Sermon Cloud

            Matthew 13:24-30

            After the story we looked at last week, you'd think maybe Jesus had this farming thing figured out.  In last Sunday's story, glimpse, Jesus explained what all farmers know, that for a seed to grow and reproduce, it needs to put its roots down into good soil.  If a seed lands among rocks or thorns, it doesn't really have much chance. 

            We talked about how God the Father plants the seed of Jesus into our lives, expecting to see the Kingdom flourish in our lives.  The choices we make determine whether we experience the full life of the Kingdom or whether the life of Jesus gets choked out by our own self-centered decisions.  It's God's plan that the Kingdom (the domain where Jesus the King rules) grows in our lives.  If we're going to progress in the Kingdom life we have to decide whether we're going to try to hold onto control or whether we surrender control of our lives over to Jesus.  Our choices determine whether the soil of our lives is rocky or fertile. 

            That story makes you think that Jesus would've made a good farmer.  But the story we just read makes me hope Jesus stuck to his family trade of carpentry.  When the hired hands discover that the enemy has planted weeds among the wheat, the Farmer tells them to just wait until the harvest. 

            Any farmer who hopes to make a profit from his crop knows you don't let the weeds grow among the wheat.  Every summer on my parents' farm, these big machines with tall wheels and arms that went out at least 50 feet and looked like something from Star Wars would roll through our driveway down to the fields to spray the weeds that were growing among the corn and beans.  The herbicide was expensive, but dad knew it would make him more money in the long run.  You just can't have weeds and wheat co-existing in the same field. 

            I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before that the way of Jesus is counter-cultural.  The way of the Kingdom goes against the common sense of the world.  Jesus' parables were meant to highlight the differences between the Kingdom of Jesus and the Kingdom of this world.  These differences stand out when we examine the behavior and commands of the Farmer in this story.

            Just like last week's story, the farmer represents God the Father and he's sowing the seed of Jesus.  What's interesting, is that there is just one field in this story.  We tend to see the Kingdom as a patchwork of fields; the TFC field, First Light field, Lifestream (Gardner churches).  Or the Lutheran, Methodist, Catholic, Baptist field.  Or even the North American church, African church, etc.  Nope, just one field.  We're all on one field, we're all on the same team.  You also see in Scripture that the field even transcends the cultural and religious boundaries of Christianity.  There are people who don't call themselves Christians, but they're still following Jesus.  I don't exactly know how that works.  But I do know that it's not ultimately about Christianity, it's about Jesus.  There are people who call themselves "Christians" but aren't following Jesus.  And people who have never heard the name of Jesus, but have responded to God's tug on their heart and they're following Jesus.  The field is both exclusive and inclusive at the same time. 

            As soon as the seed is planted, the enemy comes in and plants weeds among the wheat.  The weeds are a symbol of the evil in our world.  Notice the enemy plants the seeds and then runs.  Never to be seen again.  This shows us the powerless of the enemy.  The enemy can't cut down the wheat.  The enemy just plants some seeds of evil that act as a parasite on the goodness of the world. 

            The word used for weeds is zizania.  It's a type of annual grass that looks a lot like wheat.  Both plants grow.  In this field, you find wheat (the good seed) and weeds that look a lot like the wheat.  Interesting...  Let that sink in...  Wheat and weeds look a lot alike and they're in the same field. 

            We've all had painful experiences with the weeds scattered among the wheat.  A couple months ago, I was talking with a guy who was considering coming back to church, but it was a hard decision.  Growing up as a teen, he had seen church leaders do very unChrist-like things.  And he then listed off all these other hypocrisies that were eating away at him.  He'd been carrying that anger around for years.  But I'm proud to say he's taken some major steps in that healing process.

            We could all tell stories like that.  We find weeds among the wheat all the time. 

            But before we launch the crusade the tear all the weeds out of the field, we need to take an honest look at our lives.  Can you think of times in which you've failed to live out the reality of the Kingdom?  All the while claiming to be a committed follower of Jesus?  If you can't think of times you're either lying to yourself or you have a really short memory.  We've worked hard to make ourselves look like wheat, but our lives (if we're honest) have a lot of weed-like characteristics. 

            The hired hands are missing this point, because they're ready to go pull out all the weeds.  Verse 28-29.  This is what's crazy about this parable.  The Farmer tells them to let both grow together.  Why would you let the weeds and the wheat grow together?  We're shown two reasons the Farmer makes this decision.

            1) The Farmer knows that the weeds will eventually be dealt with.  Verse 30  This ought to cause us to both check our lives and to call off the dogs.  Abolishing evil is not our responsibility.  That doesn't mean that we don't do so much good that it pushes evil to the margins of society.  But pulling weeds, burning weeds is not our responsibility.  It's the Farmers and his alone. 

            Believe me, he'll deal with evil.  Look at this imagery from the book of Revelation.  Revelation 20:11-15.  There will be a stopping point for evil.  God will make that declaration.

            2) The second instruction of the farmer is in the first part of verse 30a.  "Let them both grow together."  Now, that seems kind of weak, a bit passive.  Just turn your head, ignore the obvious evil in our world.  But that's not what the Farmer is saying.  That's a bad translation.  The word translated as "let them grow together" is aphete.  The word is found in the Lord's prayer.  Aphese our trespasses, as we aphiemen those who trespass against us.  This root word, aphete means "to forgive."  Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. 

