ARE YOU WHEAT, WEEDS, OR BOTH?
Matthew 13:24-30
Rev. Paul Wrightman 1/23/22
MINISTERS ARE CONSTANTLY ON THE LOOKOUT
FOR GOOD SERMON ILLUSTRATIONS,
AND OVER THE YEARS THEY TEND TO COLLECT
A MULTITUDE OF BOOKS CLAIMING TO DELIVER
THE PERFECT ILLUSTRATION FOR ANY AND EVERY OCCASION.
I AM NO EXCEPTION TO THIS PRACTICE,
AND HAVE AT LEAST A DOZEN FAT BOOKS
LOADED WITH ILLUSTRATIONS IN MY ARSENAL
OF SERMON PREPARATION RESOURCES.
BUT OVER THE LAST DOZEN YEARS OR SO –
PRECISELY THE YEARS WHEN I HAVE COME TO FOCUS
MORE AND MORE ON THE ACTUAL TEACHINGS OF JESUS –
I HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY FRUSTRATED
WITH THESE PURPORTED GOLDMINES OF ILLUSTRATIVE MATERIALS.
THEY’RE STRONG ON TOPICS CLOSE TO THE HEART OF ST. PAUL,
TOPICS LIKE FAITH VS WORKS, SIN, AND SALVATION.
BUT THEY’RE WEAK ON MANY TOPICS CLOSE TO THE HEART OF JESUS,
TOPICS LIKE JUSTICE AND PEACE, LOVE OF NEIGHBOR,
AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
AND THEY’RE DOWNRIGHT USELESS WHEN IT COMES TO ILLUSTRATING
MANY OF JESUS’ FAVORITE WAYS OF COMMUNICATING:
WAYS LIKE WONDER, IRONY, SARCASM, SURPRISE, AND PARADOX.
IF ONE WERE TO JUDGE BY THE COMPLETE LACK OF SUCH CATEGORIES
IN THE SRMON ILLUSTRATION MANUALS,
THE CHRISTIAN FAITH TRADITION SIMPLY HAS NO ROOM, NO PLACE
FOR INDIRECT MEANS OF COMMUNICATION SUCH AS THESE.
AND YET.
AND YET OUR FOUNDER, JESUS, OFTEN USED WONDER, IRONY,
SARCASM, SURPRISE, AND PARADOX IN HIS REPERTOIRE OF TEACHING
STRATEGIES, ESPECIALLY WHEN HE TAUGHT IN PARABLES.
THE CHURCH HAS TENDED TO TAME JESUS, TO DUMB JESUS DOWN,
BY REDUCING THE PARABLES TO MORALISTIC TEACHINGS
THAT CAN BE SUMMARIZED IN A SENTENCE.
INSTEAD OF ENCOURAGING US, LIKE JESUS DID, TO DWELL INSIDE
THE STORY OF A PARABLE, ALLOWING IT TO SURPRISE US
INTO UNEXPECTED UNDERSTANDING, INSTEAD OF ENCOURAGING US,
LIKE JESUS DID, TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX,
MOST CHURCHES SIMPLY OFFER THEIR CONSTITUENTS
PREDIGESTED ANSWERS TO PREDIGESTED QUESTIONS,
MODELING IN-THE-BOX THINKING, AS IF JESUS HIMSELF
WERE JUST ANOTHER TYPICAL RELIGIOUS LEGALIST
WITH ALL THE STANDARD ANSWERS.
THUS, IN REGARD TO TODAY’S PARABLE,
THAT OF THE WHEAT AND THE WEEDS,
THE STORY IS QUICKLY DECIPHERED TO TEACH THE SIMPLE POINT
THAT WE ARE NOT MEANT TO JUDGE OTHERS,
BUT LEAVE THE JUDGING TO GOD.
THAT’S A GOOD POINT AS FAR AS IT GOES,
BUT IT REALLY DOESN’T GO VERY FAR.
THAT ANSWER TENDS TO STOP FURTHER THOUGHT
BEFORE IT EVEN GETS STARTED.
LET’S TAKE A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO THIS PARABLE THIS MORNING.
INSTEAD OF TRYING TO CONDENSE IT INTO A SIMPLE SENTENCE,
LET’S EXPAND IT INTO A SUBTLE AND SURPRISING DWELLING PLACE.
