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July 17, 2005
To Sort or Not to Sort
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Before we begin let's take a poll. That's the way we do things nowadays. I need to be sure of my audience. I think I'm supposed to say what the audience needs to hear. Or is it I need to say what the audience wants to hear? Oh, well, we'll work that out. Let's go on.
Let me see hands of all the wheat, all of you who grew up from good seeds. Now let me see hands of all those who are weeds, who've grown up from whatever the devil planted. Next, let me see hands of all those who are angels. Maybe I caught you by surprise. Let's review.
Remember, now: the wheat is from the good seed. The weeds are from seed broadcast by the evil one. The angels are the ones who get to separate the weeds and the wheat at the right time. Think about it for a minute or so.
OK, let's try again. You who grew up from the good seeds. Let's see those hands again. Maybe I miscounted. OK, thanks. Go ahead, put your hands down. Now, once more, let's get a count on everyone who popped up from what the evil one sowed. Keep you hands up. I thought I might have missed a few. Go ahead, put your hands down. Now let's get the angel count again. For some reason, you angels are the hardest to get right.
This is going to be more involved than I thought. Let's go at it this way. Look at the people here in worship this morning. Hold up your hand if you think you see some weeds out there. Next, hold up you hand if you think you see some sprouted from good seed. Last, let's see how many of you are able to spot the angels in our midst. Now that's done, do you think the angels ought to get to work? Look out weeds. The wheat can start to feel pretty good about itself and it's prospects?
OK. Thanks. I think I know what I'm dealing with. I really appreciate your help. I'm just not very good at picking out the weeds from the wheat, or figuring out angels. I guess I should envy people who are able to pick out the good from the bad. It must be a gift. I don't' seem to have it. Don't get me wrong. I think there are bad people in the world. I think I know some of them. I could name names. But I'm not in a position to pluck them out. I might be tempted to try if I were, but I'm not. I just have to learn to live with them for the most part.
Some people have not only the gift of telling the good from the bad, they can also spot angels. I've heard of people who can not only tell clearly who are the good people and who are the bad people, but who can also see whole empires of evil people, and whole realms of good people. And since they can they set about trying to pull up the weeds. If we don't pull up the weeds there, we'll have to pull them out of the cracks of our sidewalks. Maybe people who do that think they're some kind of angel, an avenging angel.
Notice now, the Lord does not take the position that weeds and wheat are neither better nor worse than the other, just different. Not better or worse, just different. As moral postures go, that's pretty spineless and have trouble staying upright. It's just our way of dealing with conflict, or, rather, of not really dealing with it. The Lord does recognize that there are bad actors. And know some have had the word take root in them. Some things are better and some things are worse. And they are different.
Some hold that a weed is just something that's in the wrong place. At our house in Topeka, I see these leafy vine-like things running through the grass. They have the prettiest blue flower. I look forward to them every spring. Judy, my wife, tells me they're weeds. That's her. And that's me. One person's flower is another's weed.
I've known churches and pastors that didn't get on. Some members of the congregation despised the pastor. The pastor went to a different congregation, did fine and was beloved. A weed in one setting may be a lovely plant in another.
I've got people in my life who are sure I'm the worst kind of weed. You probably do, too. I'm too this or too that. I'm not this, and I'm not the other. Still others, to my constant amazement, tell me I've got gifts and talents. I think they may both be right. Some times, in some places, I am doubtless out of place, a weed. In others, I'm good wheat.
But Jesus is not talking about things that can be transplanted and be OK. He's talking about the good and the bad side by side. This is part of the way things are with us. It's the way we've gone.
The mix of weeds and wheat is not an abstract issue. The United States is the "great Satan." That's the view expressed by some Islamic religious leaders and a view apparently embraced by some terrorists. They're blowing up evil. They also kill a lot of innocent bystanders. When our military forces try to root out insurgents, innocent civilians get killed, too. When you explode bombs on those you believe are the bad guys, innocent people get killed, along with them. "Collateral damage" some people call it. There must be a better name for that kind of thing, or worse.
Pretty scandalous of Jesus to tell disciples to leave clearing out the weeds to the angels. Some may even believe what he says is dangerous thinking. Still, there he is, telling disciples not to follow their impulse to pull up the weeds, lest they also rip out some of the wheat. Meanwhile we live side by side until the Lord's angels take care of things.
Who are these angels? I guess I'd like to be an angel. Wouldn't it be something to have the vision and power to uproot what's bad? But I'm not and I don't. Is that what our elections are about: picking out the angels among us? Angels? Is that the way we think of our elected officials? I don't think so.
Of course, in Matthew's story, it's the Lord who sends the angels. How do we tell whether those who start weeding the wheat field are angels sent by the Lord, or people you and I have sent on that errand, or self-appointed people who are so sure of their ability to tell the good from the bad?
We're no angels. Rooting out evil is not what we do best. Remember earlier how hard a lot of us found it to say whether we were weeds or wheat or angels? We weren't even all that good in telling if others here this morning might be one or the other. When the time does come, when" the weeds are collected and burned up with fire," and "so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen! (Mt. 13:40-43, NRSV)
Maybe your experience is something like mine. Some days I feel like an utter weed. Others like I've been touched by God's word and something is growing in me. I've known people God has transformed into angels-angels of mercy, angels bearing a good word, angels who serve those with the greatest needs and the least likelihood of having them met. If we have to live with evil, we don't have to come to terms with it. We can recognize it for what it is, challenge it as we're able, seek justice despite the worst it can do, and trust the Lord to redeem the times.
So, what if we just let the Lord's judgment stand? What is we wait on the angels? What if we hope we don't get burned? And, better still, dare we hope to be among those who "shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father"?
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First Presbyterian
Church of Cedar Rapids
310 Fifth Street SE Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
Phone: 319-364-6148
E-mail: church@fpccr.org
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