Sorting out the good, the bad and the ugly

 ‘…Let both grow together until the harvest’  (Matthew 13:30)

Matthew 13:24-43 (Year A: Trinity+5)

The idea of separating wheat from weeds is intuitively obvious. The wisdom of waiting ‘until harvest time’ before sorting out one from the other also makes sense. The parable is explained in terms of separating the good from the evil. 

In our daily living we encounter good and bad within ourselves and within others. Sometimes it is hard to tell one from the other. Moreover, it is too easy to rush to judgment especially when it concerns the behaviour or supposed intentions of others. Sometimes it is best to wait for the right occasion to address the ‘unwanted weeds’ bearing in mind, also, that we can get it wrong because ‘weeds’ have been described as ‘unloved flowers’. Stressing the positive in ourselves and others may be the first step to tackling what is not positive.

However, we also need to face up to the very reality of evil when it involves exploitation, oppression, lies, violence and hatred. Too often institutions, leaders in church, state and civil society avoided confronting evil by turning a blind eye or claiming defence of the good name of the entity as whole. In some cases they were complicit in the very evil itself directly or indirectly through omission of steps to protect those whom they should have protected.

In any situation of conflict, challenge and moral contestation those involved need to show tact, care, wisdom, patience and courage in doing what needs to be done. Leaving matters to others is not a right option. Neither is a one-sided blinkered approach that supposes we know who is in the right and who is in the wrong. Typically it is not black and white even though a misuse of the parable of the wheat and the weeds from this Gospel passage  sees ‘them’ (all in wrong and evil) and ‘us’ (all in the right and good).

Spotting and tending the weeds in our own hearts and souls is a good starting place. But, it does not stop there.