The Parables of the Sower, Of the Weeds

By Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy

v14Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:
1″’You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.
v15For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.’ ….. v
37

Jesus answered, “The man who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man; v38the field is the world; the good seed is the people who belong to the Kingdom; the weeds are the people who belong to the Evil One; v39and the enemy who sowed the weeds is the Devil.
Matthew 13:14-15, 37-39
This article is a combination of the gospel lessons appointed for last week and this Sunday’s reading in order not to incur a backlog vis the regular Lectionary. These readings are found in Propers 10 and 11 for those who are strictly following the Church Lectionary. The Parables of the Sower, and the Weeds.
The 13th chapter of the gospel according to Matthew contains the most different parables in one place in the Bible. These parables point to the kingdom of heaven, describing both the results of preaching the gospel and the spiritual conditions that will prevail on earth within the visible manifestation of the kingdom of heaven until the end of the age. Jesus used parables in his teaching to illustrate his points and underscore the message they contain.
Wikipedia.com has the following definition and commentary on the parables: ‘The parables of Jesus are found in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) and some of the non-canonical gospels. They form approximately one third of his recorded teachings. Christians place great emphasis on these parables; which they generally regard as the words of Jesus.
Jesus’s parables are seemingly simple and memorable stories, often with imagery, and all convey messages. Scholars have commented that although these parables seem simple, the messages they convey are deep, and central to the teachings of Jesus. Christian authors view them not as mere similitudes which serve the purpose of illustration, but as internal analogies in which nature becomes a witness for the spiritual world.
Many of Jesus’s parables refer to simple everyday things, such as a woman baking bread (the parable of the Leaven), a man knocking on his neighbor’s door at night (the parable of the Friend at Night), or the aftermath of a roadside mugging (the parable of the Good Samaritan); yet they deal with major religious themes, such as the growth of the Kingdom of God, the importance of prayer, and the meaning of love.
In Western civilization, these parables formed the prototype for the term parable and in the modern age, even among those who know little of the Bible, the parables of Jesus remain some of the best-known stories in the world.’
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In most of these parables, Christ teaches that there will be good and evil in his visible kingdom (the church) throughout the entire age. Among those who profess his name, there will be compromise and worldliness that lead to apostasy, as well as faithfulness and godliness that lead to eternal life. Christ speaks of these parables to alert his true disciples to expect evil within the kingdom and to teach them how to overcome the influence and opposition of Satan and his followers. The only way to do so is through wholehearted devotion to Christ and lives committed to righteousness. ‘Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.’ (v43. Full Life Study Bible, NIV).
Parables are stories from everyday life that relate and illustrate certain spiritual truths. Their uniqueness is found in revealing truth to those who are spiritual while at the same time concealing it from the unbeliever. Parables may at times demand a decision. A good example of this is the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37).
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Sixteen years ago I wrote an article on the same parable topic in this corner. One of the visible message of the parable, which is about the kingdom of heaven holds true even to this day. Following is the article abridged and slightly edited.
A farmer began his planting. He planted his seeds wherever there was any hope that it might grow. He sowed on the ground which people had begun to make into a pathway, on a rocky ground, and on the ground that was full of thorn bushes. He sowed also, of course, on the best ground. He planted everywhere because, like all farmers in that part of the world, he used to plough his land after sowing it. It was the custom to plough up the whole field, the part that had thorn-bushes on it, the poor soil as well as the fertile soil.
But on this occasion, the birds took away some of the seeds he had planted on the path before he could do the ploughing; the sun burnt up the new shoots on the rocky ground; and the thorn-bushes had already begun to spoil more of the crop.
***
In spite of this, however, harvest time showed that his work had not been wasted. As he looked at the harvest from the whole of his land, he saw that it was a big harvest, perhaps bigger than his neighbors expected.
There are two great truths contained in this parable. One, the truth that evil is strong. Two, the truth that God’s power is stronger.
The farmer knew that his works in some parts of the farm would be wasted. But he was accustomed to that. Birds, rocks, and thorns were well-known enemies of the farmer and his seeds. So in spite of all these things, he did his planting. So Christians are being taught to accept the fact that there is sin and evil in the world. They must learn that much of their life and work may be wasted. They will see that some of this waste is due to sin, either their own or other people’s. Some of the waste, however, they will not be able to understand at all and they will find it hard to see why God has allowed it. They live and work in the name of God, they do their best to love and serve other people, but they must not be surprised when other people refuse to take notice of God, or when they reject their love and help, or when disaster occur.
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But the farmer had a big harvest in spite of all the wasted work. So Christians are made sure by this parable that God’s plan for the world will succeed. Those who follow Jesus and put themselves under God as their King are taking part in a battle against evil which God will win.
If we accept these two truths, we are saved from despair. Despair comes to us when we do not look straight at evil, and are surprised when it comes. We should look at the world as grown-up Christians nourished and guided by our Lord’s statutes and teachings. We must not stop sowing the seeds of goodness.
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Famous theologian author William Barclay’s friends tells this story. In the church where he worshiped there was a lonely old man, old Thomas. He had outlived all his friends and hardly anyone knew him. When Thomas died, this friend had the feeling that there would be no one to go to the funeral so he decided to go, so that there might be someone to follow the old man to his last resting-place.

