"Dealing with the Enemy"
Sermon Presented June 25, 2006
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Everyone has enemies - even the most peaceful person. Some people are jealous of another's success or possessions, and this feeling elevates the envied to enemy status. Some become enemies because of their negative actions or neglect. Politicians and their supporters attack the opposition as they seek victory at the polls - making enemies. Neighbors become enemies when one complains vociferously about the other's pet, children or dandelions. Discord is sown in families between parents, siblings, or parents and children. Our world is rife with strife!
This morning we are going to look at another parable of Jesus about seeds and plants. Even though scholars believe that this parable was delivered by Jesus, they also believe that the interpretation was that of the gospel writer. They believe Jesus was content to leave the parable in his customary way with "Let anyone with ears, listen." rather than laying out an interpretation. The focus of the sermon will be the parable, but I will also read the interpretation. Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43. (Read text.)
I never asked my dad what he thought about this parable, but if I had, I know he would have disliked it! He worked hard to maintain a weed-free lawn, spraying it when he was physically able and later hiring a lawn care service to spray for him. When a weed appeared from a seed blown from a neighbor's yard, he tracked it with a vengeance. I'm sure he would have confronted any minister who suggested that weeds and crops should grow together.
And to be honest, I'm like my dad. I tend to judge
a farmer or homeowner by the looks of their crops or their lawns. When
I drove from Marysville to Kansas City, I smiled at weed-free fields
and frowned when I saw weeds sticking above the crops. When I drive
along Lake Drive, I don't expect to see weeds, only perfectly manicured
lawns. Anyone who purposely sows weeds in a field or a lawn would be
considered an enemy! The picture presented in this parable of weeds
growing beside crops isn't one that pleases the eye - or the imagination.
Now mind you, the farmer used the best seed! (Today, he might place
little signs along the highway advertising the brand of seed he used
- Pioneer and Garst are ones I'm familiar with.) But one night, when
his guard is down, his enemy sneaks into his field and sows bearded
darnel, poisonous weeds that are difficult to detect and eradicate.
When the deed is discovered, the farmer tells his slaves to let the
weeds grow, which makes him appear foolish - even by the standards of
his day.
According to Douglas Oakman, the author of Jesus and the Economic Questions of His Day (p. 114), pulling the darnel was the standard practice because the seeds of this weed are toxic. Letting it grow together with the wheat risks ruining the harvest, and any flour made from that grain would be tainted. But the landowner chooses a different path. Contrary to accepted practice, he decides to let the wheat and darnel grow together.
According to this parable, the compassion of God isn't modeled after human wisdom. Instead, Jesus says that God does what is foolish by human standards. Conventional wisdom tells us to uproot whatever stands in the way of God's salvation. But the kingdom that Jesus describes isn't built on that kind of wisdom. It foolishly refuses to weed out the evildoers and advises patience and mercy. It portrays God as being compassionate toward sinners.
Today, conventional wisdom leans toward the judgmental. It doesn't want to take risks for crops or for people. The parable suggests that the wisdom that applies to crops doesn't necessarily apply to the things of the spirit. God's tolerance and willingness to take chances go beyond what we may believe is wise. God calls us to move beyond our contemporary wisdom toward mercy, even the foolish mercy that God portrays.
As I pondered this text, I thought about our enemies - yours and mine. Even the most righteous people (and I'm not inferring we fit that category) have problems with family members or acquaintances who don't agree with them or who find their way of life offensive. The human response to an enemy is to either get even or get ahead. That's the food for vendettas - like sowing weeds. The idea of living with our enemies and leaving the judgment to God doesn't set right. However, when we live side by side with the enemy we come face to face with our own prejudices and lack of tolerance. Living with the enemy can bring us growth.
