Weeds Among Wheat

I don't think anybody particularly enjoys waiting.

! But the one that brings the worst out in me is waiting on the phone.

! And what I mean by that is when you phone up a big company or organization

! and you greet it not by a person but by a machine

and they tell you that you will be spoke, you can speak to somebody soon

but you get passed from person to person and some music kicks in to entertain you

and to keep your day happy and alive and every now and then one of those voices

kind of kicks in and says your call is important to us.

Maybe laugh, there was a meme I came across recently where he said

your call is important to us, please stay on the line until your call is no longer important to you.

But there is a very serious type of waiting.

A deadly serious type of waiting and that's the type of waiting

which knows about suffering or injustice.

An agonizing wait perhaps for something that might be a very heartbreaking situation.

A very stressful situation.

Perhaps the type of waiting that knows the reality of opposition over and over again.

That's the type of waiting that causes biblical writers to cry out how long, oh Lord.

Those sort of times when we just wait and wait and wait and we just long for God to step in

and do something.

If that's you, if that summarizes you in any remote sort of kind of way,

be assured and encouraged that this parable that Jesus gives us speaks directly into that experience of waiting.

How so?

Well, because when Jesus gives us this parable,

he's saying to us that when you experience those things,

that experience of waiting,

don't be surprised when there's opposition.

Don't be surprised by the agony of the wait.

Don't be surprised when something stirs within your heart that calls out,

when, oh Lord, is this going to change?

Don't be surprised when the weeds of opposition and pain wrap around the wheat of the good things in life.

And whilst that itself does not accelerate the experience of waiting,

whilst it doesn't in itself change the reality,

the very fact that Jesus taught us specifically that we are to expect to wait,

and we expect the reality of the weeds in our lives,

it changes the way we see things and we experience them.

And let's just over these few minutes,

just dip into this parable and just ask ourselves a little bit more about what it might be saying to us.

Jesus says, imagine a field of good soil and a good seed which presents good wheat is sown.

It reminds us that God actually wants life to be blessed.

That life itself is good.

That the world is good because it is God's creation.

And that God wants you and me to live full, happy lives.

But as the story goes on, he says,

the enemy comes along and plants the seeds of weeds in among the good seeds.

And so they grow up.

When Jesus gives us this image,

he is bringing us back to a very basic but vitally important worldview.

It's this.

That when we look at our lives and we see the sense of wanting the good,

but yet experiencing the bad,

don't be surprised.

Because there is the reality of good and evil in the world.

We don't live in a spiritual vacuum.

Life has this spiritual dimension and it has good spirit,

but there is also opposition.

There is the enemy.

There is the devil.

There are the powers of darkness.

And scripture provides us with this worldview,

this lens through which we are to see reality,

which presents it as a battle between the principalities and powers.

The forces of good, the kingdom of God,

the kingdom of light and all that is good,

that God intends for his creation and which ultimately will come to pass.

But the forces of opposition that will go to battle with those things.

That when there is good,

we can expect there to be opposition.

Because of the enemy.

And it's important that we grasp that

because it means that when things go wrong,

when we face opposition,

when we face pain,

it's not that there's something wrong with you.

It's not that there's something weird or strange or different or quirky about you.

It's not that God doesn't love you.

It's not that God doesn't care about you

or that he's ignoring you

because Jesus says that this is how you are to expect life to be.

And the reality is,

is that wherever we see that there is goodness in life,

we will find that there are weeds that grow up around that goodness.

Weeds get sown in all sorts of places.

Weeds get sown into marriages and families,

into neighbourhoods, into schools,

into workplaces and organisations and governments.

Every single person on the planet

seeks the good in life.

We all seek blessings.

But as Bishop Sandy Miller once put it,

no blessing goes uncontested.

Whenever you seek blessing in life,

expect it to be contested.

I can guarantee there is not a single person

in this room right now

who doesn't want some kind of blessing.

That might be over a health issue.

It might be over a relationship issue

in family or friends.

It might be a work-related issue.

It might be seeking peace of mind.

It might be financial freedom,

whatever it may be.

We all seek blessing.

