Don’t Rush In – Matthew 13

A text – Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
13:24 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field;
13:25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.
13:26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.
13:27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’
13:28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’
13:29 But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.
13:30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'”
13:36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”
13:37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;
13:38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one,
13:39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
13:40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
13:41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,
13:42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
13:43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

A reflection:

This parable may have been a cautionary tale for the folks who were watching the ministry of Jesus grow. It is also a reminder to us today. Jesus says the field workers want to immediately pull up the weeds to allow the good seed to flourish in the field. But Jesus says that the householder says, “No – You could uproot the wheat as you pull out the weeds. Better to wait until the harvest to pull out the weeds, when those who reap will be able to distinguish wheat from weed.” There were many in Jesus’s day who wanted to pull up Jesus’s ministry as a weed that might infect the whole kingdom.

This story is also like other remarks Jesus makes in his ministry, such as “You will know them by their fruit.” Sometimes we rush to snap judgments and really want to get rid of the stuff we think is just in our way, to take all the complication out of living and growing. But we may not be capable of making those judgments, not without enough facts, not without seeing the “fruit” of each kind of plant. Let all things come to fruition – some good can come from waiting, and God will be the judge in the end.

It may have been a parable to teach those with ears in Jesus’s day to let his ministry grow and flourish, so that in the end they would see that his followers were in fact the good harvest, not the bad. It may be a parable to teach those with ears in our day that charging in and rushing to judgment almost never gives you enough information to make the right choice. Listen, be patient, and allow room for things to grow. Then see what fruit it bears.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for the teachings of Jesus which still make us think. Help us to be patient with things we might think are merely weeds. Help us to give them a chance to grow and bear fruit, so that we do not accidentally kill something you may have a good use for.   Amen.