We Grow and God Weeds – It’s not the Usual, but it is Divine | The 8th Sunday after Pentecost | 19 July 2026 | Matthew 13:24-30 | Beth A. Schlegel

text English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles (or other version)

24 [Jesus] put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” 36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

 

We Grow and God Weeds – It’s not the Usual, but it is Divine

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

An old joke goes, “Well, the world would be a great place if it weren’t for people…”

We all get frustrated, annoyed, and angry because of the ways other people behave.

• They deceive us
• Betray our trust
• Put us in a bad light
• Make us feel stupid, or helpless

And even when it isn’t personal, we can be upset by other people’s profanity, personal habits, arrogance or meekness, even their fashion choices.

Yes, other people can be vexing. It takes all kinds to make the world.

And some people, Jesus tells us, are more than just crazy-making – they are evil.

Evil is more than just doing bad things or making mistakes.

Evil is that which is against God; against the goodness God intends for the whole world; against

life, faith, and hope.Evil is opposed to love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

And instead, evil acts with hatred, misery, chaos, intolerance, cruelty, ruthlessness, infidelity, violence, and self-indulgence.

Evil people purposely do what is contrary to the will of God and purposely act to get in the way of those who do what is right. Evil people are weeds growing so closely to the good wheat that to try to pull them up would destroy the wheat.

I used to think it was possible to avoid evil. If I chose my friends carefully, declined invitations that went against God’s commandments, stayed away from the so-called “dens of iniquity”, then I could move through life unscathed by evil.

Then, I got on the school bus– with kids who taunted “retard” when the bus passed my house, because of my brother who had been severely disabled and died of his brain injuries.

That was evil. God’s enemy had sown seeds of hatred in those young hearts. But I still had to ride the bus with them every day.

In time, I learned that there were even greater evils in the garden of life:

• scammers, swindlers,
• people who treat other people as less than human,
• murderers, thieves,
• people who pretend to be great, but who trample the weak like toothpicks.

And they are our neighbors, coworkers, church members, people we live with day in and day out.

Sometimes, evil is the face in the mirror…

In Jesus’ story of the kingdom of heaven, it was logical that the field workers thought the best solution would be to simply get rid of all those weeds. It’s human nature to want to do away with the obstacles in our path, to maintain our sense of control. Humans do this especially when we believe we have the highest power and authority and there is nothing greater than we are.

…when we confuse being “like God” with “being God”.

We want to be able to point fingers and say: They are the evil ones and must be destroyed.

But Jesus teaches a different way.

Jesus points those field workers to a greater authority and power than theirs to deal with evil weeds. Jesus himself will send angels to gather the weeds for the fire and the wheat for the granary – but only at the time of the harvest. It is not the responsibility of the field workers todistinguish between the wheat and the weeds at the harvest. That will happen by God’s judgment.

During the growing season, Jesus teaches patience, forbearance, perseverance, and hope.

This applies to each of us living in a field of wheat and weeds, righteousness and evil. In any situation when we are tempted to “play God” to get rid of obstacles to our will, we learn from. Jesus.

Patience – Wait. Discern the will of God. Pray to ask for guidance in how to proceed in coexisting with evil. Leave the judgment to God.

Forbearance – Jesus says to let the weeds and the wheat grow together until the harvest.

Yes, we must put up with the presence of evil and its minions – but we don’t need to go along with it. Martin Luther is purported to have said it this way: “You can’t stop a bird from pooping on your head, but you can stop it from making a nest there.” Forbearance also means accepting our need to confess and ask forgiveness for the evil we do. We cannot root out our own weeds, but must daily ask the Lord Jesus to do just that, for the sake of his cross. When we practice forbearance with ourselves, we can also forbear with others and accept them. When we receive forgiveness for our sins, then we are humbled and no longer need to control others. We are ready for Jesus’ call to perseverance.

Perseverance – we are to continue to grow as the wheat we are. While we have to contend with the evil around us as it seeks to distract us and prevent us from growing, we should not overly worry about it; instead, we should focus on growing and producing fruit to the best of our ability.

So, with patience, forbearance, and perseverance, we live as wheat alongside the weeds. We can do this, because Jesus gives us hope.

Hope – At the harvest, the weeds will be separated from the wheat. God will see to it. Evil does not win. Jesus has seen to that by his death and resurrection. In the end of our time, Jesus promises to send angels to gather up all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

In the meantime, let us continue to be good seed sown by Jesus in the world and being a source of life for the world.

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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©Beth A. Schlegel
pastorschlegel@live.com
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, York, PA, USA
Christ Lutheran Church, Manchester, PA, USA