Rev. Eric Dillenbeck

7-20-14

“In the Weeds”

Psalm 139 and Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Psalm 139:1-12

¹O Lord, you have searched me and known me. ²You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. ³You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. ⁴Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. ⁵You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. ⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it. ⁷Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? ⁸If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. ⁹If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, ¹⁰even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. ¹¹If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,” ¹²even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

²⁴Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 

²⁵but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. ²⁷And the slaves of the householder came and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ ²⁸The Householder answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” ³⁶Then Jesus left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” ³⁷Jesus answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; ³⁸the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, ⁴²and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God

“In The Weeds”

It was four years ago, my mother in law, Judy, had just moved in with us. We were both trying to figure out how this was going to work, how we would navigate this new dimension of our relationship. She wanted to contribute to the house, to feel like this was her space too…She loves working in the yard so she quickly took over the gardens and lawn care. I came home one day and noticed the grass was a little high and wanting to be helpful I pulled the lawnmower out of the garage and started cutting the grass.  

I knew Judy had created a nice little garden in the pots on the side of our house by our neighbor’s driveway. As I was bringing the lawnmower to that side of the yard I noticed that weeds had grown up around the potted gardens. Well, being the thoughtful son-in-law I used the lawnmower to get rid of those unsightly weeds and free up that space for the broccoli I saw growing in the back.  

It was later that afternoon, when Amy and the kids went out to check on the strawberries, that I found out what I had done. When I cut back the weeds, I had also cut through all of her strawberry plants. The weeds around those strawberry plants had been pretty thick; I couldn’t tell the difference between the good plants and the weeds and in my haste, I had taken out all of them.

I am not much of a gardener…I don’t know my plants…unless it is painfully obvious I can’t tell the difference between a good plant and a weed. Apparently I am exactly the kind of person Jesus was talking about in his parable. This parable of the Wheat and Weeds falls between the Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Mustard Seed. The author of this Gospel must have been in a farming mood when he shaped this chapter. 

Jesus was becoming quite popular, the locals were beginning to talk and tell others about Jesus’ words so they gathered around him in larger and larger crowds. We see here that the crowds were so dense around Jesus on the shore that day that he had to get in a boat and push off into the water to teach his disciples and all who could hear him. He had already told them and explained a parable about how His words would take root in some people’s lives and would be forgotten by others. He follows that message up with this little story.  

This parable about wheat and weeds depicts the reign of God as the work of a Good Sower who has spread his wheat seed on the field. As the days pass the good sower’s servants are surprised to discover the overwhelming presence of weeds among the crop. These concerned servants not only ask if they should rip the weeds out, but it appears as if they are somewhat doubtful of the quality of the sowers seed: “Did you not sow GOOD seed in your field?”

Are these servants worried that they are in the wrong field?

Are they second guessing the actions and decisions of their master? 

Do they wonder if the Good Sower knows what he’s doing?

I don’t imagine The Sower makes them feel much better. He tells them to leave the weeds alone…leave them be, let them grow along with the wheat. These are agricultural servants…they know a thing or two about dirt and growing stuff. They know it is possible for the weeds to overpower and choke out the good crop, they know the risks. But the Sower, their master, isn’t worried.  

Leave them be…he says. You might rip up my good crops if you try to get rid of the weeds.  Leave them be so the good crop would grow. The Sower will worry about separating them when it’s harvest time.  

I give the Disciples a hard time…call them the clueless wonders a good bit, but even I can understand why the disciples want to talk more about this parable with Jesus. They see the crowds around Jesus…they notice they are getting larger and larger…they can see the effect his words are having on them…they can see the pharisees and sadducees looking on warily as Jesus preaches and teaches, looking for any misstep he will make…

Perplexed, the disciples approach Jesus about the meaning of this parable when they are alone. “Hey Jesus…, one thing, about that parable about the wheat and weeds?  Are you serious? You really want the ‘servants’ to ignore the ‘weeds?’” In the pregnant pause that follows, Jesus looks at his disciples and breaks it down.  

