What’s Growing in Your Garden?

How many of you here this morning have a garden? Maybe a vegetable garden or maybe even a flower garden. People grow gardens for different reasons, but I suspect the majority of the gardeners do it just to watch them grow. My father is a good example of that. He plants one every year, has for as long as I can remember, but he actually eats very few vegetables he grows. Most of them he gives to friends and family. I personally haven’t had a garden since I left home. I had my fill of gardening when I was younger. I was once asked why I didn’t have one and the best way I knew to answer that question was that until I was about 15 or 16 years old I thought my name was “Go work the garden”. You see my father thinks a garden needs to be worked every day.

Today’s reading from Matthew involves a parable. Why did Jesus use parables, why not just tell the people what they needed to heat straight out? Over one third of the New Testament is composed of parables and if Jesus used them so frequently one can be assured it was an effective way to teach. When we read the stories that Jesus told we are linked to him. They paint word pictures that are embedded in our thoughts and start our imaginations working. Through the parables we can see the world in which Jesus lived, as well as see situations as Jesus saw them in his own mind. We can see how he could take every day events and turn them into lessons for living in the kingdom of God.

In today’s parable Jesus says the Kingdom of God is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while he was sleeping his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat then went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads the weeds also appeared. Now we need to stop here for just a minute. It may be hard for us to understand this parable if we look at it in today’s context. Wheat farmers today have hundreds of acres in one field and all the planting and harvesting is done with machinery. Prior to planting chemicals can be sprayed to prevent weeds, and if they do come up with the crop, there are selective chemicals that can control them without damaging the wheat crop. At the time Jesus was telling this parable he is talking about a small country, Palestine, where farm land was scarce, people sowed and reaped their crop by hand from small tracks.  In Jesus’ day there was also a well know weed that was poisonous and looked so much like wheat that it was actually called “the perverted wheat”. Jesus’ audience knew about the weed and could easily see how someone’s enemy could destroy their crop of wheat by sowing the perverted wheat seeds. 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? The enemy did this he replied. The servants asked him, “Do you want us to go and pull them up? No, he answered, “Because while you are pulling the weeds you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters to first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.

A while latter the disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field”. Jesus does so by saying the one who sowed the good seed is the son of man. The field is the world and the good seed stand for the sons of the kingdom. The harvest is the end of the age and the harvesters are angels. As weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 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. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears let him hear.

Now that was a mouth full. You can’t help but admire Jesus at this point. Here he comes along and starts talking about this Kingdom of God. A Kingdom where evil will be defeated, and everyone gets excited. They will finally be rid of the Roman yoke that had been around their necks, Israel will be back on the top of the mountain where they can be a shining light for the world to see. But Jesus throws them a curve ball. He tells them that the Kingdom is coming into power but just not in the way they were expecting, but when we think about it nothing about Jesus was what people expected. They may not have realized it, just as we may not, but Jesus had given them three distinct issues that everyone has to deal with.

First, there is the simple fact that good and evil are real and will be encountered and must be dealt with. There is an enemy working against us. This may not have been the primary reason for this parable, but it’s such a part of the parable we can’t ignore it. We know this because Jesus knew this and he never stopped warning us.

Years ago the only way to go to Europe was to travel the ocean. A preacher was traveling across the ocean to a family gathering. After he boarded the ship he learned he was sharing a room with another traveler and judging by his appearance the preacher decided he might not be the best room mate, he just didn’t look very trusting. So the preacher went up to the purser’s desk and asked if he could have his gold watch and other valuables locked in the ship’s safe. The purser politely told him that was no problem and he would be happy to do this for him. I understand said the purser, the other gentleman in you cabin was up here earlier and asked the same question. You see sometimes we are not quite as good as we think we are when it comes to judging others.

The second thing we learn form this parable is there is imperfection in our world and we must learn to live with it. I read once that churches can be put into two distinct groups. The first one is where the church is composed of a group of people called out by God, and because God has called us to be his people we are to be pure in both doctrine and morality. Often times the emphasis is put on doctrine. Preachers have said that if you are in a church that does not promote pure doctrine get out as fast as you can. The problem becomes who decides what doctrine is pure. I wonder what God will do with the all those Methodist Churches, Baptist Churches, Catholic Churches, or even worse those Buddhist, or even those Muslims? Doctrine is important, and any church should strive to keep their doctrine pure, but one can’t help but to remember that in Jesus’ day the Pharisees were the ones to determine doctrine, they were the ones to decide if it was in line with Gods law, but some of the biggest confrontations Jesus had was with the Pharisees.

