Conversation in Faith

For a few weeks this summer, the Lectionary gospel texts are some of Jesus’ parables. A brief comment about parables might be helpful.

“Parable” means “something cast beside”, as a kind of comparison. There is not a single style of parable. Some are short stories. Some are only one or two lines. Parables may hold a variety of meanings. There is usually not a single correct answer. At the same time, not every possible interpretation is correct. Understanding a parable takes thought and discussion. Parables disclose truth, but often the truth is disruptive. They, by design, challenge our assumptions. By their nature, parables concern a kind of truth that doesn’t lend itself to factual statements.

The author of the Gospel According to Matthew has organized his gospel so that Jesus has five “discourses” which are teachings or a collection of statements by Jesus.¹ Matthew collects Jesus’ parables into the middle (third) discourse.

This week in the lectionary readings, Jesus tells another parable in Matthew’s collection of parables, about sowing seeds, but with somewhat different focus than last week’s parable.

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He [Jesus] put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field, but while everybody was asleep an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And 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?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he replied, ‘No, for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let 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.’” Matthew 13:24-30 NRSVue

Later, when he is finished speaking to the crowds, Jesus explains this parable to his disciples.

Then 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.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen! Matthew 13:36-43 NRSVue

Once, I worked with a person from West Texas who had recently moved to Michigan. One day they came into work and asked, “What are all those pretty yellow flowers along the road?” The pretty yellow flowers were dandelions. They had not seen dandelions before and found them beautiful.

Sometimes you will hear a gardener say ” Weeds are plants in the wrong place.” We make a decision about what is a weed and what is a “good” plant. Opinions may vary over time and location. Common Milkweed was considered a weed by farmers because livestock won’t eat it and it out competes desired crops. And we now know that milkweed is vital for the survival of Monarch butterflies. Are Milkweeds, weeds or good plants? Does it depend? A weed in a field. A good plant in a park.

Jesus, in this parable, isn’t saying that there are no “weeds”. He is not dismissing the reality of evil and sin. He is suggesting a couple of things about “weeds” and our response to them.

One way to think about this parable is as a cautionary tale about being too quick to judge and exclude people. Are they a “weed” or the “wheat”? Removing people we think are a problem may have unintended consequences. We may need to think about why we consider the person to be a problem. What exactly is the problem? Why is the person behaving the way they are? Do they need some support? More job training? Better mental health care? Help with problems at home? Is there an alternative to weeding out this person? Perhaps they are in the wrong “field” and need a change of location. For example, not everyone is cut out for customer service. Or to be a neurosurgeon. Or to be a teacher.

Jesus asks his disciples to consider how the wheat and the weeds interact. What is their relationship? What happens to the rest of the “field” if this person leaves? What might be unexpectedly uprooted by their absence? Despite being a “weed” do they encourage and support the people around them? Are they giving people rides to work? Are they the one who always works extra shifts? Are they the sole support for their family? What will the consequences of their absence be?

I have worked with more than one person who had what could have been considered “weed” like tendencies. They asked awkward or difficult questions. They were somewhat resistant to change. They could be frustrating to work with. And their “weediness” gave them insights and ideas that were immensely valuable.

Notice that in the parable and its explanation, Jesus talks about “good seeds” and “weeds”. He doesn’t talk about good and bad seeds. He isn’t saying that weeds are not a problem, but he doesn’t call them bad. Father Gregory Boyle of Homeboy Industries, a gang rehabilitation and re- entry program, says he has never met an evil or bad person. He has met many broken people, people who have experienced great harm, addicted people, abused people, and people with mental health illnesses. They are not evil or bad people rather they are created good and loved by God, and they need healing.²

A lesson from this parable is for us to not be too quick to judge and remove others. My examples are more workplace focused but the same caution applies when we are tempted to declare that someone is not a Christian, or any other label that excludes. I don’t think Jesus is teaching here that any and all behaviors are acceptable. Certainly he doesn’t teach that in other parts of the gospels. But I do think this is to caution us to think carefully before we weed out people. Unanticipated and unintended consequences happen and can be serious.

Sometimes this parable is used to make people worry whether they are a good seed or a weed. Are you going to get tossed into the furnace of fire? I don’t think Jesus has another lesson in mind.

Consider who he is speaking to, the “crowd”. Jesus is not, evidently, talking to a room filled with the elites and the rich and the powerful. The crowd is the regular people. And in the first century those were mostly poor people- small merchants, small farmers, day laborers, slaves, servants, widows, the injured, the ill, and so on. Most people lived close to the edge, on the margins. Starvation was one crop failure away. One dought. One bad storm. One infestation of insects. One sweep through the countryside of the Roman army. One infectious disease outbreak. There was no governmental safety net. The system was designed to keep people poor and focused on survival. The Empire could take whatever it wanted from you. The crowd are not the “causes of sin” or evildoers. They are the ones who suffer because of the sins of the powerful.

The message is not will you burn in the furnace of fire? But rather it is that God’s justice will come.³ Both Jesus’ original audience and Matthew’s later audience were people without power. They, by and large, could not change their circumstances in any significant or lasting way. They were people who followed Jesus and believed in the coming shalom filled reign of God, in spite of all appearances to the contrary. They were not wheat in a field with a few weeds. They were the struggling wheat surrounded by and nearly overcome by the weeds. Jesus’ words about “all causes of sin and all evildoers”, is meant as a word of hope and comfort. Evil will not prevail. Sinful conditions will not prevail. Evildoers will not prevail.

When Jesus talks to the crowds, his message is that life among the weeds will not persist. It may appear that the weeds will win and over take the wheat. But Jesus says God’s intention will come to pass. A better world is possible. A better world is coming where ” the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

Let anyone with ears listen! ”

1. The Five Discourses are: 1. The Sermon on the Mount, ch 5,6,7. 2. The Missionary discourse, ch 10. 3. A collection of parables, ch 13. 4. The Community discourse, ch 18 and 5. the Judgment discourse, chs 23.24.25 ↩︎
2. Homeboy Industries. Father Boyle has written several books about his work and theology. The most recent is Cherished Belonging. ↩︎
3. Furnaces in the Bible can be symbols of destruction. And they can also be symbols of purification- the refiner’s fire. So Jesus talking about the furnace of fire is not necessarily about sending someone to eternal conscious torment. He may mean that “evildoers” will be purified. Because is anyone beyond God’s ability and desire to redeem? ↩︎