LET’S APPROACH IT AS AN ATTEMPT BY JESUS
PRECISELY TO MAKE US UNCOMFORTABLE WITH SIMPLISTIC ANSWERS
AND TO PROVOKE US TO SOMETHING DEEPER.
SINCE ONE OF THE FIRST PRINCIPLES
OF AUTHENTIC BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION
IS TO USE SCRIPTURE TO INTERPRET SCRIPTURE,
TO USE THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS
TO INTERPRET THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS,
LET US BEGIN BY FINDING ANOTHER PLACE WHERE JESUS BEGINS
WITH A SEEMINGLY SIMPLISTIC SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM,
ONLY TO PULL THE RUG OUT FROM UNDER US
AND LEAVE US IN THE UNCOMFORTABLE POSITION
OF HAVING TO STAKE OUT A CLAIM
ON THE SIDE OF COMPASSION IN NEW TERRITORY.
SEVERAL SUCH PLACES OR EXAMPLES COME READILY TO MIND,
CHIEF AMONG THEM THE PARABLE OF THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS
IN THE JUDGMENT SCENE IN MATTHEW 25,
WHERE, AFTER DWELLING IN THIS STORY FOR AWHILE,
IT BECOMES PAINFULLY OBVIOUS THAT ACCORDING TO
THE STORY’S OWN CRITERIA, THAT OF HELPING OR NOT HELPING
OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN NEED,
EVERY ONE OF US IS SIMULTANEOUSLY A SHEEP AND A GOAT.
THIS IS PARALLEL TO THE EVENTUAL REALIZATION COMING FROM
TODAY’S PARABLE THAT EACH OF US IS A COMBINATION
OF WHEAT AND WEEDS.
BUT SINCE WE’RE ULTIMATELY GOING TO HAVE AN ENTIRE SERMON
ON THE PARABLE OF THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS,
I’D LIKE TO TURN TO ANOTHER TEXT, ALSO FROM JESUS,
AND ALSO FOUND IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW,
WHERE JESUS CAN BE SEEN AS PLAYING MENTAL GAMES
WITH HIS DISCIPLES TO PUSH THEM BEYOND SIMPLISTIC ANSWERS
TO COMPLICATED PROBLEMS.
I’M THINKING OF THE PLACE IN MATTHEW, CHAPTER 18,
WHERE JESUS IS DEALING WITH THE CHALLENGE
OF SINNERS IN THE CHURCH AND THE PROBLEM
OF WHAT TO DO WITH THEM.
JESUS, I SUGGEST, BEGINS HIS COMMENTS BY SETTING A TRAP,
A TRAP, WHICH, AS IS OFTEN THE CASE, HAS BEEN TAKEN
OUT OF CONTEXT BY MOST CHURCHES AND USED AS AN ANSWER.
JESUS SETS THE TRAP BY SAYING THE FOLLOWING:
“IF ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE CHURCH SINS AGAINST YOU,
GO AND POINT OUT THE FAULT WHEN THE TWO OF YOU ARE ALONE.
IF THE MEMBER LISTENS TO YOU, YOU HAVE REGAINED THAT ONE.
BUT IF YOU ARE NOT LISTENED TO,
TAKE ONE OR TWO OTHERS ALONG WITH YOU,
SO THAT EVERY WORD MAY BE CONFIRMED
BY THE EVIDENCE OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES.
IF THE MEMBER REFUSES TO LISTEN TO THEM,
TELL IT TO THE CHURCH.”
WHAT I HAVE JUST READ TO YOU IS A TRAP,
AN ARGUMENT ON THE PART OF JESUS
THAT SEEMS TO BE LEADING IN THE DIRECTION
OF ENDORSING JUDGMENT AND REJECTION
OF THOSE WHO HURT US OR DISAGREE WITH US.
THE TRAP SPRINGS IN THE VERY NEXT SENTENCE,
WHEN JESUS GOES ON TO SAY, SEEMINGLY NONCHALANTLY,
“AND IF THE OFFENDER REFUSES TO LISTEN EVEN TO THE CHURCH,
LET SUCH A ONE BE TO YOU AS A GENTILE AND A TAX COLLECTOR.”
