Weed Whacking

Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds. "The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?' 

He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, "First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn."'" (Matthew 13:24-30)

I grew up on my grandparents’ farm.  I was their laborer on the weekends when I was given the chore of weeding the vegetable gardens.  Leave them be, and the weeds take over.  They choke out the valuable crop and compete for space and soil nutrients.  Sometimes it felt that someone had sown weed seeds because they were everywhere.

Now, Jesus said not to pull up the weeds because they might uproot the wheat with them. That’s a risk I’d be willing to take provided the weeding was done early enough.  It’s best for the good seed responsible for crops that will bear fruit.  

Too many of us put up with the weeds and let them grow along side of us, choking us with their presence.  Weeds are those among us who are disrespectful, cause injury, and hurt us or those we love with their words and often hateful actions.  Pulling these weeds means confronting them and not tolerating their destructive behavior.

In a way when we refuse to be silent about evil, we collect the weeds, tie them in bundles, and burn them.  Weeds are for whacking.  They must not be allowed to flourish at the crops expense.

Deacon David Pierce