Sermon on the "Wheat Among the Weeds", Matthew 13:24-43

This past Sunday, July 30th, the sermon was over the Parable of the "Wheat and the Tares" also called the "Wheat Among the Weeds".  It was a fitting bit of scripture to follow the sermon which I gave on the 23rd, as it drove home the message of remaining in association with those who disagree or even are in contention with you.

The bottom line is that we are all called to live our lives here on this side of the veil in fellowship and cohabitation with the 'weeds'.  We are not to try and carve out a nice comfortable space where everyone is in perfect accord and thinks and believes as we do.

If I were to chastise the church today, especially mainline denominations, it would be concerning the trend towards ostracizing those voices that are in disagreement.  But, this trend is all too present in the more Fundamentalist denominations as well, it seems that whether it be the right or it be the left, we have lost the ability to have calm and reasoned conversations and disagreements. 

The parable of the 'Wheat and the Tares' is a story of being 'non-judgemental'.  It is not up to us to judge the weeds of this world, in fact, who among us has not been... and still is at times a weed in God's garden?  In ripping up those perceived as 'weeds', we will all too often rip up those that are, or will eventually be 'wheat'.  God has the capacity to change hearts, minds, and souls.  God can and will turn the weeds into wheat.  Besides, far too many of us regard ourselves as 'wheat' and any that disagree with us as 'weeds', and those we disagree with believe themselves to be 'wheat' and we to be 'weeds'... who judges rightly?  Let's just live and learn together and not pass judgment upon our neighbor, for judgment is reserved for God and not for any mortal man.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Love,
Roy

Matthew 13:24-43  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
The Parable of Weeds among the Wheat
24 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27 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?’ 28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 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.’”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

The Parable of the Yeast
33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with[a] three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

The Use of Parables
34 Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. 35 This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:[b]
“I will open my mouth to speak in parables;
 I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”[c]

Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds
36 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.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears[d] listen!
Footnotes:
a) Matthew 13:33 Gk hid in
b) Matthew 13:35 Other ancient authorities read the prophet Isaiah
c) Matthew 13:35 Other ancient authorities lack of the world
d) Matthew 13:43 Other ancient authorities add to hear