The Text
Last Time on ‘The Story’
So we go from three weeks of preaching on an hour of time, and now skip forward significantly. By this point, Jesus has collected quite the following, and has selected “The Twelve” who are called as disciples (followers/lerners) and then immediately sent out (Apostles- those who are sent) to all of the towns of the Jewish people. Jesus gives the second set of Torah instruction to them in preparation for this mission. This instruction also gives Matthew the opportunity to instruct those in his own day who are undergoing massive persecution under the Roman Empire, and is also applicable to us who find it slightly less easy to be Christian than it was in recent memory (mostly due to our own historic use of hegemonic powers and hypocrisy).
After Jesus sends out the twelve, there is some conversation about who Jesus is. John sends some disciples from prison to see if Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus neither confirms nor denies messiahship, but points to the fruits of his ministry. He then instructs the crowd on John the Baptizer and more about the kingdom of God. Next there are a handful of interactions specifically with the Pharisees, where they ultimately declare him to be from Beelzebul (One of the Ba’al deities well known as an enemy of YHWH). Jesus once again uses fruit as a metaphor, and promises only the ‘sign of Jonah.’ Finally in this triad of responses to Jesus is a short story about his mother and brothers wanting to speak with him (it is not clear why, but we might imagine). Jesus proclaims familial connection to those who do the will of his father.
Today’s reading is a part of the third set of Torah Instruction to a large crowd on shore of a lake, Jesus preaches to them from a boat, using the natural amphitheater to be heard. In this set of teaching, Jesus primarily uses parables, and the disciples ask about them. He says that the purpose is to obscure truth so that those who get it get it, and those who don’t won’t. If you get it you get it.
Overview of Matthew
Let us look at today’s text in the overall structure of Matthew’s Account of the Gospel.
Ch. 1-3 Overture
1:1-2:23 Nativity
3:1-17 John the Baptizer
Ch. 4-7 Jesus’ early ministry, culminating in giving Torah (Sermon on the Mount)
4:1-11 Jesus’ Temptation
4:12-25 Jesus begins ministry in Galilee, gathers disciples, and ministers with the message “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near.”
5:1-7:29 First set of Torah (aka Sermon on the Mount)
Ch. 8-10 Enacting the Kingdom, culminating in Jesus’ instruction to his apostles (sent ones) as they go out.
Ch. 11-13 Responses to Jesus, culminating in Parables about the Kingdom
11:2-30 Jesus questioned by John’s disciples, and Jesus teaches on John the Baptizer and the Kingdom of Heaven
12:1-46 Jesus questioned by Pharisees, and Jesus teaches about Leaders and Unclean Spirits
12:46-50 Jesus’ family tries to (presumably) question him, Jesus teaches on his true family
13:1-58 Torah on the Lake
13:1-2 Introduction
13:3-9 Parable of the Sower and 4 kinds of soil
13:10-23 Interrupt: Out of context meta-teaching on the purpose for parables
13:10-17 disciples asking about the purpose of parables, which Jesus explains
13:18-23 Jesus explains the parable of the sower, presumably only to the twelve
13:24-30 (Back to context) Parable of the weeds among the wheat
13:31-32 Parable of the Mustard Seed
13:33 Parable of the Yeast
13:34-35 (Editorial comment) the use of parables
13:36-43 (Back to context) Jesus and disciples leave the crowd and go to a house, Jesus explains the Parable of the Weeds
13:44-50 Three parables about the Kingdom of Heaven ((treasure in a field, pearl of great price, net in the sea)
13:51-53 The Kingdom Scribe who brings both new and old treasures.
13:54-58 Jesus goes back to Nazareth and is rejected
Ch. 14-20 Various Expectations of Messiah, culminating in Jesus preparing his disciples/apostles for his death
Ch. 21-25 Direct Confrontation with the Religious elites, culminating with a blistering critique of the Pharisees
Ch. 26-28 Crucifixion and Resurrection
Today’s Story
Parables in General: It might be helpful to take a second to reflect on the purpose of parables in general. The word Parable comes from the Greek compound word, para- meaning to ‘alongside’, and bole meaning ‘to set.’ So a parable is literally to set one image alongside another. In this way it is similar to a metaphor or simile, but in a short story form. A parable says that one thing (e.g. the kingdom of heaven) is like this short story (e.g. wheat and weeds).