And when we look at life,

it probably is a mixture of blessing

and battle and opposition.

And so we're brought back to this image

of good seed, good wheat, good plants

representing that which is good,

which God intends for us,

but entwined with weeds of opposition

that would seem to threaten

and thwart the blessing.

No blessing goes uncontested.

Indeed, the greater the blessing,

the greater the anointing,

perhaps expect more and more opposition.

It's no accident that whenever Christians

and groups of Christians,

individual Christians and churches

and Christian organisations

set out to do good things,

there will be opposition.

Because it's a fact of this period

between Jesus' inauguration of the kingdom

and his coming again.

And indeed, we can expect

that the more we seek out

to bless others

and to bring blessing

into other people's lives,

the more we can expect

that kind of opposition.

No more clearly do we see this

illustrated in the life of Jesus himself,

who is God's ultimate blessing to us.

You cannot see more blessing

than in the life of Jesus

when God comes to us

in human form.

He makes his dwelling among us

in human flesh.

And yet he's crucified.

No blessing ever goes uncontested.

And it's important

that we hold fast to that

because when we find ourselves

in the midst of the waiting,

when our prayers are some form of,

when, O Lord,

when, O Lord,

will you change this?

Lord, will your kingdom come?

Will your will be done

on earth in heaven?

Lord, set us free.

When, Lord, will this change?

When our prayers resonate with that,

don't be surprised

that there's opposition

because the weeds are reality.

The weeds are a fact of life

that Jesus said would be there.

Now that may not take the weeds away

straight away,

but the fact that we know

that Jesus told us

that that is what we should expect,

perhaps,

just perhaps,

may encourage us.

One of the reasons

why I find the Christian gospel

and all its claims so compelling

is because it doesn't try to pretend

that certain realities aren't there.

Rather, it engages with them.

Yes, there is suffering.

Yes, there is pain.

Yes, there are weeds.

But that's not the ultimate reality.

We'll come to that in a moment.

But first, let's just consider something

I think that's quite important here

that Jesus says about these weeds.

And it's this,

that not everyone can tell the difference

between the wheat and the weeds.

Let me say that again.

Not everyone,

when we look at the whole of the world

and human society and culture,

not everybody can discern the difference

between the wheat and the weeds,

between right and wrong,

between the powers of good

and the powers of darkness.

Commentators are pretty much agreed

that when Jesus was talking about the weeds,

he wasn't just talking about

just a slightly annoying plant.

He was talking about

a very specific type of weed

which contemporary farmers

in the day of Jesus

would have known all about.

A species called the bearded darnel.

Two interesting things

about the bearded darnel.

Firstly, it was toxic.

Poisonous.

If you ate it,

you would die.

The second thing

about the bearded darnel

is that in its early stages of growth,

it was virtually indistinguishable

from wheat.

So you've got this picture

of wheat and weeds,

but it's not just weeds.

It's the threat

to destroy the wheat.

It's two things

that one is good for you

and life's sustaining.

The other will kill you.

And yet,

they're virtually indistinguishable

to the naked eye,

at least in the early stages of growth.

We live in a culture

that for much of the time,

that wider culture,

will look at the same realities

as those who are followers of Jesus

and will be able to discern

that which is good

from that which is bad.

Perhaps most of the time,

our wider culture can do that.

But not always.

And thus,

we should not be surprised

if we take this parable seriously.

when we find those times

when our own culture,

our wider society,

cannot differentiate

between the things

that are good

and life-giving

and that are sanctioned by God

and those things

that are the very opposite.

And our task as Christians

is one of discernment.

You see,

it's not always easy

because very often,

issues can make their way

into public life

which seems so plausible

that we find

that certain moral values

become normalised

because they have become legalised.

And yet,

just because something

is enshrined in law,

it does not mean

that it is morally right.

Just because

a nation

may legalise something,

it does not mean

that that which it legalises

is that which God blesses.

And yet,

the reality is

is that when things

become legalised,

so in the public psyche,

they become normalised.

We accept them.

such that with the course

of time,

certain things

that a previous generation

would have said

more widely,

no,

this just is not right.

Gradually,

they become accepted

and normalised,

even to the extent

that those things

can become normalised

within church life

and culture.

