By: Rev. Gerry Weesner, Maples United Methodist Church
“He answered, ‘The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. ‘As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.’” Matthew 13:37-43 (NIV).
When I was young, in the days of pull-behind combines, it seemed like a miracle to me to see the combine going through the field mowing down the stalks of grain and as it did separating the good grain from the weed seeds and chaff. The chaff was thrown back into the field and the weed seed was deposited in a separate little bin apart from the good grain. At the end of the day the good grain would have been put into the granary and the weed seeds would go into a burn barrel. In that way the good grain would be saved and the weed seed would be burnt and destroyed yet every year there seemed to be ample weed seed to be disposed of and burnt. In the natural world the weed seeds are deposited into the field by natural means. The wind, animals, and birds would have all had a part in distributing the weed seeds.
In our scripture today, Jesus says that the one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed are the sons and daughters of the kingdom, and the weed seed is the sons and daughters of the evil one. The good and evil grow together until the harvest at the end of the age. At that time the evil will be separated and burnt but the good will be saved and be in heaven in the kingdom of their Father.
Jesus begins by informing his followers of the very real dangers that exist in the world. The farmer does everything right: he plants good seeds and faithfully tends his fields. Despite his diligence, an enemy appears and spreads weeds throughout the crop. The story reminds us that despite our good intentions and best efforts, there can be setbacks and obstacles that threaten to ruin even the best plan.
Jesus states clearly that things go wrong and that events do not always work in our favor. We can be reassured that a string of unfortunate events in our lives does not indicate that we are separated from the love of God. Misfortune and great need are not outside the realm of God’s concern. God is even in those scary, challenging places where we need him most. Jesus offers assurance that we should not lose heart.