There was no one else, and it was a miserable wet day. The funeral reached the cemetery, and at the gate there was a soldier waiting. An officer, but on his raincoat there were no rank badges. He came to the grave side for the ceremony, then when it was over, he stepped forward and before the open grave swept his hand to a salute that might have been given to a king. The friend walked away with this soldier, and as they walked, the wind blew the soldier’s raincoat open to reveal the shoulder badges of a brigadier general.

The general said, “You will perhaps be wondering what I am doing here. Years ago Thomas was my Sunday School teacher; I was a wild lad and a sore trial to him. He never knew what he did for me, but I owe everything I am or will be to old Thomas, and today I had to come to salute him at the end.” Thomas did not know what he was doing.

No preacher or teacher ever does. Keep sowing the seed. We can leave the rest to God, including keeping the fire going. And that is GOOD news for all us tenant farmers. (David E. Leininger, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com)
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Speaking of the devil….
v24Jesus told them another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field. v25One night, when everyone was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. (Matthew 13:24-25)
There was plenty of evil in Jesus’ time. He saw that the poor were being taxed mercilessly. He saw that there were famines, one after the other. He saw that there were people roaming around with no place to live. He saw that there was military oppression and political oppression. He saw that there was no genuine freedom of speech or freedom of religion. He saw that half the people in the Roman Empire were owned by other people. To the disciples at that time these could be solved by divine intervention. But Jesus told them the parable of the weeds to teach them how evil in our midst should be addressed. Similar evils exist in our time. The message of the parable is calling us to open our eyes, ears, and hearts in order to understand and act as Jesus exhorts us.
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‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’ they asked him. v29’No,’ he answered, ‘because as you gather the weeds you might pull up some of the wheat along with them. v30Let the wheat and the weeds both grow together until harvest. Then I will tell the harvest workers to pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them, and then to gather in the wheat and put it in my barn.’”(vv.29-30)
Jesus is patient with sinful people. Persistent but patient. He gently knocks on the door to our hearts, never bowling us over. He kept company with society’s misfits. He did battle with religious legalists of his day and became angry with hypocrisies. But mostly he displayed infinite patience. In verse 29, in contemporary language his patience is made explicit, “Don’t rip out the weeds; you might be taking the wheat also.” Judgmentalism has never been the long term solution. Thank God the evil isn’t ripped out. Where would we be if that is how God worked? In peculiar image of gardening, Jesus’ cross becomes his hoe. He takes the weeds upon himself.
The English author, C.S. Lewis, in one of his books, points out that when people become Christians, if they are not careful, their sinning often shifts from overt, outward, visible sins of sinning of lying, cheating, stealing, cursing and swearing to the more inward, hidden, non-apparent invisible ones – and among them he lists “a critical spirit” … a spirit of judgmentalism, a censorious attitude. In fact, he points out that this sin is one of transgression which is more commonly committed by church people than those who are not. So prevalent is it in churchly circles, that it is sometimes labeled, “Christian cruelty.”
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Jesus did not confront the powers of evil with the impending judgment. “Let both grow together – until the harvest.” That’s when the judgment occurs. Jesus did not rip out the weeds; neither he ignores them. Instead, he confronts evil with the reality of a time accountability.
We in the church have been taught lessons of morality, equality, justice, and freedom. What do we do when we see such standards violated? Jesus’ example is instructive. The farmer acknowledges the reality of the weeds. He doesn’t try to rip them out. Neither will he ignore the weeds. Such should be our response to the evil we see. We are hard pressed to be the perfect judges in questionable cases of ethics. We can name evil when we see it, and know we can’t rip it out. But we can’t ignore it. We don’t live in a perfect, ethically pure Christian nation. Nor does anyone in our respective communities live their lives in the same way. There are evil forces at work tempting us to take the easy way out, be greedy, hurt someone if we have to, use people to acquire success or material possessions. We cannot afford to ignore those evil forces as they work in us or in others.
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We are called to proclaim the Good News, sowing good seeds. God does not tap us on the shoulder and say, “I have decided to save you, so now you can sit down and rock, and enjoy yourself, and go to church.” No. In our baptismal covenant we are asked to “persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever we fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord.” Further, we were asked “to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.” We can do these by “seeking to serve Christ in all persons and loving our neighbor as ourselves; strive for justice and peace among all people, and respecting the dignity of every human being.” (ECP-BCP, Baptismal Covenant).
Today, Jesus is telling us about this story about a farmer, who is the symbol for God, the creator of the universe. The farmer takes control over a bad situation, saying, in effect, “Not to worry. Let the wheat and the weeds grow together for a while. In good time — God’s good time — the harvest will come, the wheat will be gathered and the weeds will be burned.”
The farmer-sower — the Creator of the Universe — ultimately prevails. The point of the parable: God always prevails.
Let us pray.
Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.**