A Mixed Field; a Final Harvest

A Mixed Field; a Final Harvest Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 Gospel, Proper 11, A July 20-23, 2023 Dear brothers and sisters,

1. Last month, there was a news story about Ted Kaczynski. He died in prison. He was known as the “Unabomber” who planted about thirty bombs, killing 3 and injuring 23 people. He targeted people he believed were advancing modern technology and the destruction of the natural environment. He thought something was evil in the world, and he set about to get rid of it.
2. I was reading an article by a Christian writer a few weeks ago—the writer was reflecting on life in the 1970s and 80s and a conversation he had. He asked a friend, “What do you think about this nuclear threat from the Soviet Union?” “Bomb them back to the stone age!” the friend replied. The writer commented, “That throws out the words of Jesus, ‘Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you’ (Matthew 5:43). I wonder if Russian Christians pray for us, or if they want to bomb us back to the stone age.”
3. That sounds very brutal. Some of Jesus’ own disciples had a similar idea. One time James and John came up to Jesus and said, “We went into that village and tried to teach the people, but they wouldn’t listen. “Do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus shook his head and said, “You don’t know what kind of spirit is influencing you. ⁵⁶ For the Son of Man did not come to destroy people’s souls, but to save them.” Then they went to another village” (Luke 9:51-56).
4. All these things are really about how we deal with evil in the world, and there are indeed some great evils we face. Some people are set on destruction of others. Some people openly defy God’s commands. And there are some people we disagree with—and that can be a very subjective judgment, right? It seems more and more that people consider those they disagree with as stupid, ignorant and evil, and use some very extreme language against them. How do we deal with evil in the world?
5. Jesus told this parable. A landowner planted wheat in his field. An enemy planted weeds. The plants came up, and the servants saw a mixed field. “Shall we go and pull up the weeds?” they ask the master. “No. While you are pulling up the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then we will separate them.”
6. That sounds dangerous. One of the things that makes a weed a weed is weeds have a more aggressive way of spreading their seeds. The seeds have exploding pods or fuzz on the seeds that catch the air and carry the seeds all over. Another thing that distinguishes weeds is a more extensive root system. It’s hard to pull up the weeds because the roots go so deep. Sometimes the roots spread wide and weave themselves in with the roots of other plants, drawing water away from the good plants you want to keep. Leaving the weeds doesn’t seem like the best—but it is. Pulling them up will uproot the wheat, too.
7. Now, go from the world of the parable to what the parable represents. “All the world is God’s own field.” It’s a mixed field with good and evil, side by side. What happens when people try to root out evil? First, they are putting themselves in God’s place as they try to carry out a final judgment. That’s what happened with the Unabomber. That’s what happens with each mass shooter. That’s what happened with Jesus’ disciples who wanted to call down fire from heaven. That’s what happens in your heart and mine when our anger burns against our enemies and we wish evil on them or wish them gone.
8. Yes, it seems dangerous, but rooting out the evil is even more dangerous. There is a place where we should root out the evil—and that is in our own hearts. There is a place where we should judge—and that is in our own lives. Are we following God’s commands. Are we striving for the good. You see, our hearts are like fields, too, with good things and bad things planted. St. Paul told the Corinthians, “Let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles flesh and spirit as we seek to bring sanctification to its goal in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). The writer of Hebrews said, “Let us get rid of every burden and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us run with patient endurance the race that is laid out for us” (Hebrews 12:1). It’s so much easier to judge others, them. It’s much harder to look in the mirror.
9. God will indeed judge. We say it every Sunday. “From there he will come to judge the living and the dead” (Apostles’ Creed). “We believe that you will come to be our judge.” St. Paul told the Romans, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all godlessness and wickedness.” Final judgment is his. Jesus says that as he explains his parable, “The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.” We will have no part in that kind of judgment.
10. After he describes that judgment, Jesus says, “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Doesn’t that sound a lot like something else Jesus said, not about judgment, but about Christians living in the world? “Let your light shine in people’s presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Be a light in the darkness. Hate and anger are really the way of the world, the way of darkness. When you see evil in the world, think of God’s grace to you. By his grace, you have come to know your maker, his goodness and mercy, his love that set out to save you by sending Jesus Christ to bear your sin and make you a child of God. The desire to judge often comes from a sense of self-righteousness. We forget that our righteousness is something given to us. God didn’t give us what we deserved. He was patient, and gave us time to come to him. He reached out to us and called us with his gospel. Peter writes, “The Lord is not slow to do what he promised, as some consider slowness. Instead, he is patient for your sakes, not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
11. God is doing his work. St. Paul wrote, “Do not take revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay,” says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). God has his plan. God is dealing with evil in his way—and if it seems that he’s not dealing with it harsh enough or quick enough, remember that he is God. When Jesus walked the earth, the plan was a gracious plan. “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17). While the earth stands, his plan is a gracious plan, too. As he gives everyone time, he is showing his grace, too.

Amen. Matthew 13:24–30,36–43 ²⁴Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. ²⁷“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ²⁸“ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ²⁹“ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ” ³⁶Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” ³⁷He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. ⁴⁰“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴²They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.