SADLY, MOST CHURCHES AND MOST CHRISTIANS
DON’T EVEN SEE THIS AS A SPRUNG TRAP,
UNDERSTANDING “LET SUCH A ONE BE TO YOU
AS A GENTILE AND A TAX COLLECTOR”
AS PERMISSION TO WRITE SOMEONE OFF,
BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO,
AND WOULD LIKE TO HAVE JESUS’ PERMISSION TO DO
TO THOSE WHO FILL THE GENTILE AND TAX COLLECTOR
PIGEONHOLES FOR US.
BUT HOW DID JESUS HIMSELF TREAT GENTILES AND TAX COLLECTORS?
WE HAVE EXAMPLE AFTER EXAMPLE OF JESUS GOING OUT OF HIS WAY
TO TREAT THEM WITH RESPECT AND LOVE AND COMPASSION,
IF ANYTHING, GIVING THEM ADDED POSITIVE ATTENTION.
SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE ACTUALLY TAKE THE TIME
TO DWELL DEEPLY WITH THESE WORDS OF JESUS?
THEY SHOW US A VERY MISCHIEVIOUS SIDE
TO THE TEACHING OF JESUS.
WE SEE JESUS LURING US INTO THE TRAP OF THINKING THAT
JUDGMENT AND REJECTION ARE OK –
THEN SPRINGING THE TRAP AND FORCING US TO SEE
JUST HOW FAR WE ARE FROM HAVING INTERNALIZED
THE WAY-OUT-OF-THE-BOX THINKING OF JESUS
CONCERNING NOT JUST LOVE OF NEIGHBOR, BUT LOVE OF ENEMY.
AS IF TO SIMULTANEOUSLY PUSH
OUR “BOLD,” “ITALICS,” AND “UNDERLINE” BUTTONS,
JAMMING US TO ATTENTION, THE VERY NEXT EVENT IN MATTHEW 18
IS PETER’S COMING UP TO JESUS AND ASKING HIM
“LORD, IF SOMEONE SINS AGAINST ME,
HOW OFTEN SHOULD I FORGIVE? AS MANY AS SEVEN TIMES?”
JESUS SAYS TO PETER, “NOT SEVEN TIMES,
BUT SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN.”
HERE WE SEE “JESUS THE TRICKSTER” AT PLAY,
USING PARADOX AND IRONY TO LEAD US OUT OF THE BOX
AND INTO DANGEROUS NEW WAYS OF THINKING
AND DANGEROUS NEW WAYS OF BEING.
I SUSPECT THAT THIS IS PRECISELY WHAT JESUS IS UP TO
IN OUR STORY FOR TODAY, THE SO-CALLED
“PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND THE WEEDS.”
HE MAKES IT APPEAR THAT EVERYONE CAN BE LABELED
IN ONE OF ONLY TWO WAYS: WHEAT OR WEED.
BUT MOVING INTO THE TEXT, DWELLING WITHIN THE PARABLE,
MAKES US UNEASY, VERY UNEASY.
IT MAKES US UNEASY BECAUSE WE REALIZE, I REALIZE,
THAT OTHERS AREN’T SO EASILY CATEGORIZED AS “GOOD” OR “EVIL.”
IT FORCES ME TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT EVERYONE I KNOW,
VERY MUCH INCLUDING MYSELF, ARE BOTH WHEAT AND WEED,
GOOD AND BAD, SAINT AND SINNER.
IN OTHER WORDS, JESUS SETS UP AN ARBITRARY DICHOTOMY
IN THIS PARABLE IN THE HOPE THAT WE WILL
CHALLENGE IT AND MOVE BEYOND IT.
SO WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?
JESUS’ SURPRISING ANSWER IS THAT WE ARE TO HAVE PATIENCE,
NOT TO JUDGE AND NOT TO REJECT,
NOT TO JUDGE AND NOT TO REJECT EITHER OTHERS OR OURSELVES,
BUT TO LET GO AND LET GOD.
IN CLOSING, I WOULD LIKE TO TEASE OUT A BIT OF
PERSONAL APPLICATION FROM THIS PARABLE.
