In the Meantime

No one reading this needs me to tell you that the world is a bit messed up at the moment. To borrow an image from Jesus’  “The Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat” (Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43), the enemy seems to be sowing a lot of weeds in the middle of the night. 

The workers in that story sound just like me. As a gardener at heart, when I see a weed, I want to pull it up and get rid of it. In the imagery of that story, however, Jesus says that is exactly the wrong approach. God will take care of the weeds one day, and in doing so, will harvest the wheat into the barn.

I’m currently reading a fascinating new book, written by Tom Long, titled Proclaiming the Parables. I think I grew up thinking the parables were wonderful children’s stories to use in Children’s Church on Sunday mornings or at Vacation Bible School in the summer. It was back in the early 1980s when I heard William Willimon saying something like, “they’re not nice, cute stories – they are caustic and in your face.” I was out of graduate school by that time, but don’t ever remember hearing the parables described as such before. I’ve also read and appreciated George Beasley-Murray’s Kingdom Parables. Now, 40 years later, reading Tom Long’s book, I’m seeing him affirm some of the ideas I have developed for myself over the years about the parables and having new and exciting layers added to how we approach these wonderful stories from the life and times of Jesus. 

“The Weeds among the Wheat” story sounds so counter-intuitive to how it should sound. I always try and pull out the weeds growing among my flowers and vegetables. To the imagery the story represents – shouldn’t I work at ridding our culture of all the evil we can by “pulling up the weeds?” 

But as Long suggests, this parable “shows us what not to do. . .  it is a parable about what God does and what is happening on the cosmic plane.” Yet, in this political season – especially down on the more local levels – I hear politicians doing their best to “out-Christian” their opponents and while doing so, rid our culture of evil. But actually, Jesus seems to be saying something like “Let God take care of the weeds; you just keep planting wheat.”

Here is another word from Long:

In the meantime, do not expect in the present set of circumstances to experience the kingdom in pristine purity. Don’t go looking for the kingdom in some unsullied desert sanctuary uncorrupted by the world. The field to be worked is this world; the kingdom is germinating in this world, this real and compromised world where good and evil so clearly coexist. And do not think you have the power to purify the world; you do not. Therefore, do not be tempted to think human cooperation with the kingdom is purification, draining the swamp, clearing out the dive bar, plucking out all the weeds. 

In the meantime, we should learn from the mustard seed story and the woman with the yeast. A tiny little seed – planted in the context of the kingdom – can do amazing things. Or a relatively small amount of yeast, stirred into the bread dough, can permeate that clump of flour and make bread out of it.  That seems to be our job – sow some seed and stir up some bread, and leave the weed-pulling to God and His angels. But don’t sow weeds – that makes you the enemy of the kingdom. 

It is so much easier to insist that the government lock up prisoners and throw away the key, treating them poorly at best, and then being surprised when rehabilitation doesn’t happen. Or to alienate every woman who has ever had an abortion or might think about it, rather than becoming known for being a church that will invest resources in helping women to make life-giving choices. Or always be determined to have the last word about issues surrounding human sexuality, rather than doing our best to bear witness to righteousness not by condemning behavior we don’t approve of, but modeling behavior in such a wholesome way it becomes attractive to all of those who know us.

Tom Wright and Michael Bird, in their new book titled Jesus and the Powers, point out Jesus’ statement to Pilate in John 18:36 where, in part, he says, “My kingdom isn’t the sort that grows in this world.” (The Kingdom New Testament) Then they say, “Jesus’ kingdom is not like the kingdoms of this world. It doesn’t originate the same way or behave like the kingdoms of this world. But Jesus’ kingdom is still for this world, for the benefit and blessing of this world, for the redemption and rescue of this world.” (page 35)

In the meantime . . . I’ve spent much of my adult life telling others that to follow Jesus, we must be willing to be counter-intuitive and counter-cultural. The first doesn’t mean anti-intellectual and the second doesn’t mean anti-cultural. But I do mean that the world, the empires, the powers – well, they can’t solve our problems.

Mustard seeds and yeast. In the context of Matthew 13, Jesus seems to think using those two insignificant resources can trump any weed pulling. 

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