This longer section of Jesus’ teaching is intercut with his disciples asking him (apparently at a different time, perhaps set at the end of the story) about the use of parables. Jesus affirms the disciple’s position, that they get to know the secrets of heaven, but that has not (necessarily) been given such secrets. “For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they do have will be taken away” (13:12). This strikes us as being very much against the economy that Jesus proclaimed in the Beatitudes, so what is going on here?
This jump-cut of Jesus in private discussion with his disciples is laid along side of Jesus’ telling of a particular parable, the sower and 4 types of soil. To the crowd, he says that a sower went out to sow, and threw seeds all over the place. Some fell on the path and were quickly eaten by birds. Some fell on rocky soil and though they sprang up quickly, did not last very long when the sun beat down on them. Some others fell among thorns and weeds, and were eventually choked out. Still others fell in good soil and were not only able to grow, but to flourish, creating more seeds.
In a potential meta-parable situation, Jesus’ explanation of the purpose of parables seems to be an explanation of the parable as well as the later explicit explanation. The disciples are those in which this seed of the gospel will be able to grow, they are good soil (presumably, more on that in a sec). Others may not be, some will not receive the gospel message, because it will be too easily snatched away or dismissed. Some will get on the Jesus bandwagon for a while, but the gospel message will eventually wither and die because it is not deeply rooted. Others will allow the weeds of “the cares of the world and the lure of wealth” choke the gospel message, hegemonic calls for power and prestige, Christian nationalism, political influence, social media influence, etc. come to mind.
Yet I think it is also important to note that Jesus continues to teach to these large crowds. Presumably the sower of the seeds knows that casting seeds on the street, rocks, or weeds is not going to have the desired effect, yet they willy-nilly cast the seeds around. Depending on our opinion of Jesus’ access to divine mind, we might assume that Jesus at least has an idea as to which in the crowds are metaphorically good or bad soil, and yet he proclaims to all of them. A hardcore Calvinist teller of the story might go so far as to say that Jesus/God only plants seeds in places where they know that the seed will flourish, but that is not what we have here. The sower/Jesus/God lavishly throws seeds, either not knowing or not caring which seeds will fall on good soil, or which will not. It seems that the potential for growth is more important than the assurance of growth, which is maybe something that we should consider. Jesus proclaims the parables loudly so that all can hear, just in case some will hear and grow and become the kingdom that he is planting.
There is also the matter of the open ended nature of parables. With a few notable exceptions, and then only to a select few, interpretations of the parables are not given. It is possible , maybe even likely, that these interpretations were a later addition, at least by Matthew, as an answer to the discomfort that the lack of interpretation opens. Our Modern Western mindset does not usually have a lot of comfort with ambiguity and a lack of straightforward and definitive answers. There are some more contemplative parts of the church which are more comfortable with mystery. Our Jewish siblings are generally much more comfortable with mystery and ambiguity. Theirs is a long history of discussing and even arguing over the meanings of Scripture. The Hebrew Scriptures are often quite sparse, leaving much open to interpretation, and generations of Rabbis and scholars add to the Midrash of Oral Torah, explaining and imagining all of the things left unsaid in the Biblical narrative. Jesus is firmly in this tradition when he tells such sparse and open-ended stories. There is great risk here, perhaps someone will interpret the parable in a way that was not intended; but there is also great reward, any interpretation is one that must be worked out through the interpreter’s own meditation, considering, and imagining.
We should also pause and consider the assumption that the disciples are good soil. If we continue the parable a little further, Jesus seems to be taking a lot of extra time and effort with these particular disciples. It is almost as if that sower is removing the rocks and weeds from a patch of dirt that might otherwise have not been good soil. Jesus is putting forth an extra effort so that these plants might flourish and produce a harvest. This calls us to question the finality of the soil’s goodness or badness. Perhaps Jesus throws the seeds everywhere, because every soil has the potential to grow good plants. A rocky place can be broken up and become a new field. With a bit of effort, those weeds can be tamed. And seeds can even spring up in the cracks of sidewalks and streets. So cast wide the seeds of the gospel, you never know what will sprout.
