Saints And Sinners

God’s focus and attention is on the wheat, and not on the weeds. God does not want to lose even a single stalk of wheat due to our efforts to rid the world of the weeds. And that is why God patiently tolerates the presence of the weeds in His field rather than risk uprooting a single stalk of wheat.

For you see the passion of the farmer for his wheat represents God’s passion in Christ to save us. So why does God tolerate all the evil in the world? It is so you and I might come to fruitful faith in Christ Jesus and be raised from the dead clinging to Christ for our salvation.

My friend’s evil is a part of our world and sin is so deeply entrenched in our lives that to eliminate sin and evil would mean our destruction. We would all be cut down by our attempts to rid the weeds in our lives. All of us who have been baptized are both Saint and Sinners and we could not pull up the Sinner without uprooting the Saint.

I think I can easily demonstrate this morning. What if I tried weeding out of our congregation every person who has ever sinned? Would there be anybody left?

What if I asked everyone who has ever put their trust or security in something other than God to leave, or excused anyone who has ever cursed others in God’s name or has ever failed to pray and give thanks to God to leave? Who would be allowed to stay?

What if we eliminated everyone who has ever despised God’s Word or forced out everybody who has ever stolen something or gossiped, or coveted their neighbor’s house or spouse or property or possessions? Our sanctuary would indeed be an empty place.

Rejoice and be glad because the message of today’s parable is that there is to be no sorting the Sinner and the Saint before the end of the age, and that if we try to sort the weeds from the wheat we will damage the harvest. Therefore the church is not given the task of eliminating sin from the world but told to go and apply Christ’s death and resurrection to the lives of sinners.

And the “Good News” this morning is that the One who directs His harvesting Angels is the same One who died on the cross for us, the One who forgives us and offers us His Body and Blood. We are all a precious harvest to Jesus, so precious that He is willing to put up with the weeds for us. Thanks be to God.

Let us pray: God of mercy, you are full of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in mercy, and always ready to forgive. Grant us grace to renounce all evil and to cling to Christ, that in every way we may prove to be your loving children; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.