Daily Devotion – July 16, 2020 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
He 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.'” 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!
So in this story there is a field with experts perfectly planting it. Twice. The Son of Man plants good seed, and the devil plants weeds, probably just as expertly. And when the seeds begin to grow, to do what they must do, the field hands notice that for every wheat plant there are corresponding weeds. They would like to literally nip all this in the bud and make the field contain only good stuff. It would make things simpler, more clear-cut. It would make tending the field and reaping it much easier – a clean, one-step process.
But the householder/master says , “No. We might lose good wheat that way. Innocent growth might be cut off when we try to purify this field to the point where only one “crop” is grown here. Better to have good reapers at the end of the growing season who can pull out the weeds, leave the good wheat standing, and then do the true harvest. As long as there is a mixture, let it grow together side by side.
It seems there is no simple pure world. Life is complex. There is always a mixture. The devil doesn’t always plant the variety, either. The world has many types of everything. If we are wise, we grow up mixed with lots of kinds of things and find the gifts in them all, and even amidst dangerous things, we must learn to bear fruit. That is how the master/householder will know us when harvest time comes.
This parable makes me think two things must be true:
1. No matter how we might long for easy answers and situations where it seems simple to tell good from bad, life is in fact going to be complex and multi-faceted, and we are going to have to live and grow near people who are unlike us, maybe just different from us, but maybe even people of evil intent. But we are given the job of growing up amid various types and influences and persuasions and still expected to be what we have been planted to be and bearing our fruit.
2. The reaping and separating and judging is not ours to do. The reaping is for the Lord and the angels. After all, in this parable, we are the wheat. And the wheat doesn’t know what to reap. The wheat is a creature to be reaped. It is meant to grow and bear good fruit. And the weeds don’t know what to reap, either. They are just destined to grow as they may and be pulled at the end or plowed under to enrich the soil. Good can come from them too, but judgment is not up to them. It is up to the owner of the field. And that, my friends, is not us.
Holy God,
When life seems to be chaotic, when there are so many varieties of people and things around us we feel confused, may we listen for your voice, hear it, and remember we are called to bear fruit for your kingdom, no matter what. Remind us to look for what you want us to see. May we be a part of your work in the world and bear fruit for you. Amen
