Be Careful Out There…But Trust Jesus
Matthew 13:24-30
July 17, 2005
The “Star Wars” saga is now ended. I remember going to the first “Star Wars” movie with my wife and a couple of friends when I was in seminary. We had Episdoe IV, “Star Wars: A New Hope” and then Episode V, “The Empire Strikes Back” and then Episode VI, “The Return of the Jedi.” After a long wait we began to get the three prequel movies…Episode I, ”The Phantom Menace,” Episode II, “Attack of the Clones,” and now Episode III - “Revenge of the Sith.”
We now understand how Anikan Skywalker became Darth Vader. The circle has been closed. We now understand. If you remember the end of Episode VI, you will recall how Darth Vader made it known to Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia that he was their father. The good side of the force triumphed. Evil did not win.
How we wish real life were like the movies, but in real life, it doesn’t always seem to work that way. The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk struggled with these same issues of good verses evil and light verses dark. He in fact complains to God. He is right in God’s face. This is a tough time for Habakkuk and he really doesn’t understand what is going on.
O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you, “Violence” and you will not save? Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous – therefore judgment comes forth perverted. (Habakkuk 1:1-4).
The psalmist says, “…the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary…How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever? (Psalm 74:3, 10). The bad guys are winning here, and the good guys don’t like it.
We as a society really like it when the guilty get what’s coming to them. We’re glad when the bozos of the world get their comeuppance. We’re happy when the culpable are punished. We’re glad when Bernie Eppers gets 25 years in the grey bar hotel for ravaging Worldcom. We’re thankful when justice is swift and sure, with an emphasis on swift.
All of that brings us to the parable of the day; the parable of the wheat and the weeds. The kingdom of heaven, says Jesus, can be compared to somebody who sowed good seeds in the field. As he slept, somebody else came along and sowed weeds among the wheat. They both grew together, weeds and wheat in the same field.
When the servants asked the farmer if he wanted the weeds pulled up, the farmer told them not to do that because there would be the risk of pulling up good plants with the bad. Wait until the harvest, he said. Then the weeds can be collected into bundles for burning and the wheat can be gathered into the barn.
The promise is that in the end, justice will be sure for those who would thwart it now. We’re glad to hear that Jesus really does have everything under control, that God is watching and that in the end, good will win. But I also think that we need to pay attention to what Jesus is saying about the possible danger that waits when we jump to conclusions along the way. You see, good wins over evil because of God, not because of anything we do.
Can I be honest with you for a minute? One of the things that has always bothered me about some Christians is the tendency for self-righteous certainty about who is “in” and who is “out” of the kingdom. It seems to me that we are much too quick sometimes – and I include myself in that group – we are much too quick sometimes to jump to conclusions about who’s going to make it to heaven and who’s not. I think I know who the weeds are, and I’m usually jot too shy about identifying them.
But Jesus says, “Leave the weeds to me. Let me handle the final decision.” If you remember the 25th chapter of Matthew, Jesus is depicted as the one in front of who will gather all the people of the earth. They will come before him and Jesus will separate them as a shepherd does sheep and goats. Those who are worthy will be rewarded with eternal life in heaven, while the others will be relegated to that place where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. That’s his job, not ours. In the parable of the wheat and the weeds, I think that Jesus is telling us that we need to exercise some caution about making judgments on our own.
Back in the days when journeys to Europe still required a rather long ship voyage, one particular bishop headed over to the Continent for a world gathering of Christian leaders. After coming on board, he discovered that he was to share a cabin with another fellow. Judging from his appearance, the good bishop decided that he might not be the most trustworthy guy around.
So the bishop went up to the purser’s desk and asked if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship’s safe. The purser told him that he would be happy to lock his valuables up for safe keeping. “I perfectly understand, bishop,” he said. The other man has been up here and left his valuables for the same reason.” We have to be careful. We have to be cautious. We’re not quite as good at discernment as Jesus is. We can’t always tell a book by its cover.
