trouble - harmony must, however, be maintained in the church, especially from a staff member!) to the evil of the world. We know evil, we see it around us. The good has been sown with evil among it, and until the time of harvest, it's impossible to tell the difference with 100% certainty. 2. Our call is not to judge! Could Jesus have been more specific than in his brief, pithy command - "Judge not!" Yes, we are to observe the acts of the world. But have a care even at that! It's hard to judge the sin and love the sinner! May the grace of God be with you this Sunday and always! Ken in WV
A few responses to others, and a couple of random thoughts: DeepSouthSt, the word "quick" in the creed means "living," meaning that Christ will judge all living and all who have previously died. Lone Ranger in VA: You may find writings by the Rev. Dr. Merle Jordan to be extremely helpful with regard to the situation in your church. He writes from a family systems perspective, suggesting that the minister is most effective when acting as what he calls a "non-anxious presence" in the midst of the relational dynamics of the church family. Everyone: Two thoughts. This parable takes evil very seriously. It also cautions us with regard to overzealous judgment regarding the worthiness of others. One more: Barbara Brown Taylor suggests that in preaching, it is not our job to resolve all the tensions that exist in the text, but to invite our listeners into the tensions, mysteries, and paradoxes that they might prayerfully establish a relationship of their own to the word of God. Thanks to all for a helpful discussion! Peace, MJ in NH
Rick in VA,
Thank you for your kind words, my brother. Indeed we would all be lost in our "weediness" if it were not for the love of Christ.
Shalom, Nail-Bender in NC
for hhh in WI
Thank you for your honest and telling words. I am preaching my first sermon in a new church and was struggling with how to aid all of us in identifying ourselves as both weed and wheat. Perhaps we would all do well to keep your words at hand as we struggle with this text. Surely our task is not to say Don't Judge to our congregations but to say tend to your own weeds before you admire (or degrade) other gardens.
Mallia
for hhh in WI:
Thank you for your honest and telling words. I am preaching my 1st sermon in a new church and was struggling how to aid all of us in identifying ourselves as both weed and wheat. Perhaps all of us would do well to keep your words at hand as we struggle with this text. The message Don't judge might better be shared as 'tend to your own weeds before you admire (or degrade) other gardens.
Mallia
sorry folks if this ends up being a similar entry - the first didn't seem to work!
The most efffective sermon I ever preached was on this text. At the beginning of the sermon the ushers brought up buckets full of hand sized rocks. They handed one out to each person in the congregation. Toward the end of the sermon, after everyone was dying of curiousity what the rocks were for, I read the story of the woman caught in adultery. I went on to say, "Now, take home your rocks and place them in a prominant place in your home. When you are tempted to judge someone, look at the rock and just keep your mouth shut. I was told just this morning one woman still has her rock on display, 3 years later. And guess what? There is a whole lot less judging going on around here these days!!!
Ken in WV: You mentioned when speaking of the crusty old weeds in the church, "But most of them were still dedicated Christians who loved their church." It is interesting how many of those stubborn, crusty weeds do not, in fact, love Jesus Christ and His teachings, but instead love the traditions of the local church and their own history. "We've never done it that way" is not what Jesus taught, but in fact He taught us to do it a different way. I am afraid many of those weeds who "loved their church" were, in fact, misguided and worshipping a building and a small body of believers and traditions, instead of worshipping Jesus Christ. It seems many of us are so carried away with not judging, we get some gardens (churches) that are doomed to crop failure, due to an abundance of uncultivated, unconverted weeds.
revup (And yes, I can "rev up" a church with clear, easily understood illustrations and prophetic preaching.)
It has been written, "Going to church does not make one a Christian any more than going into a barn makes one a horse." It can also be said "Going to church does not make one a Chrisian any more than growing in a flower garden makes one a flower.
At times we must make people uncomfortable in their pride and sin, or we wind up allowing the weeds to choke out the flowers. Jesus did conclude the adulterous woman story by saying, "GO and SIN NO MORE.) Shouldn't we preach that, too? revup, again
Dear Rick and others, I just returned to town and am getting a late start with sermon prep. I thank you for your prayers. Fortunately none of our congregation were effected by the floods, though our community is rather stunned. The area of damage is in Forest Falls, a mountain community with a Christian Conference Center that some of you may know about. The people there are banding together and helping each other out. Our own congregation will be looking for ways to support and help in the weeks to come.