And as we look back

over the last 50 years

or so,

we see this happen

again and again

and again

within our own nation.

I'm thinking of abortion.

I'm thinking of

wider cultural attitudes

to human sexuality

and marriage.

I'm thinking about

euthanasia.

And so the list

goes on and on and on.

Wesley said,

what one generation

tolerates,

the next will embrace.

our calling

as Christians

in every generation,

each and every generation,

is to be awake

to what God is saying

is good

and that which is not.

and to be bold

and brave enough

to call it out

when it needs

to be called out.

But this parable

is a parable of hope.

And if we may find ourselves,

although we may find ourselves

in the midst

of the waking

with a sense of

somehow overwhelm

maybe at times

over what seem to be

the forces of opposition

and the forces

that can seem

to thwart

what would seem

to be God's plan

and God's will,

if in those times

in the waiting

we may be tempted

to despair,

as Jesus tells us

this parable,

remember,

the parable ends

with a promise.

The weeds won't

always be there.

That there will be

a harvest

when all that

thwarts and threatens

the goodness

of God's creation

will be rooted out.

and separated

and all will be made new.

That's important

because the promise

that the wait

won't be forever,

the promise

that the kingdom

is coming,

that hope

and that expectation

makes all the difference

because it means

that in the waiting

God is to be found.

One last story.

There's a story

about a boy

who was in hospital.

The hospital

had an educational

program.

Tutors would come in,

they would liaise

with local schools

and they would help

children that were

in hospital

with their education

whilst they were

out of school

during their stay

in hospital.

There was one

particular boy

he'd been very ill

indeed.

This tutor

who had never

met him

had met with

one of his

teachers

who said

could you

when you go in

spend a good

amount of time

going through

nouns

and adverbs

because he needs

to do it

and I'm worried

he's going to

fall behind.

Well the tutor

went in

and when she saw

this boy

in this ward

she was shocked.

he looked so ill

he looked so

despairing

and she thought

how on earth

am I going to

teach a lesson

on nouns

and adverbs

here in this

situation

it just doesn't

feel appropriate

but she had

her instructions

so she did

and she found

it a really

distressing

experience

trying to go

through the

differences

between

nouns

and adverbs

with a boy

who just

seems so

poorly.

She left

and as she

left

she was so

dispirited

so downhearted

she went back

about a week

later

before she went

into the ward

she saw the

nurse

and the nurse

said to her

I don't know

what you did

last time you

came in

she got ready

to apologise

she said

but after you

left

that lad

turned a corner

she said

really

she said

go and see him

now

she went in

he was like

a different

different kid

and

she said

you just

seem so

much better

what's

happened

he said

this

I had

given up

all hope

until

your visit

when I

realised

that they

had sent

a teacher

to me

to go

through

nouns

and adverbs

I realised

that somebody

was expecting

me to get

better

focus on

the fact

that God

has a future

for you

not the weeds

not those

things that

cause you

to despair

the sense

of opposition

the sense

of discouragement

those things

that can cause

you to give

up hope

no

when you're

feeling

in the midst

of the wait

and you're

crying

how long

oh Lord

be reminded

of the promise

that he is

coming again

and that promise

of hope

is the promise

that there is

a future

for you

and because

we know

there is

that future

for us

God can be

found in the

waiting

let's pray

Lord

thank you

for this

story

of the

wheats

and the

weeds

and help

us

when we

find ourselves

in the midst

of the waiting

where blessing

seems to be

contested

and opposed

and when we

may feel

that sense

of overwhelm

what is

represented

by the

weeds

help us

to remember

that you

have a future

for us

and because

you have a

future for us

we may find

life in the

present

now

thank you

Lord

for the way

that this

parable

urges us

to hold

fast

to

the

reality

that

life will

not always

be as it

is now

that ultimately

there will be

a harvest

that ultimately

your kingdom

will come

in all

fullness

and there

will be

no more

suffering

Lord

in the

midst

of our

waiting

whatever

that means

and whatever

that looks

like

meet with

us

in the

power of

your

Holy Spirit

in Jesus

name

Amen