A reading from the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 13 v 24 – 30 and 36-43
The Parable of the Weeds
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear
Sermon
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirt, the Holy Three In One who has sown for us, provides for us, and makes us grow, even among the weeds.
Welcome to what seems to be our continuing Agriculture Sundays! For the past two Sundays we have been hearing about soil and crop, and seed and weed, a bit like a farming programme.
Last week Ann spoke to us in her sermon about good soil and bad soil and of course not forgetting her attempting to grow a lemon plant from a seed! In last week’s gospel and this week’s gospel readings we have heard about good plants and bad plants. We have been inundated with so much information about seeds and ground and bearing good fruit that we might be tempted into acquiring a little allotment for ourselves when we start to hear about “just… another… seed… story.”
It is my joy and privilege to tell you, that at least I think, this isn’t “just… another… seed… story.” This is a story about God’s grace, the devil’s plan, and God winning in the end.
This is a story that has all of the classic ingredients of a blockbuster movie! It has the peaceful beginning, the seeming shift in the balance of power, the feeling as if things might not work out in the end, and then the victory of the righteous.
Think about the last action movie you watched. Wasn’t that the plot line?
What Jesus is telling us in today’s parable is the plot line. It is the plot line to the biggest blockbuster story ever, His Kingdom… A kingdom built on salvation and the forgiveness of wrongdoings. A kingdom built for you and I.
So, let us take a look at this plot line given to us by Jesus himself.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in His field, the dirt and mud of our Christian Baptized lives, and of our surroundings. You can almost see a picturesque farmer-God doing this.
Picture a sunny day, a tall grey haired old man, handsome, with lines on his face from laughing, smiling and shedding of tears, and being in the sun. He’s wearing a hat to keep the sun out of his eyes, and he’s walking through his ploughed field throwing seed here and there, talking to the birds and creatures of the earth and humming a little song. He enjoys this. He enjoys planting this seed and scattering it everywhere – just as our God enjoys seeing His Word go out amongst us.
Picture the sunset. Picture the sun going down and our old farmer, this old fatherly man, sitting under a tree with a glass of iced tea or in my case a cool glass of lager looking out over the field where he had previously sowed his crop imagining what might come of it.
The next morning comes and the next morning after that. This farmer looks across his land and sees that it is good. He sees the good that he has put in the ground and he begins to see the seedlings sprout up.
A few more weeks later, his men come to him looking worried. “There are weeds in the field,” they say. They don’t know where the weeds came from and they begin to ask, “you did sow good seed didn’t you?”
We ask this question too sometimes. We know that God says His Word is good and to do what it says – but then we begin to see the weeds. We begin to see things going wrong in our lives, in our country, even…even in our church. We start to ask God – “how did these weeds get in here?”
The answer is simple, but it isn’t heartening. “An enemy did this.” This enemy, this evil entity isn’t inactive. He doesn’t sit around and hope that he’ll find a way to demolish God’s plan for our lives; he is active and working. He has sown his own seeds, seeds that often times look like good seeds.
In the time of Jesus there was a certain weed, called a “zizania” which looked exactly like wheat right up until the time that it began to grow its head but by then it had spread its seed and it was too late to catch it and stop it.
Often we don’t catch our weeds until their true nature starts showing up. We go about our daily lives, doing this and that – following what we think is right in the eyes of society or our peers and not really caring what is right in the eyes of God. We let the weeds grow and we don’t even know that they are growing. We don’t know they are growing until finally we are struck, surprised by what is really growing in our gardens. Gardens called life.
So what’s growing in your or my garden? We know that the Word of God has been planted in us, but what have we let grow beside it? Have we let something grow into a large nasty stalk? Have we let a little envy grow into a green-eyed monster? Have we let a little hate grow into a silent, cold, and impersonal root in our life?
There may be something in our life that we have allowed to grow and become a big ugly plant.
And all of those big ugly plants are growing right next to each other. Every one of us has their own big ugly plant. So our plants get mixed up with our gardens, our good and our bad plants. These big ugly weed like plants….just like a weed, doesn’t stay in one place. They spread and sends runners throughout the entire garden. Soon, the whole garden is filled with stalks above ground and roots and runners below ground.
