July 19, 2020

7th Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah 44:6-8
Psalm 86:11-17
Romans 8:12-25
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, 
grace and peace to you from the one who tells us to wait in hope. Amen
 
It’s hard to wait when we know what is possible.
 
That’s the reality of our lives right now
 and that is the reality that our lessons address today
 along with the promise that the waiting is worthwhile, necessary even.
 
Jesus starts us off with a parable, 
a farmer who has prepared their fields for planting
 sows good seed. 
 
From the preparations they have made
 they have every expectation 
that when the seeds sprout
 it will be a field full of the best wheat. 
 
But we are told,
 an enemy comes in the night 
and scatters weeds in the field. 
 
When the plants come up
 the workers realize that there are weeds among the wheat, 
they are confused,
 they say “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then did these weeds come from?” 
 
and the Master, the farmer, responds, 
it must have been an enemy who did this,
 and at this the workers are galvanized for action, 
they are ready to go out into the field 
and get those weeds out of there, 
defeat the enemy and return the field to the way it was intended 
full of only good wheat. 
 
But the Farmer stops them saying “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

It goes against our instincts
 to leave the weeds in with the wheat.
 When we see something whether it is a field, a garden, or even a community
 that is not growing as we know it could be, 
or even as we think it should be, 
our first instinct is to go in and root out what is not supposed to be there 
 
but the hazard of that is there is often collateral damage, 
in our quest to get rid of the weeds 
we also rip up some of the wheat, 
we cause harm to members of our community. 
Weeding disturbs more than just the weeds.
 
I know in my own garden
 I’ve pulled up many a little carrot or beet 
that has just barely begun to form 
in the process of my weeding, 
and I’ve even accidentally stepped on other plants
 in my quest to rip out that hunk of crabgrass. 
 
These accidents are not ideal 
but I prepared for them,
 I planted more than enough seeds, 
knowing that some would not grow and some would be pulled with the weeds,
 I’m willing to take that risk with my garden.
 
Jesus is not willing to take that risk in his garden. 
Jesus’ grace means that he’d rather let the weeds grow with the wheat
 than to risk hurting any of the wheat in the process.
 
 Jesus is willing to settle for less than perfection 
to protect the wheat. 
But just because he’s willing to let the weeds grow for the sake of the wheat 
doesn’t mean that in the end 
the weeds will be treated the same as the wheat.
 
 When it’s time for the harvest, 
the whole point of growing the field in the first place,
 the weeds will be separated out from the wheat 
and while the wheat will become food for the world, 
the weeds will be burned
 but until that time he tells us to wait.
 
Waiting is hard,
 especially when we know what could be 
and especially if we think we know a way that we could act, 
but Jesus has cautioned us to wait 
and promised that at the right time, 
God’s time, it will end as it should. 
But it’s still frustrating.
 
That frustration is what Paul is speaking to 
when he writes: “We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.” 
 
As children of God we know what God has promised, 
the vision for the future 
which means that we are even more aware 
of how this world falls short of that promise 
and in a way that adds to our frustration, our suffering,
 it’s almost enough to ask why God would even make us aware of the difference.
 
Why? Because we come to this awareness through the gift of grace, 
God’s love for us that is already transforming our lives. 
You see each of us are like the field in the parable, 
while God created us good,
 the evil one has sown weeds in us, 
weeds that tell us that it is okay to only care about ourselves, 
weeds that turn us away from God and in on ourselves, 
weeds that tell us the lie that we are supposed to be the judge of others. 
 
All these weeds are in us along with the wheat, the gifts of the spirit,
 and God refuses to reject us because of our weeds. 
 
This is grace, 
that even though we are less than perfect, 
less than we could be 
and even less than we should be, 
God loves us.
 
 and that love gives us hope. 
As Paul says “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” 
  
Grace leads to hope,
 hope leads to patience.
 
Now remember hope is not optimism, 
where optimism says I think things will just turn out okay, 
hope looks at the reality of the world, 
the despair and seemingly insurmountable obstacles,
 and says, nevertheless I believe that God will bring new life. 
 
We have hope because we have Jesus, 
who faced the most insurmountable obstacle, death, 
and three days later appeared to the disciples, 
proclaiming that death had been defeated.
 
And joined to Christ in our baptisms’
 we have been joined to his death and resurrection,
 assured that in the end where Christ is, there we will be,
 that nothing can separate us from the love of God,
 not even the weeds within and around us 
 
and when we have this, 
this grace,
 this new life that we get glimpses of along the way,
 we can wait.
 
As Paul says “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.” 
We are well aware of the imperfections of the world, 
all the things that could be and should be, 
 
and Jesus has promised
 that in the end there will be new life, 
even if, especially if,
 it is nothing like we imagine
 and so we have hope,
 and in hope we wait. Amen