I SUSPECT THAT JESUS IS ASKING US TO EXTEND THE SAME
PATIENCE AND HOSPITALITY TO THE SAME PARTS OF OURSELVES
THAT HE CHALLENGES US TO EXTEND TO OTHERS
WHOM WE CONSIDER TO BE PROBLEMATIC, IF NOT DOWNRIGHT EVIL.
WE ALL HAVE CERTAIN CHARACTER FLAWS,
PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS, PHYSICAL IMPERFECTIONS,
ILLNESSES, AND QUIRKY TRAITS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO GET RID OF.
AMONG OTHER THINGS, JESUS IS TELLING US IN THIS PARABLE
THAT TRYING SO HARD TO GET RID OF THEM
IS NOT THE WAY TO IN-DEPTH HEALING AND WHOLENESS,
EITHER FOR A COMMUNITY OR FOR AN INDIVIDUAL.
LET ME TRY TO ILLUSTRATE THIS BY TELLING YOU A STORY,
A STORY NOT FROM ONE OF MY SERMON ILLUSTRATION BOOKS,
BUT A TRUE STORY FROM SOMEONE’S ACTUAL LIVED EXPERIENCE,
IN THIS CASE THE SOMEONE BEING RACHEL NAOMI REMEN, M.D.,
IN HER BOOK KITCHEN TABLE WISDOM:
SHE WRITES: “IT IS HARD TO TRUST SOMETHING YOU CANNOT SEE.
EVEN AFTER SEVEN MAJOR SURGERIES, I HAVE HAD AT TIMES
DIFFICULTY IN TRUSTING MY HEALING.
IN 1981, I DEVELOPED PERITONITIS AND SEPSIS WHEN THE SUTURES
HOLDING MY INTESTINE TOGETHER GAVE WAY A FEW DAYS AFTER
A SIX-HOUR ABDOMINAL SURGERY.
BY THE TIME THIS WAS CORRECTLY DIAGNOSED,
I HAD BECOME GRAVELY ILL.
I WAS RUSHED BACK TO THE OPERATING ROOM,
WHERE FURTHER SURGERY SAVED MY LIFE.
I REMEMBER BEING PUSHED DOWN A CORRIDOR AT A DEAD RUN,
THE LIGHTS OVERHEAD FLASHING BY,
MY SURGEON, WHO WAS ALSO MY FRIEND,
RUNNING ALONGSIDE MY GURNEY.
MEDICAL CULTURE BEING WHAT IT IS,
HE WAS TALKING TO ME ABOUT MY CASE AS IF WE WERE
TWO PHYSICIANS LUNCHING IN THE DOCTORS’ DINING ROOM,
TALKING ABOUT A MUTUAL PATIENT.
“YOU KNOW,” HE SAID CONVERSATIONALLY,
“BECAUSE OF THE INFECTION WE WILL HAVE TO CLOSE
BY PRIMARY INTENTION.”
FILLED WITH DRUGS AND VERY ILL,
I REMEMBER THINKING, “PRIMARY INTENTION.
I USED TO KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.”
THEN EVENTS ACCELERATED AND I LOST TRACK OF IT ALL.
SEVERAL HOURS LATER, I AWOKE IN THE RECOVERY ROOM
GIDDY WITH THE REALIZATION THAT I HAD ONCE AGAIN SURVIVED.
BARELY CONSCIOUS, I EXPLORED MY ADBOMEN WITH A FINGERTIP.
THERE WAS A BIG SOFT BANDAGE JUST AS BEFORE.
COMFORTED BY THE FAMILIAR, I DRIFTED OFF.
THE NEXT DAY, A NURSE APPEARED TO CHANGE MY DRESSINGS.
CHATTING COMFORTABLY, SHE PULLED BACK THE BANDAGES
AND I LOOKED DOWN EXPECTING TO SEE THE USUAL
FOURTEEN-INCH INCISION WITH ITS NEAT ROW
OF A HUNDRED OR MORE STITCHES.
INSTEAD, THERE WAS A GREAT GAPING WOUND,
AS OPEN AS ANY I’D EVER SEEN WHILE ASSISTING
IN THE OPERATING ROOM.
MY SURGEON’S WORDS CAME BACK TO ME IN A RUSH –
PRIMARY INTENTION – AND TODAY I KNEW WHAT THIS MEANT.
IN THE PRESENCE OF INFECTION THERE WOULD BE NO SUTURES.
