by Desiree Bustamante

Jesus will return with justice.

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Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
Matthew 13:24-30 New Living Translation

In Jesus’ time, a farmer’s enemy might ruin a field by spreading the poisonous weed Bearded Darnel. The differences between the weed and the wheat weren’t apparent until they were nearing maturity. The concerned servants wanted to remove the darnel before the grain matured, but the farmer was afraid precious wheat might also be uprooted. He left it to the harvester, whose job was to skillfully separate the weeds from the ripened wheat.

Satan sowed weeds of evil on this earth. Jesus planted seeds of the gospel in the world. The Kingdom of God is present amongst the evil of the world. Good and bad people will grow and live together. It’s difficult to judge who is wheat and who is a weed when the crop is immature. Jesus tells the disciples that the harvesting is not their responsibility, for at the end of time people will be separated into their eternal destiny.

We may not enjoy hearing this when we want justice now. Yet Jesus asks us to be patient, trusting Him for the outcome of the harvest.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado