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I’ve been spending lots and lots of time with children and youth during our summer camp. So naturally they are on my mind as I reflected on this sermon.
Children are born with an innate desire to do good and be good. As long as they feel safe and loved, they want to be good people.
One child told her mother when praying she wants to be kind and help others; another child during snack time wanted to make sure younger kids got snacks first.
I believe everyone is born with this desire to be good. But the more you live, the harder it is to be good. For some reason, it doesn’t always help to be good.
We want to be good, to do good, but everywhere around us, the opposite seems to be the case. That makes us tired. Weary. Ready to throw in the towel – give up on trying to be good.
That’s the kind of world we live in.
Jesus recognized this world. In today’s parable, the sower sows good seeds. But an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat. The weeds and the wheat came up and grew together.
For Jesus, the kingdom of heaven was not some distant utopia. It was here and now. The kingdom of heaven is here among us, but good and evil still exist together.
The kingdom of heaven is here, but it is not yet perfect. There will be a day when God comes in judgment and make everything perfect, but until then, we live among the weeds.
Jesus’ message is: be good seeds among weeds.
In a world of good and evil, be good, do good. God will take account.
The weeds are called tares, or darnell. They look very similar to wheat, so at first it’s hard to tell them apart – you won’t really know until they’re grown and mature. They look similar but are very different.
Wheat produces grain that others can eat. The weeds produce nothing – their only purpose is to survive and expand.
The roots of weeds spread out and intertwine with the roots of wheat. They compete with the wheat for nutrients, water and light.
The weeds threaten to overtake and choke out the wheat.
We live in a world full of weeds. It’s easy to feel overtaken by them, as evil seems to be everywhere.
Just like the wheat and weeds, many times it’s hard to tell the difference between good and evil. The roots of evil and good are often intertwined. It’s hard to untangle the good from the bad.
Do you know one of the main effects of living in this kind of world?
You shut your mind off. You shut it off because it’s all too complicated and overwhelming to process and decipher.
At first something may have bothered you. It pricked your conscience. You didn’t feel comfortable with it. But then it got too complicated. Everyone else started shutting off their minds. So you shut your mind off too.
You shut off your feelings too, because it’s too much to deal with. So you become mindless in thinking and numb in feeling.
I think the main cause and symptom of evil today is not necessarily malice and evil intent. Yes, there are people who have evil intent and malice. But I believe most people don’t have such desires and motives.
The main cause and symptom of evil is that people stop thinking. They shut off their heart.
And that shutting off enables evil to flourish. No one questions what’s going on. People turn a blind eye to the world around them and turn inward.
When people shut off their minds and hearts, evil flourishes and expands, just like the weeds.
The slaves in the story discovered the weeds as they grew. They asked the master if they should go and gather the weeds.
The master’s response was “no, wait”. Wait until the harvest.
There will come a time when God will separate evil from good and cast judgment. But until that day, wait.
Why? Does God not care about evil and the suffering it causes?
God does care about evils and suffering. God promises that there will be judgment and a reckoning.
But God will be the judge. God will distinguish the wheat from the weeds. If we try to judge, we will unknowingly destroy both the good and the bad. Too many good intentions have resulted in greater evil.
God is waiting for the good seeds to flourish and bear fruit. That is God’s hope for this world.
That is why he sent Jesus Christ, that more people may be saved and bear fruit.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16-17)
How is wheat different from the weeds? How do they survive?
They have more innate vigour and vitality than weeds. That makes them grow their leaves faster and higher than weeds. Their leaves get sunlight and are not overshadowed by the weeds.
Their stems reach down deeper than the roots of the weeds. They reach down into deeper soil and access richer nutrients where the weeds cannot reach.
In shallower soil, the weeds are fighting and competing with the wheat. But in the deeper soil, the roots of weeds cannot reach there.
With deeper roots, the wheat stems become strong. Instead of spending its energy fending off weeds, the wheat are able to focus their energy on producing fruit.
What is the life of the good seed?
It is a life filled with spiritual vigour. At the retreat, I spoke about spiritual hunger as a precondition for the Holy Spirit.
Good seeds have that spiritual hunger and longing. That hunger is the source of their vitality.
With that hunger, the good seed reaches down into deeper soil that the weeds cannot. It accesses richer nutrients that the weeds cannot. You know what that nutrient is?
It is the Word of God.
The Word of God makes you think critically. It opens your eyes to truth. It makes you see the world through God’s eyes. It creates an unease about the world and makes you cry out to God.
Your mind cannot remain shut off when the Word of God is planted and activated in you.
When you feed off of the Word of God, you become strong and able to withstand the weeds in this world. It gives you greater wisdom and discernment on how to handle the complicated situations you are in. It leads you to bear fruit.
Good seeds give life to others: In your pursuit of truth and justice. In your presence of grace and mercy. In your kindness and compassion.
Good seeds see the things that are wrong in this world but do not become consumed by them. Instead of fighting the weeds in shallow soil, they dig deeper and draw on the Word of God. They bear fruit that comes from the Word.
All of this happens when good seeds go down into the deeper and feed off the Word of God.
What is that deeper soil? It is the environment that awakens the heart. Last week, I spoke of dull hearts as the obstacle to understanding the Word of God. The heart must be awakened to truly receive and understand the Word of God.
Last week, I gave you an exercise: reduce an amount of time each day on your device, and spend that time being fully present with someone else.
Why? So that your heart may become awakened.
That is an exercise to jumpstart the process, but for your heart to remain alive and awakened to receive the Word, you need the right sustained environment that will keep your heart awake.
What is this environment?
It is one where God’s love and joy is present and flourishes.
Why is there so much evil in this world? I truly believe that it’s because people do not experience enough love and joy on a consistent basis. If everyone had a loving and joyful environment, there would be less evil.
We are preparing diligently for our Sioux Valley mission trip. Indigenous people in Canada have the highest rates of incarceration in this country.
Why is that? Is it because they are inherently bad people? Of course not. It’s because our history of residential schools and other policies systematically destroyed loving and joyful environments and instead subjected them to environments that taught them they were inferior and had no purpose for living.
What is the church at its core? It is a loving and joyful environment. At least that’s what it’s called to be.
Church is a place where God’s love and joy should flourish. Should be a place where anyone – not only insiders, not only those already with friends, but anyone who is hungering for spiritual growth and community – can experience love and joy.
Being part of a church is a calling for those who don’t feel comfortable with church – whether you don’t have existing friends or close relationships – to be bold and go beyond your comfort zone. It’s a calling for those who feel comfortable – to not keep it your safe comfortable zone, but to open yourself to those you don’t know well and those who are new.
Following Jesus means being committed to building this environment that Christ has given to us.
When the heart experiences love and joy on a consistent basis, it is ready to receive the Word of God.
That is why every year, we put so much energy into our summer camp ministry. For a whole month, three pastors put everything into it.
Our sole purpose for the summer camp is for everyone to experience God’s love and joy. When the environment is filled with love and joy, people come alive and are ready for the Word. I’ve seen children come alive. I’ve seen the hearts of our counsellors come alive.
When your heart comes alive with love and joy, it is ready to receive the Word of God.
This environment is easier for children and youth – they have times like summers. More challenging the older you get – as life’s demands pull you in different directions. We need to be aware and make better, conscious decisions about where we focus our time and energies.
Committing to the church is not for the sake of the institution. It’s to cultivate the environment of love and joy where people can receive the Word of God.
That is how we become good seeds among weeds in this world.
Commit to the church. Be an active part of an environment that centers on love and joy. Let it be the deep soil in which you feed off the Word.
That is the way we fight evil in this world.
Then you will be like the people Jesus speaks of:
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen! (Matthew 13:43)
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