Those of you who are parents can understand what I am about to say. When you are young and starting to have babies, you are filled with great hope for the future. I was going to raise my children to be not only successful in their chosen professions, but also to be committed and loving Christians. I was going to surround them with love, nurture them with hope, and protect them from the dark forces that seek to destroy soul and body.
To the best of our ability, Toni and I have done all those things. We have given them the opportunity to receive a good education. We have taken them to church to develop a foundation for life and living. We have prayed with them and for them. We have instructed them and disciplined them when necessary. We have done all those things because we love our children and want the best for them. You have done the same. That is just what parents do.
What we didn’t count on was that, in order to become responsible individuals, they would have to be afforded a certain amount of independence. We sent them off to school where they picked up words that were never used around the house. We let them play outside in the neighborhood with other kids: kids whose families didn’t share our values. They came in contact a world in which the media fosters standards that are below ours; a world of all sorts of ugliness.
We, as parents, sow good seed. There are others out there, however, who sow weeds in the midst of our wheat. That’s just the way it is. We believe in free will. We have the ability to act in responsible ways and teach our offspring the same ways. Unfortunately, others have the free will not to do that.
Sometimes, wheat and weeds grow side by side. We have to trust Jesus. We have to trust Jesus in his ability to help us help our children to know the difference between wheat and weeds. We have to trust Jesus to keep them safe from the weeds. We have to trust Jesus to sort it all out.
Our job is to do our best to prepare them for the world out there. Jesus’ job is to take over from there and do the rest. We can’t keep them in a monastery, separated from the weeds. We don’t have that option. Jesus is the One who can be trusted to separate the weeds from the wheat.
Besides, sometimes it is awfully hard to determine who the weeds and the wheat are. Looks and outward behavior can be deceiving.
I recently read about a continuing education event for government employees. The leader of the seminar showed the employees a series of photographs. The pictures began with a person’s face, which then broadened out to reveal the person’s entire body.
The first picture was of a grizzled old man, frowning and scowling and straining. The next picture was of his whole body and they could see that he was straining because he was pushing a wheelchair with a friend in it.
The next picture was of a very pretty young woman complete with beautiful smile and straight, white teeth, and a perfect complexion. When the view expanded, the class could see that she was an exotic dancer getting ready to go on stage.
In the parable of the weeds and the wheat, Jesus is telling us that we don’t have the whole picture. We can’t see everything. We don’t have enough information to make a complete judgment.
Now, of course we have to make judgments about other people and other situations as we go through life. There are obviously forces out there from which we need to steer a wide berth. There are people and things which will indeed cause us harm. We need to be aware of the potential traps that await us.
I John 4:1, according to Eugene Peterson in “The Message” says:
My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God.
Elsewhere, in Matthew chapter 7, Jesus says:
Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don’t be impressed with charisma: look for character.
Obviously we have to be careful about the weeds out there. We have to be discerning. We have to watch out. We have to be on guard. We have to worry about the potential for harm because it is real.
But we also have to trust God. God, after all, is smarter than we are. God is more capable than we are of spotting trouble. God is the one who has the ability, the power, and the right to make judgments about wheat and weeds.
And after all is said and done, I have only one other caution arising out of all of this. It seems to me that the challenge for all of us is to worry more about ourselves so that we can be included in the final harvest. The final challenge for us is to do our best to be wheat.
It is our job to stay away from those attitudes and actions that cause us to be weeds. Our job is to grow up healthy and strong. We do that through prayer, worship, Sunday School, Bible study, personal devotion, and keeping our focus on the things of God. Our job is to grow up healthy and strong, and then to leave the judging to Jesus
We are seeds who have been planted by God and tended by Jesus. May we be found worthy to be included in the final harvest.
I have only one other caution. It seems to me that the challenge for all of us is to do out best to be wheat and stay away from those attitudes and actions that cause us to be weeds. Our job is to grow up healthy and strong, and then to leave the judging to Jesus.
We are seeds that have been planted by God and tended by Jesus. May we be found worthy to be included in the final harvest.
