Are you a weed or wheat?
That’s a strange question isn’t it. But that is the question our gospel lesson is asking each of us. Are we weeds or are we wheat? Our gospel reading is about the difference between weeds and wheat in a field.
Jesus tells a parable about farmer who sowed some wheat in his field. Everything was going good, until one day his servants noticed that some weeds which looked just like the wheat were growing as well. They ran to the owner and asked him about the kinds of seeds that he used. He said that an enemy has sown the bad seed in his field and that he had used good seed.
Then the servants, being eager to make the field look good again, asked if they should go and pull out the weeds. But the master says no, because until the weeds and the wheat ripen no one could really tell them apart and they might disturb the good wheat along with trying to pull up the weeds.
He tells them that they should leave it alone, and then when the wheat is ready for harvest, the weeds will have bloomed also, and you could tell the difference. Then the harvesters could come and pull out the weeds and burn them, and bring in a good harvest of wheat.
Jesus then explains the parable by saying that the sower or the master is the Son of God, the field is the world, and the good seed are the sons or people of the kingdom of God and the bad seeds or the weeds are the sons of the devil who sowed them into the field.
Jesus then says that you cannot tell the difference between these two groups of people, but when the end of the world comes, and the harvest is ready, then the angels will separate the evil ones from the righteous ones. The evil ones will be burned and the righteous people will live with him for eternity.
Now the question can be asked, which are you, the weeds or the wheat? This parable was not told so that we might go around and judge others and decide who is a weed and who is wheat. Jesus says loud and clear that he and only he is the one who has that responsibility. Judgement belongs to the Father and his angels.
But the parable is for us to take a close look at our life so that we can figure out whether we are weeds or wheat – whether we bear good fruit, or no fruit for God. You see, in our lives there will always be times that we are doing the will of God and times when we are not – times when we are weeds and times when we are wheat. Jesus wants us to look at our lives continually to see what fruit we are bearing for him.
So today, we don’t want you to look at your neighbour and say, well, pastor is really talking about you. Today’s sermon is addressed to each of us individually. It is a time to look at our own lives – at the way we live out our faith, then make a decision about repenting and turning around and bearing fruit for Jesus.
As we look at ourselves this morning, as we compare ourselves to the example of weeds or wheat, we can ask this question of ourselves. Do we want to look like the wheat when it is convenient for us, and then be like weeds the rest of the time? Or putting it another way, does our faith in Jesus and the responsibility for living a committed kind of life get turned on and off when it is convenient for us?
Many people label Christians as hypocrites. They say one thing or expect one thing from others and not themselves. Are you like that? Am I like that? Do we have one standard for ourselves, and another standard for others? Or are we consistent? Do we live out what Jesus has demonstrated in his life as the way of living each day we face on this earth?
Ask yourself if being a follower of Jesus stops when you leave the church and starts again when you enter the doors again next Sunday? Or does being a Christian do something to your entire life, 7 days a week 24 hours a day? Judge for yourself, because you and God are the only one who can answer those questions, you are the only one who knows what is in the corner of your mind and heart. You and God are the only ones who knows whether your faith is bearing fruit, or not.
Another question this parable poses for us is this: are we being productive with our lives? Are we bearing fruit for the sake of the gospel? Jesus says that the wheat bears good fruit, but the weeds bear no fruit. Are you willing to bear fruit to get involved for the sake of the gospel message?
Our church is always in need of people to help with projects or take up positions in the church. We constantly need people who will be involved, people to help with rosters. We need people to support the activities of our congregation. There are a host of other areas in our church that are just waiting for someone to put up their hand to help with.
Jesus asks you this morning to search your hearts and souls to see if you will bear fruit for him. He asks us if you and I are willing to get involved for the sake of his gospel message? He is asking if we will go to our neighbours and friends and tell them about Jesus who loves them.
Another question that faces us this morning is this: do we choke the good seeds around us at times as we live our Christian life? A farmer wants only good wheat in his field, because the weeds will rob the wheat and choke off the good seed so that they won’t bear as much good fruit, and the yield will be less. Are you the kind of person that prevents our congregation from achieving what God wants us to do or are you an encourager? Am I the kind of person who hinders those who are trying to bear good fruit?