Tares and Wheat:
This parable is built on a certain agrarian understanding. While Jesus uses ‘weeds’ here, it is likely that he means tares, seeds of the vetch family of plants (esp. Vicia sativa or Vicia hirsuta) which grows in similar areas as wheat, and up to a certain point in the growing process looks very similar to wheat. By the time that the wheat is ready to harvest, the adult Tare plants are easier to distinguish from the wheat, and can be removed with minimal effort.
In Matthew’s account, the disciples later ask Jesus for an explanation of the parable. It is notable, however, that those in the crowd did not have access to this interpretation, and so may have easily gone away with a different take. It is also possible that the explanation was not provided from Jesus directly, but later inserted by Matthew (or a later editor) in order to provide an ‘official’ interpretation.
In this interpretation:
The sower/master = the Son of Man/Human One/Jesus
The field = the world
The good seed/ wheat = the children of the kingdom/ disciples
The weeds = children of the evil one
The enemy = the devil
The harvest = the end of the age/ Day of the Lord/ Judgment
Reapers (and enslaved persons?) = angels
Much like the previous parable, the setting for this parable is an agrarian/pastoral one. There is a sower, which Jesus (Matthew) tells us is the Son of Man, or Human One. He scatters seed in a field, and the story is clear to say that they are good seeds. These seeds stand for the ‘children of the kingdom’ or disciples. We have now shifted to a receiving of the gospel message to a discussion of the modus operandi of the kingdom of heaven. The disciples are sent into the world to take root, and to produce a harvest. We may think back to the explicit sending out of the twelve a few chapters ago. However, the children are not the only plants in the world, there are also weeds. This may give us to think about the problem of evil, why are there these weeds in the first place? This is less of an issue in this telling, because Jesus is sending the children into the world where there are already those who are not a part of that kingdom. The enslaved people of the field owner raise the issue, why is it, if you planted good seed, that there are all of a sudden all of these weeds? The parable is clear to place the blame for weeds on ‘the enemy’ who sneaks into the field to spread children of the evil one. If the parable is uninterested in the problem of evil per se, the problem is what to do now. The enslaved persons ask the master what they should do now, “do you want us to go and gather them?” This is the question of many of the Psalms, God why do you continue to allow evil and evil people in the world? It is the question of ethics post-holocaust, God why do you allow such evil in the world? It is the question of the Atheist who wonders if such a loving and all-powerful God exists, why does ‘he’ do nothing to address the evil and suffering in the world? This seems to be the driving question of the parable, and one that would be very poignant for the early church to which Matthew was writing. Matthew’s church was undergoing severe persecution under Nero’s Rome, and may well have asked such similar questions. We continue to ask such questions in the face of pain, evil, and suffering.
The answer provided by the parable is not a particularly comforting one, if I am being honest. The Master tells the enslaved people not to pull up the tares among the wheat, “for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.” This seems to present a picture of a Master who is able to remove the weeds, but not miraculously. This is a normal farmer, who may be able to do a lot of things, but not everything. This does not make the same assumption about God’s omnipotence as later Christian theology will. There is, in fact, a rock too big for God to move. This could be a theological reflection on the nature of God, or simply the fact that a farmer that could wish away all the weeds in their garden would be too far-fetched (no matter how handy). The Master does however have the theoretical ability to remove all of the weeds, through the efforts of his enslaved workers. The enslaved people ask if they should go through the process of removing each of the tares from among the wheat. While the two plants look very similar up to a point, a discerning eye can catch the minor differences. This however would take literally combing through the entire field, checking each plant. Here, perhaps it is important that the servants of the landowner are enslaved, and we could imagine a case where such tedious work could be justified. However, the Master also knows that such efforts would ultimately be worse for the wheat in the end. This then presents a picture of a Savior (and a God?) who could theoretically remove all opposition from the kingdom of heaven, but does not do so because there is some benefit to it.