I'm quite interested in the debate about this text as you have all engaged in it. I find that it speaks to me on several levels, not the least of which is the very real presence of evil in our world, but I'm really stumped on how to approach this text as sermon. I'll read on to see what else you all have to say.
Thanks again for your prayers. Pam in San Bernardino.
A Jewish midrash goes like this:
One day Abraham invited a beggar to his tent for a meal. When grace was being said, the amn began to curse God, declaring he could not bear to hear His name. Seized with indignation, Abraham drove the blasphemer away.
When Abraham was at his prayers that night, God said to him, "This man has cursed me for fifty years and yet I have given him food to eat every day. Could you not put up with him for a single meal?"
Some random thoughts: Remember grace. Having been burned by an ambush of judgment and intolerance, disguised as a worship service, I've felt the pain of being caught in the middle. Can't imagine what the "end" must feel like (the end that gets uprooted at such an ambush.) Seems like the only ones to leave Jesus' presence feeling ripped out were those who were so sure of themsleves and their own understanding and interpretation of God's word. Thanks be to God for the grace of God! (Do you think why people might so often want to sing/hear "Amazing Grace" and why it's such an all time favorite, is maybe they haven't heard it enough from the pulpit? Just a late night musing. Thanks for the place to ramble and learn. Jeanne in MI
Greetings from the Delaware seashore. I'm calling my sermon, "Weedeaters or Wheatfeeders?" and emphasizing that Christ calls us to nourish plants, not kill weeds. I'll refer to the recent book "Blinded by Might" by Cal Thomas and Ed Dobson, two former officials of the Moral Majority who have "repented" of their association with that late, unlamented body (I'm showing the infamous "liberal bias" here) and now believe that the way to change society is not by passing laws but by changing hearts.
Rev. Dude from Delaware
Working with teenagers has taught me something (many things, really). The apparent challenges of a teenager are usually a curiosity to understand something for themselves...teenagers are forming their own values and need better responses to their peers than "because my parents said so." They need to take ownership of whatever value may be at issue. Sometimes the "crusty old weeds" who seem to challenge most everything are those whose questioning (like a teenager who asks, "why?") is a legitimate question seeking knowledge and understanding. To save face, they may need to ask in a way that sounds crusty, but deep down they are simply inquiring minds that want to know. Maybe on the order of the beggar invited to the meal (mentioned above)...?
ml in pa
I first met Esse four years ago on her sixteenth birthday. She had been admitted to the hospital after intentionally taking an overdose. Over the next four years she "knew it all" (drugs/alcohol,etc) and had no use for God, or herself. She was in church last Sunday, and said to me yesterday, "You know, this week with four weeks in a row that I've been in church. She doesn't need to hear "judgement" rather to recognize the grace of God that she now experiences. She has judged herself far too long and hated the weed she felt she was. God isn't done with her yet (nor me!). Deke of the North
I have a friend who told me that she had recently sown wildflower seed in an area of her garden, but that she had to keep pulling the weeds out of it. When I protested that those "weeds" may also have becone flowers, she said "Oh no, they would have choked the rest!" That left me wondering, "What are weeds?" Brenda in New Brunswick
G’day everyone I hope this posting is not too late for anyone to read. (Here in Aust. It is now Saturday evening) I’m finding this week particularly heavy going. And I am finding that my heart has gone out to the Lone Ranger in Va. - I will pray for you. I too am the pastor in a congregation where in my opinion there are quite a few weeds. The politics have become particularly unpleasant, and personal, and I have been on the receiving end of some rather unchristian attacks and smears - both from the pews and from a disloyal staff member. Recently, the elders of my church informed me that my contract will not be extended because of the people who are making my ministry "untenable". They tell me that they have every confidence in me but that there are some who are singularly focused on blocking my leadership. So off I go. And because I have now been hurt just once too often, I figure that its time that I bowed out of ministry and paid adequate attention to my family. We follow the RCL for our preaching and so I have the difficult duty of preaching around this parable. And as I think about it, it occurs to me that if I were to use this as an opportunity to try and do some ecclesiastical weeding, then I have completely missed the point! And what’s more - where do I get off thinking that I can identify who the weeds are - maybe its me!!! Please pray for me. I think that I will address our own personal weedyness, the necessity to look hard at ourselves, and not others, the call for patience and perseverance, and the need to get more weeds in the church and more wheat in the world. Thanks for listening - Keep the faith! GP in SA
GP in SA,
Please pray hard and then pray some more, before deciding to give up on ministry. Know that preaching God's Word means that you become a target. Know that if you're not stepping on some toes, then you're not preaching effectively. If you believe firmly in the authority of Scripture, if you trust that Christ is Lord, Savior, King and God and that by the power of His Holy Spirit, lives can be transformed, then don't give up.
