Genesis 28:10-19a; Psalm 139: 1-11, 22-23; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30,36-43
The Rev. Candice B. Frazer
Someone once said that a weed is simply a plant growing where you don’t want it. What one person considers beautiful, another person sees as a nuisance. As a child, I loved dandelions. I would blow all the fluffy seeds into the air, convinced that if I did it in one breath, I could make a wish that would come true. As an adult, I spend a great deal of time trying to eradicate them from my lawn. I’m not going to accuse an enemy of planting them, but I might blame a few birds and maybe even some children. And though I judge dandelions rather harshly, I’m not so sure God does. After all, God created them.
An enemy sowed weeds among the wheat. This is what Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to. He may begin the parable by comparing the kingdom of heaven to a farmer sowing good seed in a field, but he doesn’t stop there. Even in the kingdom of heaven, bad things seem able to happen.
I have to admit, I find this disturbing. Granted, whenever Jesus is with people, he tells them the kingdom of heaven has come near, meaning that his presence is the presence of the kingdom. Yet even when Jesus is near, so is danger. The occupying Roman authorities are always lurking in the background, and the religious elite—the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees—become a threat to both Jesus and this new movement. Eventually, Jesus will be crucified. I’m not sure it gets much worse than that. So yes, even when the kingdom of heaven is present—especially in the person of Jesus—bad things still happen. That is not a very comforting thought.
In the parable, bad things happen in the kingdom. An enemy sows weeds among the wheat. The slaves come to the householder and report what has happened. The master either already knows or quickly realizes that an enemy is responsible. Yet instead of seeking revenge or retribution, he tells the slaves to leave the weeds alone. When the harvest comes, the weeds can be gathered and separated from the wheat.
Notice that the master’s concern is not the enemy. His concern is how to move forward.
Often, we become consumed by the perceived grievances of the world around us. We argue on Facebook with people who hold different opinions, or we speak poorly of others behind their backs because we dislike their politics, theology, taste in music, football team—whatever. We demand not simply to be heard but to be agreed with.
And when someone actually does harm us, we cling to it. We tell anyone who will listen about what happened and demand, at the very least, some form of retributive justice for ourselves and for every slight that has offended us. Yet in the process, the harm we inflict on the other is often greater than the harm that was done to us.
The problem with retributive justice is that it reinforces a worldview in which good things should happen to good people and bad things should happen to bad people. But we know that isn’t how life works. The Book of Job makes that abundantly clear. Bad things happen to good people all the time.
Retributive justice can also foster a culture of retaliation. Instead of leading with forgiveness and love of our enemies, we want to smite them. It can lead to false imprisonment, excessive punishments, and broken relationships. At the very least, relationships become transactional, where our interactions are based on what the other person deserves rather than what the relationship needs. Compassion diminishes. Self-righteousness grows. Society begins to resemble the Wild West more than a community where trust is nurtured and people flourish.
Not all retributive justice is bad. Accountability matters. But when justice is divorced from mercy, love, and compassion, we shift from making things right to making someone pay.
Jesus offers a different vision of justice. Instead of asking what law was broken, who is guilty, or what punishment is deserved, Jesus reframes the questions. Who was harmed? What relationships were damaged? How can healing occur? What would repair and reconciliation look like? Jesus never ignores evil, but neither does he become consumed by it. His attention is always drawn toward mercy, healing, and reconciliation.
In his explanation of the parable, Jesus identifies the enemy as the devil and the weeds as the children of the evil one. Yet even then, the weeds are not immediately uprooted. They are given time. Judgment belongs to God, and it comes in God’s time, not ours.
In Jesus’ parable, the master tells the slaves not to pull the weeds before the harvest. Maybe it’s because pulling weeds also disturbs the wheat. Or maybe it’s because no one is beyond God’s desire for redemption. Whatever the reason, Jesus’ focus is always on what can yet become, not simply on what has already happened.
The weeds will eventually be thrown into the furnace, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they were worthless. In the ancient world, almost everything had a purpose. In an arid climate with few trees, weeds could be dried and burned for fuel. As troublesome as they may have been in the field, they still served a purpose by helping transform grain into bread. Everything in God’s creation has meaning, even if we are quick to label it bad.
God is just and does not ignore evil, but neither is God consumed by it. God’s justice is ultimately restorative. Salvation is about restoring broken relationships—with God, with one another, and with all creation. God cares deeply for those who have been harmed while also seeking the redemption of those who have caused harm. God’s desire is not punishment but healing, repentance, and reconciliation wherever they are possible.
To live in the kingdom may simply mean learning to live with both the wheat and the weeds, and even blowing a few dandelions into the yard, until God brings in the harvest. It means living with the good and the bad. But, instead of judgment, maybe kingdom living is something altogether different. Maybe it is about allowing instead of controlling, restoring rather than condemning, healing rather than punishing. Maybe it is about practicing compassion and mercy while trusting that, in the end, God will sort it all out. Maybe that is what kingdom living is really about.
Forget the weeds. Focus on the wheat.
Amen