The Gospel for the 10th Sunday After Pentecost
July 20, 2008

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43


²⁴He 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 to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ ²⁸He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

³⁶Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” ³⁷He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; ³⁸the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, ⁴²and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

So often we want to fix everything right away - as soon as we recognize a problem. Ok, ok. Maybe I shouldn't say "we," but "I." This is a characteristic of mine - the desire to right what is wrong - asap. But, I would not be at all surprised if a number of you who read this blog share that characteristic.

Now, I'm not saying that we shouldn't strive toward neat fields - or rather, that we shouldn't try to keep weeds from being planted (and yes, even uproot them - just not at the expense of all else that is being sown). It's a little bit similar to the cliché of not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

What is remarkable is that the weeds do not triumph. The good seed continues to grow in the midst of the weeds. God (or, as Jesus says here, the Son of Man) will rid the world of sin - in the Kingdom of God, the children of the kingdom will be released from the causes of sin to shine like the sun.

For the here and now - we know that this kingdom is coming - we pray for it. And, we don't necessarily sit back and allow sin to invade, but we also recognize that it is God who removes the sin that has already been planted.

What thoughts do you have?
Where does this metaphor work? Where does it break down?