The Weeds Within

July 19, 2026

Wisdom of Solomon 12:13, 16-19                   Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

 

An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he told the young boy, “a terrible fight between two wolves.” “One is evil, full of rage, lies, resentment, greed, arrogance and false pride. The other is good, full of joy, hope, humility, truth, generosity, empathy, and compassion.” “This same fight is going on inside of you, grandson… and inside of every other person on this earth.” The grandson ponders this for a moment and then asks, “Grandfather, which wolf will win?” The old man smiled and simply said, “The One You Feed.” 

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Like this Cherokee parable, our gospel parable today pits evil against good. But any time Jesus talks about the end times it sounds…concerning. “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” It’s not giving happy “Jesus loves me, this I know” vibes. As I consider my initial reaction to this passage, I see my concern is the nature of our God and the nature of our Savior that this passage exposes. Is God really going to ask the angels to pluck up the “evil” people and toss them into the furnace of fire? Are there really good people and then evil people? And what does it mean that the devil is sneaking around planting bad seeds while everyone is asleep?

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When Jesus explains this parable to the disciples, he says that the field represents the world, the good seeds are the children of the kingdom, and the weeds are the children of the evil one. But, aren’t we all children of God? Weren’t we all fearfully and wonderfully made? Is God’s grace and love not equally and universally given? Our passage from the Wisdom of Solomon reassures us of this. God’s care is for all people. God does not judge unjustly. God’s strength is the source of righteousness, and God’s sovereignty over all causes God to spare all. God has filled God’s children with good hope, because God gives repentance for sins. Though it makes a striking image in Mediaeval or Renaissance art, I have a hard time believing that angels will throw humans determined to be beyond redemption into a fiery furnace at the end of time. So if God desires to spare all, what is Jesus throwing into the fire?

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It’s obvious that there is evil in this world. How could we deny that, when we look upon the violence and hate and lies and greed that surround us? But, saying that any person or group of people is evil, as if evil is something over there, lets us off the hook and excludes us from actively participating in the building of a new just world. New Testament scholar Jennifer T. Kaalund notes that Jesus’ parable is a political one, setting God’s kingdom, which Paul will describe as righteousness, peace and joy, against the world’s kingdoms, which we know to be oppressive, violent, and exploitative. She writes, “we must acknowledge that the causes of sin are not simply our personal struggles, but more so our societal ills. For instance, the causes of poverty — war, greed, selfishness, etc. — are sin.” Those don’t come from any one person or group of people, but from systems that are older and bigger than any of us. Systems like patriarchy and institutional racism. But those are the systems we’re steeped in, the kingdoms we live in. So the causes and effects, and our participation in them, are often invisible to us.

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Evil seeds are planted within us while we are distracted, complacent, or asleep. We may eventually notice them, but they seem so innocuous and insignificant when they’re tiny seeds. Or maybe we notice them growing way over on the other side of the field, and we don’t think they’ll spread to our part of the field. The weed referenced in our parable is darnel, which looks very similar to wheat so one might not even spot the difference early on. One of its nicknames is “false wheat.” Can you think of a time when evil has disguised itself as good? Lies, self righteousness, meaningless platitudes? We’ve all seen the fruit that these seeds bear. Just as we’ve all seen the fruits that seeds of compassion, mercy, and generosity bear. Yes, the world is a field of mixed crops, as is our country, our congregation, ourselves. Within each of us grows wheat and weeds competing for resources. Which one will we water? Which one will we fertilize? Kaalund asks, “Which empire will we participate in?”

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I could have titled this sermon, “The Wheat Within,” but I’m a pessimist so I called it, “The Weeds Within.” But also, I think recognizing that we do have weeds within is one of the places where the good news can be found in this parable. New Testament scholar John T. Carol offers a more positive take on the causes of sin being thrown into the furnace. He writes, “what seemed to be a threat becomes a source of fuel!” Years ago I shared something on social media that another friend had shared and we both thought it was funny. Then a high school friend who was involved in anti racism work in their community reached out and told me about the implicit racism of the group that had created the post I shared. I immediately got defensive and told them I couldn’t believe they thought I was racist (even though that’s not what they said). It took a few more years for me to be able to recognize the seeds of institutional racism that had been planted in me and that are planted in all of us.

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Just as it takes time and education to identify false wheat growing among true wheat, it takes time and education to identify the seeds of evil systems. We all have those weeds planted within us. It doesn’t make us any worse than anyone else, and it doesn’t make us any less loved by God. Many years later when I led the anti racism taskforce at my church, I used the defensiveness that I had felt to fuel understanding for others who were just discovering the weeds within. Can you think of a time when you’ve felt sheepish, embarrassed, defensive, or guilty upon identifying a weed within, but it's allowed you to offer grace to others who are beginning to identify weeds? Have you learned from a mistake, thereby becoming a more nourishing and nurturing presence in the world? I know I’m still working on identifying those weeds within myself. As you gardeners know, weeds do not rest. They keep coming back. It takes constant vigilance to not let them choke out the good wheat. But we are asked to be patient, not just with others, but with ourselves. Because we do not have a choice about living with weeds while living in worldly kingdoms. But we are promised a time when we will be free of those weeds and our wheat will shine like the sun in God’s kingdom.

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In the meantime, we can choose which seeds we water, which wolves we feed, which kingdom we participate in. The weeds, the wheat, and the wolves are not just within ourselves, but within our society. This is not just a personal struggle, but a societal or political one. The oppressive systems that sprout from evil seeds are too vast for any of us to tackle on our own. We did not plant the weeds, but they are there for us to learn about and from together. The goodness of this world is also vast and bigger than any one of us. (Big enough that even a pessimist like me can have hope.) We did not plant the wheat, but it is there to remind us of God’s promise, God’s presence. It is an invitation to participate in a kingdom of justice and righteousness. God has filled God’s children with good hope, with good wheat. And we carry that within. Amen.