Wheat and Tares

GROW TOGETHER UNTIL HARVEST

PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND TARES

(Matthew 13.24-30, 36-43)

I have a bone to pick with God.

It is this.

Why do bad people appear to flourish, whilst good people appear to go unrewarded in this life?

I don't know about you, but I can think of many people who appear to get away with things, whilst others, like myself of course(!!), struggle to live a good and upright life and go unnoticed.

...o0o...

Now it was to answer such a question that Matthew recalls the story of the Wheat and Tares in his gospel.

The parable likens the Kingdom of heaven to a Master who sowed wheat seed in a field. Unfortunately, when he was not looking, somebody came along and sowed weeds amongst the wheat.

However, it wasn't until the seeds were fully grown, that the Master became aware of what had happened.

When his slaves saw what had happened, they asked their Master whether they should remove the weeds, but the master suggested that they should leave the weeds alone, in case, in removing the weeds, they also removed the wheat by accident.

...o0o...

Anyone living in rural first century Palestine would have been able to identify with this situation.

There was a well-known weed called a ''bearded darnel”. This was very poisonous and caused dizziness and sickness. Unfortunately at the early stages of growth, it looked very similar to wheat - in fact, it was often nicknamed "bastard wheat". As such, it was well-nigh impossible to distinguish it from wheat until it was fully grown.

However, once it was fully grown, it was too late to do anything about it. By then the roots of the darnel were so intertwined with the roots of the wheat that it was difficult to pull up the darnel without pulling up the wheat as well.

So the best thing was to leave well alone until harvest. At harvest, the grain would be spread out on a large tray and the womenfolk would carefully pick out the darnel, leaving the wheat behind.

Hence, I said, that a person living in first century Palestine would have been able to identify with this story which Jesus told and the meaning would have been very obvious.

...o0o...

Now, whenever I read a parable of Jesus, I always look for the punch line that seeks to capture and focus the attention of its hearers, in much the same way as a headline in a newspaper seeks to capture and focus the attention of its readers.

And what is the punch line of this parable?

It is simply this "Let both of them grow together until the harvest".

Like the slaves in the story, we are often tempted to want to separate people within the life of the church, "Fancy him, or her, doing or saying such a thing and they call themselves Christians" we find ourselves saying.

"I am committed in my discipleship", thereby implying that others are not.

"Some people just use the church for their convenience".

Yes, we all have our ideals of what a Christian should be. Anyone who fails to come up to our standard, we often dismiss as a fraudster, imposter or hypocrite. Thus, we pass judgement upon them.

But Jesus says: "Let them both grow together until harvest".

And St Paul, writing to the Christians at Corinth advises, "Do not pronounce judgement before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each will receive commendation from God".

Or, as the author of the Book of Revelation says: “ Let the evil doer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right and the holy still be holy. See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone's work".

Tempting though it may be, in our desire to witness to our faith and maintain standards within the life of the Christian community, it is not our prerogative to pass judgement. That belongs to God alone who knows the innermost secrets of the heart and the circumstances surrounding a person’s life of discipleship.

Our job, whether we like it or not, is to “Let both grow together until harvest" and not anticipate the ultimate action of God.

...o0o...

And whilst we wait for that harvest, bad people may well appear to flourish, and good people may well appear to go unrewarded.

But who is to say that we are among the good?