July 23, 2017 - Seventh Sunday after Pentecost - What then must we do?

Summertime and both Pastor Michelle and Matt were not part of the worship service today.

Pastor Sara substituted and Tiffany Barclay once again filled in for Matt. This morning was a good reminder of how much Sunday worship is a collective journey for Creator as a community. Tiffany played different tempos and cued at different times in the music and obviously the way we performed together was not like Matt and I when we collaborate. Pastor Sara was not used to what was loud mic volume for her but the congregation wanted her to leave the volume where it was. We were all agreeing on cues just before the service.

This highlighted how there is an expected Creator worship routine that is formed week by week. The routine serves the congregation  even when someone is absent yet there can be moments which inspire, disappoint or simply draw awareness of what is often taken for granted.

Since Pastor Ray was called and will start mid-September this was an interesting time to experience a small sense of the changes that will likely come when Pastor Ray and the congregation build new worship traditions.

Today's sermon was the Parable of The Weeds or, as I initially encountered it, the Parable of the Wheat and Tares. I like the word "tares" over the more generic "weeds" because tares indicate these plants are the kind of "weed" that resembles wheat.

Pastor Sara admitted, to begin her sermon, that she is, at heart, a rule follower. As such, she went on to say, she is often tempted to be a tattletale of truth. She thought this was relevant to this parable for a reason. She preached how many are uncomfortable about the judgment Jesus details here. The weeds, in the end, are thrown into the fire. This does not appear to be part of the response a loving God would advocate.

She then preached about how the judgment Jesus discusses here is definitely a "truth telling" response rather than a tattletale truth. What distinguishes this truth is that it is made based on the good of the individual and the community. Rather than a tattletale truth this is a "God as a good parent truth-telling" judgement.

This understanding confuses me when applied to our parable here. From this perspective it is easy to see why people are uncomfortable. A "truth-telling, good parent" judgment is hard to justify when angels will "weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Given the context, this punishment feels out of proportion and somewhat vindictive. Good parent punishments are justified when there is the possibility to change future behavior or to protect someone or something. From our understanding of the end of the age that is not in play in the end times. Something appears to wrong with this approach.

Last week my wife advised me to always go back to what Jesus initially intended to communicate to those listening and how they would have understood the message. I suspect for people with an agrarian knowledge of the world this parable mainly would underscore in their minds that the "kingdom of heaven" does not conform to, nor can it be explained by, our earthly understanding.

Leaving the weeds to grow with the wheat would choke out the wheat (as is pointed out in the Parable of the Sower) and would allow the weed seeds to spread. This is not how a sensible farmer would respond. Jesus is not providing advice here to farmers on is needed to bring about a good harvest in this world.

When the servants ask if they should pull out the tares that Jesus offers; with farmer's unexpected, impractical answer; what the kingdom of heaven is like.

No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest."

This answer leads to most of the important insights and promises of this parable:

1)  The seed for the kingdom is already sewn. The good harvest happens regardless of the existence of the weeds.
2)  The farmer's response to the servant's question as to why there are weeds and evil, "An enemy has done this", confirms the weeds are not part of God's will simply because they are in the field. This is as explicit an answer as scripture provides about why evil appears in the world.
3)  Trying to "root out"evil will not, in itself, help the harvest and, perhaps, will do more damage. This uprooting is not prohibited or wrong but it will not, in the end, achieve the eradication of evil.
4)  We are not obliged to do something about the evil in the world. Too often this becomes the justification for retribution. This also defuses an argument that often leads us away from our internal, moral compass. How often are we told, "We must do something to fight evil, we have no choice or the evil will flourish. What else can we do?" What Then Must We Do? is a non-fiction work by Leo Tolstoy completed the book in 1886 where he addresses the justice issues of his time. Jesus has an answer in the Wheat and Tares parable.
5)  God's justice does not easily translate to what we know as earthly justice. Consider what Jesus teaches by saying the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. In our experience is someone born bad or good? Can we look at someone and know this is a son of the kingdom while someone else is the son of the evil one? Jesus, mercifully, shows us the hubris of this thinking and suggests we do not need to do this as a response to evil.

Thankfully, for many who are rule followers, this parable simply presents the opportunity we have to trust and have faith in a justice that is not easily understood.