I am the sower…the world is the field…the good seeds are the children of God…The weeds are the children of the evil one, placed there by the devil…the harvest is the end of the age…weeds burned up with fire…good seed will shine 

blah, blah, blah…I lost you at the DEVIL, didn’t I?  

Don’t let that devil imagery distract you from the point of this parable. Here’s the thing we have to remember, Biblical authors used images people could relate to explain the world around them. As a church and denomination, we have backed away from the devil as a personified entity with horns and a pitchfork and a pointy tail…but we do believe in the problem of evil in the world. We see plenty of evidence of the beauty, joy, and peace in the world but we also see more than enough evidence of the brokenness of creation.

Jesus and the disciples saw the very same dichotomy. Jesus’ field, the world around him, in which he preached was a political minefield with economic, social, and religious land mines everywhere he looked, every where he spoke. He challenged this landscape and in so doing he planted good seed that would last, but there wasn’t enough space in the ground for the good seed to expand fast enough. The power structures of his world were constantly battling for control and domination over all aspects their lives. 

We know a thing or two about this dynamic at work in the world. The weeds are making themselves known as we grieve for a good friend and community leader. His tragic death rocked our community and the aftershocks will continue to be experienced for months to come. The weeds of guns and senseless violence broke through the ground cover of our community. 

For days now our TV screens and new feeds have been filled with images from the latest violence between Israel and Palestine. A plane carrying 108 AIDS researchers and scientists was shot down in Ukraine. The weeds of war and international unrest continually push through our manicured lawns to create chaos in this world. Children fleeing violence and hunger in Central America cross hot deserts to stream across our borders looking for a safer, fuller life here in our country. The weeds of poverty, hunger, and intolerance have been on full display in our fields this week. 

In response to these weeds I have heard many voices, many perspectives telling us how we should deal with this field we live in. The Palestinians are wicked and should be punished. The Israelis are committing atrocities and there should be retribution. We don’t want those Guatemalan children here; they should be sent home.

“Do you want us to go and gather the weeds?”  the servants asked.

“No,” replies Jesus. “For in gathering the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.”

This field is a mess and the wheat and weeds are so close together, so connected. Who can tell the “Weed from the Wheat”? 

Maleficent is the fairy who curses Princess Aurora into becoming Sleeping Beauty. If you have seen the animated Disney movie you know Maleficent is the villain of the story, a true weed in the world. That impression has remained intact throughout most of my life. That is until this past week when I went to see the recent movie about Maleficent. In it we see her backstory, we come to appreciate the many ways she protects the Moors, the mythical land in which she lives, from the war-like humans who only want to pillage her home. We see how she falls in love with a human boy and trusts him and then we watch as this boy betrays and hurts her so he can become King. The story helps us see how she becomes a thick bristly weed in the world. Before that betrayal and violent act, she was wheat, providing for the needs of her home. As the movie progresses, her relationship with Aurora helps the bristles that pain her heart loosen until she once again the is able to bend and move with agility and grace. Maybe this is another reason why Jesus cautions his disciples against casting out those they perceive to be weeds. 

Because at some point or another, everyone is a weed. Everyone has those days when we make the wrong choice or say the harmful words. No country can look back and say it made the right choice at every point in its history; One may look an awful lot like a weed right now, but later turn out to be wheat after all. 

Jesus tells his disciples to be patient, to live with the weeds of the world, to live in the uncertainty and trust that God will work it out.  

We are called to live in that same tension. We are called to live in this beautiful world that is riddled with weeds and we are called to hold back from plucking up and casting out those we believe are unworthy. In fact, we are called to do more than live with the weeds, we are called to address their needs, to bind up their wounds, to love and care for the soil of their lives so that it may enrich them and help them grow. Because we never know, maybe that weed, when nurtured by the Good Seed might grow into a beautiful wheat. We are called to live with the weeds and TRUST in God’s love and grace at work in the world, to TRUST that God’s justice will work itself out.  

So go home today, and let the weeds live. 

If someone complains about it, 

just tell them Jesus said it’s OK.