Stay in the fight, put on your armor, and persevere.
You might need restoration and a sabbatical but don't give up completely unless you're completely sure that this is of God and not the enemy.
Know that prayers are going forward for you, for Lone Ranger and others who might be targeted for preaching truth.
Rick in Va
To GP in SA --
I too left the ministry for a time, though there is no question -- it was definitely a result of my own "weediness."
My heart goes out to you. I will keep you in prayer, and I am sure that you are a blessing in the place where you are. The fact that you intend to preach the gospel and not use the pulpit as a platform to respond to the attacks you have endured speaks well of you. And I am sure that the planting you have done will bear fruit. You may have to content yourself with the assurance that, even though you may not be there to see the fruit grow, your work in the vinyard has not been in vain.
I thank you for the one line from here that is definitely going to be in my sermon this week: "the need to get more weeds in the church and more wheat in the world."
Thank you for your ministry, and God's blessings to you.
PDM, Dave in IA
A recent and late revelation: Verse 25 reads, "but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat," Isn't this also a parable to warn us to watch out and be vigilant for enemies who would sneak in WHILE WE ARE ASLEEP? revup
Its 7:30pm sat night. i still haven't written a thing. this is what i got if there are any desperate ones left!: 1)this is a parable describing the k of God 2)Jesus is trying to address the concerns of those who wanted to see the kingdom kick butt and squelch all the evil right then and there 3)Jesus, like he always does, chsnges common assumptions 4)now is not the time for judgement-that will come at the end, let the wheat and weeds grow together 5)there is opportunity to transform the weeds "i have come to seek and save the lost"
some other interesting points: *there is a time of judgement *Jesus didn't weed out Judas *we are a mixture of wheat and weeds-in the world and interpersonally (works on both levels) *if you see someone you think is a weed shower on this grace not judgement? *if you think you are a weed know the cross of christ bears you up- be transformed, repent
for those who think Jesus would not have had full blown allegorical parables you need to consult some of the latest scholarly research: -They Also Taught in Parables: Rabbinic Parables from the First centuries of the Christian Era and -Interpreting the Parables by Craig Blomberg -The Parables of Jesus by David Wehhan has revolutionized my understanding of Jesus' parables
I'm one of the true Desperate Preachers!!!
To GP in SA-- it is tempting for readers and writers....some pastors... to want to jump in counsel you "don't jump!"... sometimes we allow our identification with each other cloud our judgement. I trust that people are really listening to what you are saying.... many times listening is more important that free advise.... if the advice is asked for then we are invited to give it. If i could give advice.... it would be that sometimes our most effective ministry can be found outside the pastoral role.... and if that is where one is led to go.... then DO IT ! As a pastor in my 37th year since ordination... I have seen plenty of weeds, and seen how they have been very hurtful..... i have seen blockers deny the ministry of the Church to many poor and needy. I am in a wonderful parish... a really together family seeking to be progressive evangelicals sesnsitive to the justice issues in the Gospel.... we have gay and lesbian, poor and marginalized, local and global mission work going on.... the people care for each other, and care and pray for me the pastor..... I'm having a ball...... I give thanks to the Lord who has allowed me to grow amid the wheat and weeds.........
If I were to offer advice it would be .... find your ministry in any number of places... God is ready to use you everywhere.
pastordon-in elmira, NY donaldhoff@aol.com