Then there's the realization that we can't always recognize the enemy! (Wheat and darnel look alike) Enemies tend to be sneaky and act under cover of darkness, or they may be nice to you face to face and stab you in the back when you aren't looking. When we realize what is happening we often become angry and irrational. But if we are patient, we may find that our enemies can teach us something we need to learn about ourselves. Sometimes they even become friends. Sometimes we are the ones at fault. That's why it is important to be sensitive to God's input. However, if the bad seed is causing physical, spiritual or emotional suffering, we need to calculate whether or not it may be prudent to make our exit. Our health and wholeness may require us to separate ourselves from the enemy.
Some people choose separation by living in communes with those who believe as they do, or isolating themselves and their children from the world. But no matter how hard we try to keep the weeds from our lives, we will rub shoulders with those who don't have our best interests at heart. God works in all situations as we interact with people, if we allow God to work.
Jesus is soft on sinners. He offers God's inclusive forgiveness. He urges us to be patient until the harvest. When we make hasty judgments, we may discover later that we were wrong. We can't really determine who or what to uproot until then. The weeding process can wait. Who knows, the good may rub off on them - or on us. The God of the Kingdom does what is foolish by human standards.
When we judge others, we make mistakes, and we see examples of these mistakes throughout history. Those who want to keep a race pure, advocate ethnic cleansing. Those who want to keep a denomination pure, cause good people to be fired and denominations to split. Those who want to keep their church pure, employ ecclesiastical discipline. Those who want to keep their family pure, banish a wayward child. Those who want to keep a political party pure, employ litmus tests. But God through Jesus calls us to mercy and not judgment - which means that the wheat and the weeds will live together.
A few years after I graduated from seminary, I received the following message from the seminary. Now keep in mind that I attended a Southern Baptist seminary and by the time I received this letter, the seminary board and administration were controlled completely by those who believed that women should not be pastors. Here is the message.
"Please accept our apology. It was our understanding from the software people and our computer people that people like yourself had been removed from our mailing list. As you can see, obviously you were not. Let me deeply apologize for this error. By this time next year we will have this problem resolved some way or another. I hope this has not inconvenienced you or caused you any emotional or personal harm. Thank you for understanding. In Christ, Harold W. Poage, VP for Institutional Advancement."
I had not asked that my name be removed from the mailing list. I later discovered that other female graduates who had the title of Reverend received the same mailing. The seminary wanted us to know that we were persona non grata. However, God determines who will be uprooted and who will remain.
The purpose of sowing the wheat was for a harvest of grain and the purpose of sowing the weeds was to prevent the harvest. But God, the wise or foolish owner of the field - depending on your outlook - said that the wheat and weeds are to grow together and that the harvest will take place on schedule. In the reign of God, it's normal for the bad and the good to grow side by side.
We aren't all the same kind of seeds. We are like the New Testament congregations at Corinth, Rome, Ephesus and Galatia. We continue to fuss and fume and struggle. It may look awful from the outside and feel bad on the inside, but it is the cost of Christian discipleship. The Church is a sinful institution because it is a human attempt to be the body of Christ by people like us who say and do stupid and sinful acts. But we are also a divinely inspired institution, a mix of goodness and humanity. We are God's people in community.
God isn't responsible for the weeds in the church, our families and the world, but weeds are present all the same. God isn't the author of evil, but God knows the difference. No matter how much we wish God would hurry the process and get rid of the weeds, God acts for our wellbeing in God's time. The parable says that God takes good and evil seriously.
This parable doesn't mean that we should ignore evil and be passive in the face of cruelty and injustice. We are having a Justice Seminar in October because Christians need to address injustice in our society. This parable is rather a reminder that we, the servants, can't get rid of all the weeds without causing more harm than good.
We live in an imperfect world, and no human effort can eradicate that fact. We are given the task of living as faithfully and as obediently as possible, confident that God is faithful and the harvest is sure. The parable speaks of the final victory of the kingdom despite all incursions by the enemy, and it challenges the church to respond to God's message. And we never know but that by some miracle, God will change the weeds into wheat!
The text ends with these words: "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father." This is a description of the kingdom where God reigns - past, present and future. Let's shine as we live with both our friends and our enemies. That's the way God would have it.
