Sermon 19 July 2020 - Parable of the Weeds - Why does God let bad things happen to people?

Matthew 13:24-30 and 36-43

The Parable of the Weeds
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained
36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 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. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

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There are two ways which this parable has spoken to me this week as I’ve researched the text and read various commentaries about it.


1 Why does God let bad things happen to people?
What have I done to deserve this?
Why does God allow evil in the world?

Theodicy - good should overcome evil

These questions aren’t usually asked because people are looking for a theological discussion, most people are actually looking for hope in their troubles.

Jesus told this parable to encourage and inform his followers that continued existence of the false along with the true, the evil along with the good, the hurt along with the joy is part of God’s plan.

The reality, according to Jesus, is that our lives and our world are a field in which good and evil, life and death, joys and sorrows, that which we want and that which we don’t want grow and live side by side. The wheat and the weeds stand together in our world and in each of our lives.

That, Jesus says, is what the kingdom of heaven is like. That’s good news for us. It means that despite the weeds in and around us the kingdom is still here.  God is with us.   The weeds do not overcome or make God absent.   It may not be the fullness of the kingdom but it is, nevertheless, the kingdom.

And yes, there will be a final separation, though in God’s time, not ours. 
But until that point God is with us through every situation, every joy and hurt.
God is with us
God is loving us
God is grieving with us
God is supporting us
God is going before us
God brings Hope
With God we are never alone


2 How did the world get into such a mess and what can we do about it?
War
Famine
Injustice
Pandemics
The news touches only the edge of the issues in the world, there is so much suffering and pain.
There are a lot of weeds in the world.

So what about those weeds?
What do we do about them?
Surely we should do something.

These aren’t the common or garden weeds.
These weeds are zizania - otherwise called darnel or false wheat.
This weed looks like wheat and grows with the wheat, intertwining it’s roots and impossible to tell apart.

Suddenly we see that the good and the bad are a lot less clear than we would hope; it’s all a lot more like a Twitter row where the truth is difficult to see amidst the flurry of “facts” and opinions.  It is a confusing field of truth and lies.

But there’s good news.  Jesus makes it clear that it is not for us to make judgements about who is right or who is wrong.  He says “Let them grow together until the harvest.”

We should not be trying to remove the weeds because when we do we will also destroy the wheat, we will destroy the goodness in the world.

But no.
No, that can’t be right.
That makes no sense.
How can we let them be?

The weeds are bad and the wheat is good.
We must do something.
We can not remain silent in the face of evil.
We need to take a stand on issues which matter in the world.

But Jesus says “Let them grow together until the harvest,”

Jesus tells us to wait and to be patient.
Jesus tells us not to judge.

Does that mean we don’t act?
Does that mean we allow poverty and injustice in the world?

No, of course it doesn’t.
What we are being told is that we must not stand in judgement.
After all, none of us live perfect lives without both wheat and weeds.

This parable isn’t telling us to do nothing, far from it.
This parable is telling us to do the much harder thing - to let the weeds grow
Or in other words “forgive them”


It’s the same words Jesus spoke from the cross in the gospel of Luke
 “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34).
Even on the cross, Jesus isn’t pulling up weeds but forgiving them and letting them grow.

And there’s the action we are called to, not to judge and condemn, but to forgive failures, love people and situations in pain and work for good in the world. 

Jesus tells us to love.
Love your enemy.
Love your neighbor.
Love yourself.
Love God.

Forgive the weeds
Love the weeds
And in that forgiveness and love perhaps the weeds will separate.
That’s when the wheat will become clearly visible from the weeds.
In sharing God’s love and forgiving people and situations the weeds will reduce and the wheat will flourish

That might be in ourselves, in church, in our communities, at school or work or online
Jesus tells us to forgive people and situations which cause failures and hurts

And that’s the message I want to leave you with this week:

Let’s forgive those who hurt us
Let’s not judge those who think differently to us
Let’s pray for God to intervene in painful situations around the world
Let’s raise awareness of issues which need goodness and change
Let’s share the good news of God with us in the world
Let’s love everyone, especially those who hurt us


Post Sermon thoughts:
That was the end of this sermon but then I realised something…..

The person I find hardest to forgive is myself!!!!

I too easily see the weeds in myself, much more than I see the wheat
I beat myself up for the things I’ve said and done and for the things I haven’t said or done.

And if this parable is telling us to forgive the weeds then I need to start to forgive myself more

So since Tuesday I have been asking God every day,
several times a day,
to help me to forgive myself
for my mistakes and omissions and faults

And what I’ve received is a peace of knowing that God forgives me
That God loves me and wants me to forgive and love myself just as I do other people

Jesus tells us to share his love generously, allowing him to work through us
Jesus tells us to bring forgiveness, love and grace into every situation
Let’s not forget that that includes loving and forgiving ourselves