Perhaps we can understand more about this parable if we flipped the roles, and imagined how the story might change. What if the sower and master of this story were to be Caesar planting the Roman Empire, or some other totalitarian leader. They too would spread the children of the empire into the world, but inevitably find that there were those who opposed their reign and rule. Here is where our story might diverge. This Master, unlike the one in the story might use their hegemonic power to eliminate opposition (and history is full of examples). In the mindset of a despot, the elimination of opposition would be a net gain, no matter what the consequences might be. So, perhaps this is a parable about the application of power. Perhaps this parable can be seen as an anti-Imperial statement on applied power, and how deeply different the kingdom of heaven operates.
While these tares are not a part of the Master’s original plan, their removal would be detrimental. Perhaps we could even say that the tares provide a positive impact. This can be more clearly seen when we shift over to the ‘real world’ translation. I imagine that the Christian life would be much easier if there was no opposition, but I am not sure that it would be better. We only need to look back 50 or 70 years to see a world where little opposition to Christianity existed, and I have a hard time saying that it was the picture of gospel faithfulness. Even though we face very little persecution of the Christian faith in America and the West, there is still more opportunity to experience opposition. The faith that is forged in opposition to alternatives is naturally going to be stronger than that which is given without opposition.
There is also the matter of final judgment. The Master does not want the tares to be removed at the moment, but there will be a time when such separation will take place, the harvest. This brings into the parable an apocalyptic angle. The Hebrew Scriptures have many references to a coming judgment, often called the “day of the LORD.” This is an ultimate answer to all of the evil and injustice in the world. For a people who are oppressed, and have been so for generations, this would have been seen as a vindication, a final victory over the enemies which have opposed them and their God. It is also a word of warning to a people who have been given the words of life, and who also fail to live up to the justice to which they are called. We heard earlier in the Narrative Lectionary the prophet Habakkuk calling God to account for the injustice and pain in the world. YHWH’s reply to Habakkuk was that the God would raise the Babylonian empire against Jerusalem as an answer to her injustice. Habakkuk is naturally not the biggest fan of this plan, and argues that they are even worse, how could God’s justice be served by the injustice of a bloodthirsty nation. God’s response is that they too will face judgment, and that God’s justice will prevail.
Christian apocalypticism retains the answer of ultimate justice. Jesus is clear that justice must be sought in this world, enemies must be loved, neighbors must be cared for, but that there will be a final answer to evil in the world. However, Christian apocalyptic literature also includes possibility of repentance at least as an implicit element. Even in the terrors of John’s Apocalypse, the Revelation, opportunity after opportunity is given to repent, and destruction comes finally upon those who refuse. This, of course, is deeply problematic if taken as an objective telling of future events, but that is a rabbit hole that I do not want to go down at the moment. Perhaps the element of time in this parable is a giving of grace. While actual wheat and tares look similar, they are not the same plant. No matter what happens, a tare will grow into a tare, and that is it. People, however, can change. There is always possible, no matter how much the plant may look like a tare, that it will actually turn out to be wheat (or vice versa). The scumbag Pharisee who pursued the early church with zealous passion for their heresy, can become the church's most stringent supporter, even writing the majority of her scriptures. Applying quantum thought, each plant in the field has a schrodinger possibility of being a wheat or a tare, and it is only at the very end when it is clear which one it was.