Sometimes we are selfish with our own ideas, our own feelings about things, that we choke out the ideas, and the enthusiasm of others with our own agendas. Sometimes we look down on what others are doing because it is not what we like or want. Sometimes we can stifle growth in our Lord simply by not willingly help those who are trying to get something going. And sometimes we can stop God from working in others by criticizing them. One of the easiest way to discourage young people from their faith is to criticize them or their way of worship or not to allow them to take on jobs in the congregation.
As we have looked at ourselves this morning, we could conclude that all is lost for us. But I think implied in this parable is a time for repentance. Jesus will come with the angels at the close of the age, but until that time, whenever it may be, we still have time to repent, to change our ways, to reach out to others who need our help, to be compassionate, to be loving to be the caring and concerned people that Jesus wants us to be.
There is time for repentance. There is time for us to confront the barrenness in our lives and with the help of God’s Spirit to change our lives, and to turn away from being weeds to bearing much fruit.
As you look back on your life you will see times when you have borne fruit and times when you haven’t. It happens to us all. And if you can’t immediately see the fruit, know that God has promised that his work in you will bear fruit, even if you can’t see it. What Jesus is telling us today is that we need to be constantly aware of how we live our lives so that we are continually allowing God to work in and through us to bring about what he wants and not stopping him from working through us and through others.
I would like to tell you a story about how a little girl helped the neighbour bully change his ways. The bully’s name was Todd, his parents were divorced and he was left to fend for himself. He’s rude and for an 8-year-old he can swear pretty good. When he comes over to Heidi’s house the quiet surrounding can turn quickly into chaos, with fighting, crying and disobeying rules.
But Heidi didn’t cut Todd out from her circle of friends. Instead, if Todd swore, she told him it was wrong and God didn’t like that. If he started a fight, she told him he’d have to go home. And on Sunday morning, she would collect 2 children’s activity sheets and give one to Todd. She even took him to Sunday School.
Heidi has not weeded out the bully. And Todd tries hard to be good. He’s much happier now, more alert and he plays wells. He has more fun playing than fighting. He and Heidi have even talked about Jesus and Bible stories. Todd needed some help with his repentance, but most of all he needed someone who was willing to care or him, not in a judgmental way, but in a loving caring way. Todd is less of a weed now among the children on his street. Thanks be to God who continues to cultivate the harvest in Heidi’s life.
As you look at yourself this morning, remember there is time for repentance, there is time to change. God has given the opportunity for all his people to bear fruit. He has given us his Holy Spirit to empower us to bear fruit. And he continues to give us many opportunities to bear fruit. And remember that we may not see the fruit, but God does. Anything done through faith is God will bear the fruit God intends to bring from it.
The sower has done all the sowing, he has planted the seeds, he will nourish the seeds, he will water them, care for them lovingly and all he asks us to do is let him in our lives and in the lives of others. Will you let God’s Spirit work in your life so that you can bear fruit? Amen.
Isaiah 55:10-13 – The Word Of God
10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. 12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.
Romans 8:1-11 – Life Through the Spirit
1 If you belong to Christ Jesus, you won’t be punished. 2 The Holy Spirit will give you life that comes from Christ Jesus and will set you free from sin and death. 3 The Law of Moses cannot do this, because our selfish desires make the Law weak. But God set you free when he sent his own Son to be like us sinners and to be a sacrifice for our sin. God used Christ’s body to condemn sin. 4 He did this, so that we would do what the Law commands by obeying the Spirit instead of our own desires. 5 People who are ruled by their desires think only of themselves. Everyone who is ruled by the Holy Spirit thinks about spiritual things. 6 If our minds are ruled by our desires, we will die. But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace. 7 Our desires fight against God, because they do not and cannot obey God’s laws. 8 If we follow our desires, we cannot please God. 9 You are no longer ruled by your desires, but by God’s Spirit, who lives in you. People who don’t have the Spirit of Christ in them don’t belong to him. 10 But Christ lives in you. So you are alive because God has accepted you, even though your bodies must die because of your sins. 11 Yet God raised Jesus to life! God’s Spirit now lives in you, and he will raise you to life by his Spirit.
Matthew 13:1-9 – The Parable of the Sower
1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