            This isn't a passive, "a shucks, it doesn't really matter."  No, it's a conscious decision to forgive the evil that exists in our world.  To forgive the evil that has been done to us. 

            When I discovered the idea of forgiveness in this story, it turned my message upside down.  Changed the direction I was originally headed.  Forgiveness has a way of doing that.  Of turning worlds upside down. 

            But it goes against all of our natural inclinations.  There is a deep part of us that does not want to forgive.  Vengeance is our default reaction to evil.  We want another to hurt in the way we've been hurt.  Which is why forgiveness has to be learned; it comes with discipline.  It is a proactive choice, "I will not demand retribution; I will choose to live and think as if nothing happened." 

            Another way of putting it, "forgiveness is taking your hands off the other person's neck." 

            We can choose right now to forgive someone, but it doesn't happen in an instant.  It's often a process of uncurling your fingers from their neck.  Of putting the pain in the past.  Of relinquishing your right for vengeance. 

            Until the great harvest, there will always be weeds among the wheat.  We must daily choose to forgive the evil around us. 

            Forgiveness is an essential aspect of Kingdom life.  Both experiencing Jesus' forgiveness personally and forgiving those who have hurt us.  Forgiveness is a non-negotiable.  Forgiveness provides a glimpse of the kingdom unlike anything else we could choose to do. 

            One glimpse comes from the autobiography of Desmond Tutu.  From his position of Archbishop of the Anglican church in Cape Town, South Africa, Bishop Tutu lead the nonviolent resistance to the rule of Apartheid. 

            His book is entitled, No Future without Forgiveness.  In his book is a story of the "truth and reconciliation hearings" organized by the African National Congress, the political power that took control after the ending of Apartheid.  The ANC organized these hearings to give people the chance to hear of the atrocities committed under Apartheid rule.  The purpose of the hearings was simply to get the truth out in the open.  Tutu knew the power that comes with simply naming the reality of evil.  Their motto was "no justice, only forgiveness."  After confessing what they'd done, Tuto would pronounce forgiveness, not punishment on the admitted oppressor. 

            One man admitted to the brutal interrogation techniques used on the members of the ANC.  "I was the lead questioner for the interrogations.  When a leader from the ANC was brought into our room, he wouldn't give us the answers we were looking for.  So we chopped off his hand and stuck it in a jar of pharmaldehyde.  Then to make a point to all those who would follow him into this room, we stuck the jar on the interrogation desk.  We then took his body and burned it out back." 

            Among the disbelieving tension in the room, the leader of the hearing then opened the floor, "would anyone like to speak?"

            A young lady immediately stood up and announced, "I'd like to say something.  That murdered man was my father."  A gasp went throughout the room.  "My family and I, long ago, determined in our hearts that we'd forgive whoever did this.  And we're glad to meet you, sir, so our forgiveness can finally be given to an actual person."

            About 2 years ago, in Pennsylvania a milkman in his 30's, loaded himself up with a rifle, shotgun, handgun and about 600 rounds of ammo, along with tools and boards.  He then broke into an Amish schoolhouse. 

            At 9:51 AM, he burst into the schoolhouse. He immediately sent the teacher and the boys out of the classroom.  He then took 13 young girls, ages 6-13 as hostages.  The man intended to barricade himself in the room with the girls, molesting them, then killing them, then shooting himself. 

            But just as he shut the door, the oldest girl, 13 year old Marian Fisher, stood up and pleaded, "why don't you just shoot me and let the others go?" 

            The next oldest then added, "I'll be next, if you'll let the others go. 
            This act of self-sacrificial love was such a shock to the man's system that he started randomly spraying bullets across the room.  A short time later, the police and National Guard arrived and busted into the schoolhouse.  In the process, the man and 5 of the girls were killed.

            The glimpse of the Kingdom comes with how the Amish community responded.  As they rode to the funeral in their black buggies, one buggy stopped and invited the widow of the murderer to ride along with them.  They invited her to join in their mourning because they'd chosen to forgive. 

            The murderer's funeral was held at the widow's parents' Methodist church.  Just as the funeral was about to begin, a procession of black buggies and horses came up to the church.  Men in dark suits and black hats and ladies in long black dresses and white bonnets, walked up to the church and stood alongside the mourning family.

            This act wasn't an "ah, forget about it.  It's nothing."  It wasn't just passively shrugging off the evil that had been committed.  It was an intentional act of forgiveness. 

            The instruction to actively forgive the weeds and to leave justice to God the Father, comes from the very same person who while hanging on the cross for crimes he hadn't committed, cried out "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing."

            Kingdom people don't ignore evil.  Kingdom people don't excuse evil.  We acknowledge it and name it.  Then we choose to forgive it.  This week's Kingdom challenge is whether you can begin the process of offering complete and active forgiveness.  Forgiveness that wells up from the very depths of your hurt and pain.  It's not possible on our own.  But the King who wants to put his domain in our lives, has all the power we'd ever need. 

            prayer

Blessing

Matthew 13:36-43

Can you let God be God?  Both in trusting Him to deal with evil and in trusting him to give you the power to forgive?

May that be true in your life.  May you be people who continue to do good, despite the evil done to you.  May you be people who live in the Kingdom because you've embraced forgiveness.