Weeds: a Summer One-Pager Sermon with Reference to Gen 28, Rom 8 and Mat 13

Looking at the gospel.

Mt 13:37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.

Jesus is the good seed sower.

Mt 13:38 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, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil.

I always know what I am—wheat, of course, other people are the weeds. I’m the son of the kingdom and others are the sons of the evil one. Me wheatily holy and church-going, others weedily un-spiritual. Me wheatily generous, others weedily stingy. Kiwis wheaty, Aussies weedy. Canucks wheaty, Bruins weedy. Conservatives wheaty, liberals weedy. Fill in the blanks. You know how it goes.

Mt 13:28 …“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 root up 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.’ ”

God sure is merciful to be letting all those weeds grow around wheaty me despite their weediness and giving them plenty of time to see the error of their ways before the angels come to pull them up and burn them in the fire. I, of course, will be gathered and brought to the nice cool barn.

And then I catch a glimpse of something unpleasantly green: my own weediness. Sometimes being green is not a good thing.

Ro 8:12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature (flesh), to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die.

I become aware of my own sinful nature; persistent as the dandelions and crab grass in my lawn; choking out my wheatiness.

Gen 28:16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid.  

I realize I’ve become comfortable with my weediness. I’ve been dozing in my sin. I wake up with a pang of fear. God knows there is more than enough thorny weediness in me to merit being pulled out by the roots. I’ve allowed myself to drift from awareness of his presence.

Gen 28:17 Jacob said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” 

And then I come here and am reminded, Sunday by Sunday, that the Owner is here and he loves me and all weedy folk.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. 

If God himself is being so patient with me. I need to be patient with the weedy folk around me.

Mt 13:43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. 

And it’s all because of Jesus.