Discern, Grow, Wait – Pentecost 8

Discern. Grow. Wait.

Pentecost 8 T Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

INI

Part of living as God’s holy people is uprooting the evil within us. Squashing the old Adam in our hearts that hasn’t gone away. Hearing Christ’s Word with repentance and faith. Cultivating a life of love and good works. That’s how God helps root out sin from within us.

But what about the evil that exists outside of us? How should Christians respond to the evil that surrounds us?

The natural inclination is to treat the evil outside of us, the way we do the evil within us – uproot it, purge it, and throw it away. Wouldn’t life be better if evil weren’t around? Using the language of the parable – we want to be weed pullers for Jesus. But doing that falls right into Satan’s trap, and the church can end up sabotaging its own mission.

         That’s the danger that Jesus warns us of in today’s parable.

         A man sows wheat in His field. But during the night, his enemy came and sowed weeds between the wheat. But this wasn’t just any weed – it’s a weed called ‘darnel’. To Jesus’ original audience, they knew what darnel was. It was a poisonous weed that often grew near wheat. But you couldn’t just go in a pull out the weeds from the fields, because they looked just like the wheat! In fact, they were nearly indistinguishable from each other! It wasn’t until they were fully matured when it become clear if it was wheat, or darnel.

         Once the servants of the Master saw the darnel was sowed, they told the Master. The Master knew what was happening. It was his enemy who did this. And not wanting the enemy to get the upper hand, the servants said “do you want us to go and gather the weeds?” That’s understandable, right? The weeds don’t belong, so let’s go get it out of there! Let’s not let it affect the good wheat! And the Master responds, “No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the harvest time I will tell the reapers, ‘Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn…”

         Jesus later explains that He’s the one who sows good seed. The field is the world, which He lays royal claim to. It’s His kingdom. The good seed is us, the children of the kingdom, and the darnel are the sons of the evil one, sowed by the devil. And then Jesus explains what this all means – “Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

         So, the parable tells us – evil will be dealt with. But not by us. By God. In His time, at the consummation of the age. So how do we deal with evil in the meantime? The Master tells His servants not to root out the evil ones, but discern, grow, and wait.

As Christians, we need to sharpen our discernment skills. There is good. And there is evil. Everyone’s not “basically good” as they may claim, nor are morality relative. Jesus teaches us that in the parable. There’s wheat, and there’s darnel. The darnel looked like wheat at first. But only when it matured did it become distinguishable from the wheat. Similarly, evil disguises itself as something good before it’s true nature is revealed.

         We live in a time when evil is becoming more obvious to spot. Discerning between what’s the will of the Lord and what’s the will of Satan is becoming easier. And it’s not confined to one political party verses another. Or one nation verses another. Or outside of the church verses inside the church. Satan sows his weeds wherever he can. Wherever he can get you to bite. No field is off limits. So, discernment matters. And Jesus cares about the difference between the wheat and the darnel in His kingdom.

         So, what do we do? We live in a world where evil seems so apparent that it has to draw out a response from us. Should we weed out the evil sowed by Satan in this world?

         Well, in this parable, Jesus never directly tells us what WE are to do. But He tells us what HE’S going to do. On the last day, He will have His justice. He will judge the evil ones. He will cast them into the fire. But it’s not up to us to be judge, jury, and executioner. God is all three.

         What does that leave us to do? Well, not much really. Just grow and wait.

         Let’s start with grow. When confronted with evil, we’re taught in this world that there are two options: fight, or flight. Root out the evil, or abandon your post and go find another field to grow in. But neither is what Jesus commands us to do.

You can see those instincts around us. Sometimes our culture insists that every wrong must be rooted out immediately – that anyone that’s judged to be on the wrong side should be canceled and removed. Other times people simply retreat – deciding it’s easier to withdraw than to endure alongside evil. Both reactions assume that the answer is to separate from the evil people that surrounds us by getting rid of them.

So, what does Jesus tell us to do then? “Let both grow together until the harvest.” He’s not saying to adapt to evil people. Or approve of them. Or pretend they aren’t there. In fact, that wouldn’t be using good discernment. But He’s teaching us patience. He will separate the righteous from the unrighteous, not us. He simply grows us right where He plants us – firmly rooted in the soil – becoming immoveable, unphased, and faithful to Christ in the face of evil.

And where better to learn patience, mercy, justice, and other virtues, but in a world where those virtues are constantly tested? The Lord of all creation is even able to use the presence of that which opposes Him and His works, to conform us more and more into the image of His Son.

Finally, the Lord tells us to wait. This is the hardest. It goes against our gut reaction to act immediately. But above all, waiting contradicts our enemy’s plot. Satan planned on us acting immediately. He uses the idea that evils and injustices demands a total, fix-it-now response, from the Church. But if we do that, we can cause damages worse than the evil person himself. As Jesus says, by removing the darnel, we may even root up wheat. And isn’t that Satan’s goal in the first place? Not just to sow evil seeds, but to uproot God’s own people?

So, we don’t take matters into our own hands. We wait. Because WE aren’t the ones who make this world good, right, and ordered. Jesus does. That’s what He assures us. That’s His promise. And we must trust that He will make good on that promise, and we must trust Him when He says that if we attempt to do that in God’s kingdom, that is, not just the church, but the earth – then we can cause collateral damage. And we can create a world in which no man can stand, even if we follow Jesus.

But as we follow Him, we wait. And in that waiting, we trust that He will come to do as He’s promised. And it’s not that we’re doing NOTHING as we wait. Remember, we continue to discern and grow. But as we wait, we refuse to enact on a judgment that belongs to Him, stepping right into the trap Satan has set for us.

Truth is, evil people must be judged. They can’t be ignored or swept under the rug forever. But are we worthy to judge them eternally? How can we, when sin still clings to us so closely? If God were to root out every evil thing, where would that leave us?

We need someone who is truly good to be the judge. Someone who discerns perfectly. Someone who isn’t deceived by the appearance of the darnel. Someone who can’t be rattled by the enemy’s schemes. And that’s who our God is. Notice the Master in the parable – when the servant discovers the weeds in His field, He isn’t surprised. He doesn’t scramble to fix it right away.

In fact, the Master lets the weeds grow where they are – so not even one wheat stalk is lost. NOT. ONE. That’s the heart of your Heavenly Father. He treasures each and every one of you. He’s patient. He’s merciful. He wants to have you.

And that mercy is seen most clearly in His Son. Before Jesus would ever be the righteous Judge, He was our Savior. Our brother, Jesus Christ, died in our place, to spare us from being thrown into the fiery furnace where there’s weeping and gnashing of teeth. This judgment is for ALL evil. And He endured such wrath at the cross, so that all who would trust in Him would never know such wrath and judgment.

But thanks be to God that through His sacrifice on the cross, He bore that punishment for us. Our evil thoughts, actions, and desires are forgiven for Christ’s sake. And through the work of the Holy Spirit, we grow. Right where He’s planted us. His holiness washes over us, making our conscience more sensitive to our own sins, that we may confess them. But He also gives us more patience to trust that He’s gonna make good on His promises.

So, until the harvest comes, we discern, grow, and wait. Don’t fear the evil that surrounds you. Because your Savior, who saved you at the cross, WILL deliver you from the evil one who seeks to uproot you. The harvest belongs to Christ. Thus, we shall not fear.

INI

Pastor Joshua Ralston