The second group would be where the church focuses on morality. They won’t marry people who have been divorced, they won’t allow people to attend if they are gay, they don’t want that raggedy drug addict or alcoholic sitting next to them, and that fellow who just got out of prison, well we really don’t have to worry about him because in less than six months he will be back in. Just as doctrine is important so is morality. But I suggest to you this morning that we need to add a third group to this list. That would be where the church focuses on not necessarily being a gathering place for saints, but rather a healing place for sinners. These churches would preach sound and pure doctrine, have belief in a moral structure, but also put emphasis on salvation and the Grace of God. They would see their mission to ensure spiritual growth of people, so all would understand the gift of salvation and the Lordship of Christ. The Church and Christians are to serve as a spiritual and moral beacon, but at the same time to do so without sacrificing our ministry of love and redemption just so we will have a body of true believers. We wouldn’t destroy the wheat that is trying to grow by pulling up the weeds.

The third thing we learn from today’s parable is probably the main issue. How do we get rid of evil without harming the good? Both the master and the servants in the parable wanted to get rid of evil. Jesus wants to rid both our hearts and the world of evil, and as his followers we should have the same goal. But we must be careful and follow the example he sets for us today which is first to be patient, give people time to learn, grow in Christ, or to change. It truly does happen and honestly where would each one of us be today if God had not been patient with us. Next we can replace sin in our own lives with love and goodness. Then we will have the needed weapons to help rid sin from others and the rest of the world.

So how do we get rid of evil without destroying good, leave it alone until the harvest, that’s what Jesus said. That harvest will be in Gods time not ours, it will be in Gods wisdom not ours, and it will be in Gods hands alone, not ours.

There is an old thanksgiving hymn that is based on this parable, listen to the words:

All the world is Gods own field--- Fruit unto his praise to yield---Wheat and tares together sown---Unto joy or sorrow grown---First the blade and then the ear---Then the full corn shall appear---Lord of harvest grant that we---Wholesome grain and pure may be---For the Lord our God shall come---and shall take his harvest home---From his field shall in that day---All offenses purge away---Give his angles charge at last---In the fire the tares to cast---But the fruitful ears to store---In his garner evermore.

When I look at my own life I often have trouble telling the difference between the weeds and the wheat, good and evil. When I look at the world around me it’s the same thing. But friends I have come to realize that is because we are both, at times we are weeds and at times we are wheat, at times we are good and at times we sin, that is why in Gods grace he is so patient, and doesn’t just pluck up the weed when he first sees it. He may be looking at us on one of those weed days, then where would we be. So how do we get rid of the evil without harming the good, leave it alone until the harvest. Jesus said that he is the sower and the field is the world. And if Jesus takes the time to sow the crop he will take the time to tend to the fields, he always has and always will, not just the wheat plants but the weeds as well. Jesus will always be there for his children, both good and evil. One day the harvest will come, it must come and it is up to us if we will be ready. So today what is growing in each of our gardens? Are we consistent with our faith, do we live out what Jesus has shown us in his life, Do we stop being a follower of Jesus when we leave the church and start again next Sunday at the same time? Or does being a Christian do something to us our entire life, 24 hours a day every day? Each of us must judge for ourselves, we are the only ones on this earth that knows what is actually in the corner of our minds and hearts. So how do we get rid of evil without destroying good, leave it alone. Show the same patience that God has shown us, and never give up on the weeds because it is never too late for God to change them. And lastly let God tend to the harvest in his own time. If we could master those few things then we could sing the last verses of that old hymn, listen to the rest of the words:

Even so Lord quickly come---Bring thy final harvest home---Gather thou people in---Free from sorrow free from sin---There forever purified---In thy presence to abide---Come with all thy angles come---Raise the glorious harvest home…

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – A-Men