Getting Ahead of Ourselves

Matthew 13:24-30

When I read the parable from Matthew’s gospel for today I usually worry about where I stand between the weeds and the wheat. But what if I’m really one of the slaves who is in a rush to get rid of bad plants?

We know the story. A farmer sows good seed in his field, but later an enemy comes and sows weeds as well. “The slaves said to (the farmer), ‘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” (Matthew 13:28b-29). That’s the part that grabbed my attention today. Pulling up the weeds is not the prerogative of the slaves. That job belongs to someone else. We may feel qualified to make the distinction, to rid the field of undesirable types, but the farmer says, “No.”

I often find myself ready to “pull weeds,” to decide which of the folks around me are unworthy of God’s love. I may feel qualified to make the distinction (I am a minister), but the truth is that it doesn’t matter. That is God’s call, and has been all along. When I judge others I risk harming the community as a whole. And what if I’m wrong? What if God, the Creator of weeds and wheat alike, decides on a transformative act, shaping “good” plants out of “bad” ones? What if I’ve got it all wrong and what I thought were weeds really are the wheat? God says “no” to our judgment. God tells us to care for the field, to prepare for the harvest, and to let God decide who is in and who is out. And since it is God’s field, I guess we’d better listen.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me when I judge others based on my own ideas and my own prejudices. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Fairness of Creation

Matthew 5:38-48

In the midst of the gospel reading for today Jesus offers a familiar teaching. “…(God) makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good,” he says, “and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45b). These words are intended to encourage believers to treat all people with love just as God does. But if we listen carefully we will also find profound insight into our lives of faith.

If sinners and the unrighteous receive sun and rain (essential in an agricultural society and therefore essential to life) then the opposite is also true. Those who are righteous will experience disasters like drought and pestilence right along with everyone else. Of course, we knew that already. We’ve seen it happen over and over again. Now with Jesus’ help we know better than to make easy assumptions about one another, or even about God. If God is withholding judgment until the proper time, perhaps we, too, should withhold our judgment, perhaps we, too, should go about our lives blessing instead of cursing one another. Elsewhere in Matthew Jesus tells of a field of wheat and weeds growing side by side. It is only at the time of harvest, says Jesus, that they are to be separated (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43). The message is not only for us to live in accordance with God’s will, but also for us to allow God to act when and how God chooses. If Jesus can turn one loaf into many, just think how many weeds God can change to wheat with sunlight and rain.

Prayer: Lord, creation is yours. Help us trust you to be at work through in it as you will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.