Jesus brings us back to farming again. He again gives us a head scratcher. Leaving weeds in the ground for us would mean for us that it would choke out the vegetables and/or flowers. This is where most of our experience is in farming.
Jesus uses wheat which is probably not somethings most of us have planted. We were informed in our Bible study this past week that what Jesus is talking about with wheat is actually how it works. The roots of the wheat and the weeds intertwine and if you pull out the weeds, the wheat will come out also.
What we have here is Jesus telling those gathered that the kingdom and life in general is a bit complicated. It is so easy to get distracted into the complexity of life. What is healthy for me, may not be healthy for you. It is sometimes difficult to see where God is at work and where God isn’t at work.
This is where it is so easy, as we are figuring this out to start getting off course and pointing fingers. It would be so much easier if all Christians interpreted the Bible in the same way. Unfortunately, we don’t. We would like to tell everyone how they are supposed to interpret the Bible, but that does not work.
We know that as a gay person I am loved and accepted here. I know the love part may take a while. We also know that I would not be welcome and affirmed in every church. Or at least I would be told who I was supposed to be and how I was to act.
I like contemporary music with boundary lines. The majority of contemporary music in the past was mainly done in more law-oriented churches. I always felt a little uncomfortable even before I realized who God made me to be. Of course, this has been the case in many Lutheran churches that I have been in also. This is the first church that I feel that I can be who God made me to be.
I could easily say all of the other churches must be where the weedy people are. Jesus says no I am present in those churches too. In reality, Jesus says the wheat and weeds are in all churches. There is justice and injustice in all churches as they are made up of human beings.
We all have different views and ways of interpreting what God says about who we are and how to live in the kingdom. As human beings we may think and feel that we have the right answers and do the right thing, but it may still harm people. It really becomes a fine line sometimes.
It becomes frustrating when we see things said and done that harm others. For me it becomes power and control over others. It was one thing to share how we feel and think, it is another thing to exert power and control over another.
The question becomes, is it better for the community or our individual view. As Christians, we can easily say right away say that God is very clear and wants something this way. My first response is where did you learn that and have you studied the original language?
I’m not sure that this is really what this Gospel lesson is about. Jesus is saying, I am asking you to work alongside people as you are able to. It is one thing to have a discussion, it is another thing not to listen because we have all the right answers. People of God, the more that we study the Word, the more that we find out that we don’t have all of the answers.
It would be so much easier if we could get all of this separation done between the wheat and the weeds, those that think the way we do and those that don’t. Jesus reminds us in our Gospel lesson for today that we are in this tension or struggle until the day we die. As Christians who try and lean more toward the Gospel than the law are challenged by Jesus today to focus on what comes at the end.
Jesus continues to remind us that we are not the judges and specifically in our Gospel lesson today it is not our responsibility to decide who are the weeds. The ones who are the children of the evil one. Jesus says we are called to live and work together until the harvest.
I believe that what can keep us focused on the hope that we claim in Jesus Christ’s forgiveness, salvation and new life, is when we focus on the fact that we are still students of the Gospel. Jesus says earlier in Matthew in the sermon on the mount, Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. It is when we attempt to have power and control over others that we lose sight of the kingdom of God.
The Psalmist today, which we believe to be David, prays: Teach me your way God, so that I may walk with you alone. We are reminded that God constantly loves us and lifts us up out of our low and alone places. This puts us in the same boat as everyone else.
We are called to find places to connect with all people that are open to it especially when reaching out to those on the margins. Other Christians may not be able to come to this place and that is not our responsibility. We again are only responsibility for where our focus is.
Jesus reminds us today that following him and living in his kingdom is not easy. Culture and society teaches that we should do the weeding out of people that do not think the way we do quickly. Kingdom living says no it is not our responsibility as Christians to do this.
It is important to state how we interpret what Jesus is saying about kingdom living, but also be willing to listen to those who are willing to listen. This does not mean that we are called to be disrespected. Boundary lines do have to be drawn and stated.
When one attends Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos, Jesus love is interpreted in our welcoming statement. This will not change, and it is up to individuals whether they choose to attend and participate. If you disagree with the welcoming statement you are still welcome here, but this is how we interpret Jesus’ love for all.
Our challenge is to realize that there will always be people who disagree with how we interpret Jesus teaching on kingdom living and God loves them too. I believe we are challenged to keep looking forward and be willing to be taught by Jesus through our study of the Word.
We are called to focus on the hope that we have in Jesus’ forgiveness, salvation, and new life that we begin to experience here and is completed when we leave this earth. JB Phillips paraphrases vs. 19 in our Romans text today-
18-21 In my opinion whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has planned for us. The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the people of God coming into their own. The world of creation cannot as yet see reality, not because it chooses to be blind, but because in God’s purpose it has been so limited—yet it has been given hope. And the hope is that in the end the whole of created life will be rescued from the tyranny of change and decay and have its share in that magnificent liberty which can only belong to the children of God!
Our challenge is to keep looking forward, to have the hope of what is to come. This is what will help us not get bogged down in all of the complexities of life. Remain students of the Word and realize that we are still learning how to live on earth in this kingdom.