This goes the other way as well, there may be those who seem like wheat, but will eventually be revealed as tares. Or as the Second Helvetic Confession puts it:
“Not all who are in the church are of the church. Again, not all that are reckoned in the number of the Church are saints, and living true members of the Church. For there are many hypocrites, who outwardly hear the Word of God, and publicly receive the sacraments, and seem to pray to God through Christ alone, to confess Christ to be their only righteousness, and to worship God, and to execute the duties of charity, and for a time endure with patience in misfortune. And yet they are inwardly destitute of true illumination of the Spirit, of faith and sincerity of heart, and of perseverance to the end. But eventually the character of these [people], for the most part, will be disclosed… Hence we must be careful not to judge before the time, not undertake the exclude, reject, or cut off those whom the Lord does not want to have excluded or rejected, and those whom we cannot eliminate without loss to the Church. On the other hand, we must be vigilant lest while the pious snore the wicked gain ground and do harm to the Church.” Second Helvetic Confession, Ch XVII Of the Catholic and Holy Church of God. and the One Holy Head of the Church (BOO 5.139-140)
Mustard Seed:
Jesus then shares another parable with the crowd. This time not about a whole field of seeds, but one single mustard seed. Even though it is a relatively small seed, the mustard plant can grow into a large shrub, not technically a tree, but close. Here again we are struck by the counter-intuitive nature of the kingdom of heaven. In our world, bigger is better, and biggerer is betterer. In military terms, the bigger the soldiers, the bigger the army, the bigger and more advanced the weapons, the more likely that victory will be won. This is the assumption at work in the story of David and Goliath, yet those assumptions do not play out that way. Here, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a tiny seed, which will grow to something large. Can you imagine the challenge of the fledgling church? Jesus and his disciples put themselves in opposition to the power structure of Jerusalem, the priests who had been ruling for generations despite numerous empires, and the Pharisees who seemed to hold popular support. If that was not enough, they also found themselves increasingly in conflict with the might of the Roman Empire. If you were to poll everyday people of the first century who they thought would win in the end, nearly everyone would bet on the Romans. Yet, as John Ortberg once said in a sermon, “Now we name our children names like Matthew and John and Mary, and name our dog food Ceasar.”
I also want to pause a second and reflect on the image that Jesus has of this mustard seed turned tree. It is notable not necessarily for its size, but because it provides a place of safety for the birds to build their nests. May we as the people of God be seen in such a way, may our communities of faith be places of refuge, safety, and nurture. May we be more concerned with providing a home for anyone who may need it, rather than be the biggest tree in the field. Amen.
Yeast:
Finally for this set, Jesus uses a parable of yeast. It is notable that we have shifted from the pastoral to the domestic. Especially in a world of strict gender norms and decisions, Jesus is unafraid to use a traditionally feminine illustration, and even lists the protagonist of this parable as a woman.
Not unlike the parable of the wheat and the tares, the kingdom is spread throughout the whole batch of dough. The use of three measures of flour is an interesting. According to the ‘breadmonk’, it is a ridiculously large amount, around 144 cups, enough for about 52 loaves of bread. So much like the previous parable, the relative small amount of yeast in the huge amount of flour seems like it would have little effect. Such an unequal situation could give rise* to feelings of inadequacy and despair.
Yet what do we see? Even though there is only a small amount of yeast in the huge batch, it is mixed until every bit of the dough is leavened, and makes the whole batch rise.
This is an incredibly benign (but beautiful) metaphor. Yeast is a microorganism (interesting), that converts the sugars in the dough to air. So the yeast in the dough makes it more alive and lighter, less dense. What a wonderful metaphor for the kingdom of heaven in and among the kingdoms and empires of humanity. This kingdom brings life and lightness to a dark and dreary violent world.
Back to the three measures, we also have here a story about a woman who doesn’t just want to feed her family, and maybe not even just her village. It is a picture of extravagant grace, overwhelming and abundant food, far more than could be eaten by one.
*pun intentional
Pop Culture References
There is a great image of what immediate hegemonic ‘justice’ could look like in “Captain America: the Winter Soldier.” Cap’ finds out about a new program by S.H.I.E.L.D (ostensibly the good guys, but who have been infected by H.Y.D.R.A. the super-bad guys) that will eliminate every possible and potential threat all at once.
Small events with a great impact are a mainstay of time-travel stories, the most famous (perhaps) is Back to the Future. In Back to the Future 2, Marty comes back to the present after journeying to the wild-far-off future of 2015. But the present he returns to is not the one that he had left, and realizes it is because of a small mistake he had made.
Hymn Suggestions
There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy
Love’s Divine All Loves Excelling
Come Ye Thankful People Come
Links
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