Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

The classic story of course is of the young gardener, an apprentice, learning what it is to garden, the importance of caring for the plants. Playing in the dirt takes on a whole new meaning a whole new significance in the presence of a master. When it comes time to weed of course the apprentice shows great desire to be helpful. The explanations are carefully and patiently given. The good plants are pointed out, perhaps even named by the master gardener. What they will become, what they will bear one day is explained. The learning apprentice a child maybe or a grandchild listens most attentively, struggling to take in the wonder of these small green plants which have appeared from the small dry things which were placed in the soil not so long ago. This small green things which will one day produce delicious foods which will be prepared and served. It is a wonder. It is a marvel. Patience is required for the miracle does not happen all at once. When is a very frequent question. When will we see it grow? When will it make the food? When will it be big enough to eat?

Questions, so many questions, all lovingly and patiently answered for the wisdom of the garden, the ways of plants must be passed on to the next generation. Then the weeding begins. The question of course is inevitable. The action has probably been done by every apprentice gardener who learned the ways of plants. Standing there proudly holding a small green thing which is recognized as something of value by the master the apprentice asks, “Is this a weed?” “No, that is one of the good plants.” “Should I put it back?” “That would be good.”

As the apprentice ponders the state of the garden and all of the growth which is to be found there another question forms and is asked. “We planted the good plants right?” “Yes, we did and you were a big help.” “Well then who planted all these weeds?”

This is a great parable. Anyone who has ever tried to grow specific things knows about weeds. Anybody who has ever tried to keep a garden or a yard or some sort of landscaping the way you want it also knows full well about weeds. You also know full well that depending on the size of the plant you might not be sure if it is something you want to keep or something you want to pull up.

Remember of course that this parable comes right after Jesus tells the parable we heard last week, the parable of the sower and the seed and the four types of soil. The seed which has been scattered has taken root and is starting to grow. It has found good soil. The problem is the enemy. In with the good plants growing from the good seeds which were sown are the weeds.The enemy has sown weeds right there amongst the good plants. About this parable, first of all notice that the enemy does not root out that which is growing. That is not something the enemy can do. The seed planted, the word planted in the preceding parable is still there. It is still growing as the word of God will do. That is its power. That is its truth. The word of God is mighty and powerful and life shaping and life changing and life creating.

Out in front of my house I have a space where I have been planting wild flowers. I have not tended to it very well for the last couple of years. It was necessary to dig up a whole lot of grass which had grown in there. There were also some coneflowers and maybe some asters in there as well. The difficulty of course was trying to root out all of the grass when there were plants in there which I wanted to save. As I said it had not been tended too very well for a bit too long and the grass had done its work and there was a really strong network of roots. I am afraid that more than one of the plants I was trying to spare were uprooted in the process. The thing is it was very easy to distinguish between the flowers and the grass. Still it was not at all easy to uproot only the grass. I am not sure if a more skilled gardener would have been able to do a better job or not.

Wheat or tares, which is it? Wheat or weeds? Is it something which will give and bless and promote the life, the health and well being of others? Or is it a weed which will choke off the good, choke out the good and get in the way of the good being what it should be? If I set out to pull up that which I see as weeds what damage might that do? Do you know any tares? Do you know any weeds? Are there those in your world that you would just love to rip out of the ground, cast into some nice toasty furnace somewhere? It sure is tempting some days isn't it? You hear someone spouting off about something which according to your considered opinion is absolutely and completely wrong. Wouldn't it be nice to just be able to get rid of them?

Have you ever wondered how many people think the same thing about you? Causes of sin and evildoers is how the planting of the evil one is described. Now I know Jesus talks about the parable in terms of people, but I also know the truth that this parable is true about me on a personal level as well. Oh my there are some weeds in there which take mighty deep root and grow really really well. A doer of evil, yeah unfortunately that can describe me at times. A cause of sin, I am afraid that also might be an apt description. I suspect that there are those who would think that it would be better for me to be uprooted for things which I have said or for things which I have not said. Blessed be our God who will make that decision when the day comes and blessed be our God who is merciful and full of compassion. I'm going to need it.

That is exactly the truth which Jesus is giving to us in the parable. Let's see, what were those verses back in chapter 7, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.” Oh my, that judging, that deciding, that knowing sure and certain what should happen to the other is not mine to decide. I know that is a good thing. I know the truth of what would happen were I to be the one who was to judge. What if I were the one who was intent on uprooting those plants which I saw as from the evil one? Using violence to uproot would not be the way of the Christ. It would be a denial of who Jesus is, of the message he taught, of the life he lived. The church has done some of the worst things in history when it was using violence to uproot what it saw as evil. Great has the damage been done by the church in the name of uprooting evil.

What if I were the one who was intent on uprooting those plants which I saw as being from the evil one? It would not be good. It would not be pretty. I realized a while ago when I was reading an essay about the death of a theologian, a death which came far too early. Rachel Held Evans was a controversial author. Many loved and deeply appreciated her work. Others thought she was a tool of the devil. They knew exactly where she would be going after her death, what sort of judgement awaited her.

What struck me as a I was reading that essay was the truth that we are not so very far from that first sin far all too often. You remember the first sin, Adam and Eve in the garden. The tempter comes and offers them the opportunity to know good from evil, to be like God. The offer is accepted and we have been struggling with the consequences ever since. The desire to be like God, the one who is the judge, when we as humans want to assume that role are we not once again guilty of that first sin, that desire to be like God, or even the desire to be God?

During the current crisis you have probably heard as many pronouncements as I have about who is doing what and whether or not they should be. You have heard as many pronouncements about what should or should not be done in order to help our country move forward and control the outbreak of this virus. It saddens and frustrates me when the focus is more about me than about caring for the neighbor. The good seed are the children of the kingdom. God's kingdom is about service. God's kingdom is about caring for the neighbor. Jesus was really pretty clear about that with the stories he told and the words he taught. I think that is what it means to be good seed growing well into good plants that will produce an abundant harvest. We grow and bear fruit in order to bless the neighbor, to care for the neighbor.

When there is struggle and hardship in our world, then is the body of Christ to love and serve and produce an abundant harvest. When there is strife and injustice in our world, then is the body of Christ to stand with the oppressed and bear witness to what the will of God is. The day of judgement will come. God is in charge and that is a very good thing. Evil must be dealt with, far better for it to be our God who deals with it. We know our God is a god who loves and forgives. Our God is a god who cares for all of creation. The day of judgement will come, until then let us grow well and bear much fruit.