Wickedness spreads. It hurts our lives, but then it moves on, it’s not satisfied just with the individual it moves onwards and outwards. It builds and spreads and affects the world. It creates disorder, it creates the broken down and destructive nature that we have known since we first born. We’re left wondering what to do.
But going back to our story the men from the sower’s garden asked “Should we go and gather the weeds?” Here the old farmer says something very interesting. He doesn’t say, “YES! Get out there! Why are you standing around here looking at all of these weeds?” He doesn’t get mad. He casts a knowing eye over the landscape.
Only those knowing farmer’s eyes could see beneath the soil. Only the eyes of God can see why pulling up all of the weeds out of our lives would kill us. It seems like the easiest thing in the world to pull up the weeds – but he knows the way to get rid of the weeds in such a way that it will not harm us.
God has been casting that knowing eye across humanity for a long time. He looks out across the people who are the stalks of good grain that are going to be bearing him good fruit. He sees the weeds, but he sees more. He sees the seeds amongst the weeds. He sees something that He loves. He sees his children giving him praise. He sees his children across the world, some of them being choked by weeds.
He said, “I will send my son, my only begotten unique son, Jesus.” I will give his life as seed spilled out on the ground, seed that cannot be choked out by any sort of weed. I will plant that seed in my church and in the hearts of all who believe.” He tells us that he forgives our Sin and makes the weeds powerless.
Casting those knowing eyes across the field he says to the men who are worried about the weeds in the garden, “No. Wait until harvest time, and at that point we will get rid of these weeds and burn them off.” He has His plan in progress already.
The plan went into effect the very day that Jesus died on that cross – creating the seed of the good news of salvation.
The plan was in effect on the day of Pentecost as the Holy Spirit appeared as tongues of fire on the disciple’s heads.
The plan is in effect when we spread the seed of His good news to others.
The plan is in effect in our mission fields and in our homes.
The plan is in effect when we feel the peaceful growing of faith in our lives.
The plan continues when on the day when Christ will come back to earth our tombs are blown open just as Christ’s tomb was blown open.
On that day when we will rise with all those who have gone before us.
We will know that the seed of the Gospel has made our lives full of worth for God.
We will know that it has made us who we are.
We will know that on that day, we will be gathered together in front of the throne of God and finally our eyes will fall upon the Lamb of God again and we will rejoice. We will rejoice that we no longer have to grow amongst the weeds.
Amen
Collect for the day
Creator God, you made us all in your image;
may we discern you in all that we see, and serve you in all that we do
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Prayers
Lord, listen to your children praying. Lord, send your Spirit to us;
Lord, listen to your children praying, send us love, send us power, send us grace!
We thank you God for your wondrous unfailing wisdom, for your infinite love, and for your patience that goes beyond our understanding.
We thank you for how you surprise us with hope and with promise, with acceptance and with guidance, for how you come among us when we are not even looking for you and for how you reach out and touch us even we do not believe in you or seek you. We praise you, O God, and ask that we might be awake to your presence each and every day and in each and every way…
Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer….
Lord, we pray today for those who sit in judgement upon others and for those who judge themselves with a judgement that is not your own. Help us to trust in your judgements and to grow as you want us to grow….
Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer…
We pray, O God, for those who are disheartened by evil and for those who are oppressed by the wicked. We pray that the time of reckoning may come soon and that when it comes we may be found doing your work and growing the fruit that pleases you….
Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer…
Father, we pray for those who live in fear, for those who are struggling for life – for those who face trial and tribulation. We pray that you would work a healing in their lives and bring them with Christ Jesus to new life here and now – and in your kingdom to come….
Lord in your mercy hear our prayer…
We hold before you, compassionate One, the special concerns and needs that rest upon our hearts at this time. Hear our prayers as your church in this place for those we now name before you… (Please add in the name of anyone you know who may be suffering in mind body or spirt or a particular situation that you know of )….
Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer…
Dearest Lord Jesus, we pray for your church in the world and for all who are part of it. Bless each one today with new commitment and zeal. Pour out upon us the gifts of faith and hope and love.
Merciful Father accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
And so we seal our prayers together in the words that our Lord Jesus Christ taught his disciples the Lord’s prayer and so we pray…….
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, For ever and ever.
Amen
Revd Kevin. Priest at St.Wilfrids and St.Thomas