THE PERITONEUM AND FASCIA WOULD BE CLOSED
AND THEN THE WOUND WOULD BE LEFT OPEN
TO HEAL ON ITS OWN.
DEEPLY SHOCKED, I LOOKED DOWN AT THE RUIN OF MY ABDOMEN.
SURELY THIS WAS A MORTAL WOUND.
I REMEMBER THINKING,
“THERE IS NO WAY THAT SUCH A THING CAN HEAL.”
THE NURSE CHATTED ON CHEERFULLY, UNAWARE OF MY REACTION.
TAPING THE DRESSING BACK IN PLACE, SHE LEFT THE ROOM.
THE NEXT MORNING SHE WAS BACK TO CHANGE THE DRESSING AGAIN.
THIS TIME I TURNED MY HEAD ASIDE AND WOULDN’T LOOK.
SHE SPOKE TO ME PLEASANTLY WHILE SHE PERFORMED HER TASK.
I DIDN’T ANSWER. I WAS IN DESPAIR.
FOR SEVERAL MORNINGS, WE WENT THROUGH THIS SAME ROUTINE,
SHE PULLING BACK THE BANDAGE, MURMURING ENCOURAGEMENT,
I, HEAD AVERTED, AWAITING THE END.
AFTER A WEEK OR SO, IT OCCURRED TO ME
THAT AGAINST ALL PROBABILITY, I WAS STILL HERE.
PERHAPS I WOULD NOT DIE OF THIS WOUND AFTER ALL,
BUT WOULD HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT.
THIS RAISED A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SET
OF CONCERNS AND OBSESSIONS.
HOW WOULD I LIVE WITH THIS GREAT HOLE IN MY FRONT?
PERHAPS AFTER MANY YEARS IT MIGHT FILL IN AND BECOME FLAT –
A SCAR FOURTEEN INCHES LONG AND SEVERAL INCHES WIDE.
SHOULD I WEAR EXTRA-LARGE CLOTHES?
OR FILL THE DEEP TRENCH IN MY BELLY WITH COTTON
AND TAPE IT IN SO IT WOULD NOT SHOW?
AFTER A FEW DAYS OF SUCH MUSINGS,
IT BECAME OBVIOUS THAT IF I WERE GOING TO LIVE WITH IT,
I WOULD NEED TO SEE IT.
SO THAT DAY, WHEN THE NURSE PULLED BACK THE DRESSING,
I FORCED MYSELF TO LOOK AGAIN,
EXPECTING TO SEE THE GAPING WOUND OF TEN DAYS BEFORE.
BUT IT WAS NOT THE SAME.
ASTOUNDED, I SAW THAT IT HAD BEGUN CLOSING IN
AT THE BOTTOM AND WAS DISTINCTLY NARROWER.
AND THEN AN EXTRAORDINARY THING BEGAN TO HAPPEN.
DAY AFTER DAY, SHE WOULD PULL BACK THE DRESSING
AND I WOULD WATCH AS THIS GREAT WOUND,
IN THE SLOW, PATIENT WAY OF ALL NATURAL THINGS,
GRADUALLY BECAME A HAIR-LINE SCAR.
AND I, A PHYSICIAN, WAS NOT IN CONTROL OF THIS.
IT WAS HUMBLING.
YET I CERTAINLY HAD A FRONT-ROW SEAT AT THE HEALING PROCESS.
THE LIFE FORCE I HAD WITNESSED IN MYSELF
WAS A BIRTHRIGHT COMMON TO US ALL.”
LET’S FLASH BACK TO TODAY’S PARABLE.
ACCORDING TO JESUS, WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO
WITH THOSE PARTS OF OURSELVES THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO ERASE,
TO CLEAN UP, TO MAGICALLY GET RID OF?
WE NEED TO DO THREE THINGS:
TO SEE THEM FOR WHAT THEY ARE.
TO RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO JUDGE AND REJECT.
TO LET GO AND LET GOD.
WE NEED TO ACCEPT OURSELVES, ALL OF OURSELVES,
THEN LET GOD INTO THE MIX.
JESUS CALLS US TO MAKE OUR PRIMARY INTENTION PRIMARILY ONE
OF LETTING GO AND LETTING GOD.
AMEN.