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Many years ago, when I was a teenager, I helped out at a friend's farm and nursery. During the 5 years I spent working there, I learned a number of basic things about planting, weeding, fertilizing, and so on. I acquired a great deal of practical knowledge in this time; things like: only spray round-up on days when the wind is low, don't pull up a plant unless you are sure it's a weed, a little fertilizer helps a great deal while a lot of fertilizer just makes things worse. I also found out that seed can be quite expensive and that the more you weed, the less you have to water your plants.
As I acquired these pearls of agricultural knowledge, the gospel parables about farming, the one we had last week and the one we have this week, began to drive me crazy. What sort of a farmer sows seed so carelessly that it falls among thorns, upon rocky soil, and on the path? And what in the world would a farmer be thinking if he allowed his crops to grow along with the weeds without making an attempt to kill at least some of them? All in all, I concluded, God was a pretty bad farmer, wasting seeds and letting weeds grow in his garden of creation.
However, after 15 years of preaching, I’ve had the opportunity to go deeper into this parable and learn the context behind it, which Jesus and his listeners would have already known. No surprisingly, this knowledge exposed my foolishness and hubris. It also demonstrates the wisdom of God with his atypical gardening and why this image of the weeds and the wheat is perfect in describing the spiritual struggle in the human heart.
In Palestine, the farmers have to contend with weeds just like anyone else. A particular weed that grows alongside wheat is called a bearded darnel. In their early stages, the bearded darnel and the wheat were impossible to tell apart, even for an experienced farmer. By the time they grew large enough to be distinguished, one from the other, it was too late because their roots were impossibly intertwined. Any attempts to get rid of the weed would kill the wheat as well. As a result, the farmers of Jesus’ time would let both grow together until the time of harvest. When the harvest finally arrived, the wheat and the darnel weed had to be separated carefully by hand because the grain of this weed is actually poisonous. If it is consumed, it is bitter, unpleasant and it causes a person to get dizzy and sick.
This parable teaches us many important truths. First, it shows how hard it can be to distinguish between the wheat and the weeds in regards to people. You and I live in the time before the spiritual harvest. More often than not, it is impossible for us to tell which person is wheat and which person is a weed in the eyes of God. We might classify someone as “bad” who is not, or we might consider someone as “good” who is not. Because we do not know all of the facts, because many deeds and the intentions of the heart are unknown to us, we must learn that only God has the right to judge the wheat from the weeds. It is not our place to do so. How often we might consider someone a weed in our own lives because they have caused us pain, annoyance, or some other type of suffering. We want them to pay and be uprooted for what they have done. But if we are honest with ourselves, we realize we have also acted as weeds and should be grateful for many chances God gives to turn our lives around and repent.
Secondly, it shows us that there is judgment for all people at the end of time. This might be a frightening and unpleasant thing for us to think about, but the parable makes it very clear that God’s judgment will come. At the time of the harvest, God must separate who has truly been wheat and who has lived as a weed. As frightening as this divine judgment might seem, we can take comfort in the fact that God is not arbitrary or careless. He is patient, loving and kind; this is why he doesn’t rush to tear out those who appear to be weeds. Think of how many saints might have been uprooted and thrown into the fire if they had been judged too soon, according to the minds of men rather than God. God sees the heart and the potential each person has to turn back to him and bear an abundant harvest!
Finally, this parable demonstrates that there is an evil power at work in our world. The enemy who sows bad seed is clearly the devil, who wishes to destroy the kingdom of God and its great spiritual harvest. We should recognize that we are in the midst of a great spiritual battle and our hearts, minds, and souls often contain both wheat and weed at the same time. When we are attentive to the Word of God, when we follow the teachings of Christ and his Church, when we live as true Christians, then our lives are wheat for the kingdom of heaven. But when we fall asleep spiritually, when we sin in our thoughts, words, and deeds, we allow the devil to sow bad seed in our hearts, bad seed that separates us from God and one another.
This beautiful, powerful parable reminds us that we must always be on guard against sin in our lives. It teaches us that we are fighting a serious power and we need God’s help to do so. It keeps us humble by acknowledging that we have both good and bad present within us and we are in no position to condemn others or give up on them. Until the time of the harvest arrives, you and I must never stop struggling against the weeds of sin that try to take root in our souls. Let us resolve today to always be wheat for the kingdom of God, preparing for the harvest. Let us make use of the spiritual fertilizers that Christ gives us, especially in the sacraments, to grow in our faith and in our service to God and to one another. “He who has ears ought to hear!!”
