Here we go again. Another week… Another parable from Jesus… And this one, (like last weeks’) also includes an explanation.
This parable is only to be found in Matthew.
2 parables down, 38 more to go…just kidding, we do not touch on all of them…just a sampling is all we get…
Are we even able to comprehend a God…that loves the world…so much…that even every grain of wheat is significant and important?
How much we take for granted!
We need to start seeing beauty in all of creation…in all of life…in every blade of grass…in everything that exists…
This parable teaches so much…and at the same time, it is a real “myth buster.”
I think the “first myth” it tackles…is…that if we are “good enough” we will not have any serious problems in this life.
And the “second myth” is similar to it: it is that “love…and love alone” will conquer any and all problems that might arise.
It is a good parable. It welcomes reality. It is simply stated:
We are an “imperfect people,” living in an “imperfect world” – where bad things happen…even, to good people. Love cannot possibly conquer all. At least here and now, in our very imperfect world…
There is another truth worth remembering: “what lies beyond our power also lies beyond our responsibility.” We simply cannot be held responsible for everybody and for everything.
I think one of the reasons this parable is appreciated…is that because it is so very practical.
And there is some humor in the parable…regarding the diabolic picture of an enemy sowing bad seed in a field. This “mean deed,” sometimes actually occurred.
So much so, that the crime and its punishment became codified in Roman law.
There are always going to be “tares or weeds” in the wheat field. Life sometimes can just be very difficult. Sometimes it even seems like it is swirling out of hand, out of control.
We know too, that the rain falls on the just and on the unjust.
The scriptures never promised us that “if we might become so good…so wise…” weeds would never grow in our wheat fields. Weeds happen!
Sometimes things are beyond our power to repair and fix…and “fix and repair things” is what we want to do…we want to “make it all better”…or “make it all go away.”
Some things are just beyond us. Above our pay grade… Beyond our power… to do anything about them…
We live in an imperfect world where evil is present as an unavoidable part of life.
The parable also teaches that sometimes there is not much, if anything, we can do about the “tares or weeds” mixed in with our wheat.
There are situations so tangled that they can never be untangled in this world. There are “knots” that no mortal can untie. We simply cannot do it.
Then you have to add to this that we are now all a part of that generation that believes everything that goes wrong is amenable to a quick fix. The faster the better. We want instant cures for everything…quicker than the speed of the internet.
We want immediate solutions…and for all our knowledge, sincerity and expertise there are problems beyond our power to fix them.
This parable also teaches us that it is not always so easy to distinguish between the good and the bad. The parable teaches us that we should not be so quick in our judgments. Judgment is not our job or responsibility anyhow.
Socrates is quoted as saying, “He who takes only a few things into account finds it easy to pronounce judgment.”
We have to reserve our judgment and wait for the harvest time. This parable also teaches that unresolved problems will be properly handled in the end by God – who alone has the wisdom, the power and the right to judge any one or any given situation. We can only do so much.
If we have done all that we can – with some problem that is beyond our power to fix…then it is enough. Sometimes you have to let go — and let God. God will finish the job at harvest time. It is his to do and not ours to worry about.
As the scriptures say repeatedly: Have faith!