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.'" – Matthew 13:24-29

We humans are terribly flawed. We often make judgments based upon what we see or believe. In making those judgements, which we believe are right, we get it wrong.

Recently, I saw two individuals together and made an incorrect assumption about them.

In my flawed nature, I look at people, and in ignorance, I judge them.

That is why the saying, "don't judge a book by its cover" is so true. Yet, we often judge the book based upon the cover.

This parable of our text, which Jesus later explained to the disciples, spoke to his disciples and to the Christian church today. At the time he told this parable, Judas, Peter, and the brothers James and John were also there.

What do we learn from this parable of the sower and the weeds? In this parable, we come to understand that the devil is at work in God's field, the world. He is sowing seeds of discord among the people of God or in the Christian church.

Yes, like the weed in the wheat field, there are many in the church today who look like Christians but are not. Some of us are zealous in our Christian faith and seek to root them out.

However, we, the zealous ones, are sometimes just like those hypocrites we want to give the boot. When we decide to judge and determine who should and who should not be in the church, we are taking the place of God.

Truly, we do not know who are and are not Christians. From the outside, we cannot tell who should and should not be in the church because we cannot see in the hearts of others.

The church is invisible. Yes, the church lives within us, in our hearts. Because the church lives in our hearts, we cannot tell who is of God, except by the actions of an individual.

Only God can see the heart and tell whether we are of His flock or just wolves in sheep's clothing. Furthermore, we are all sinners seeking God's grace and mercy.

The workers or servant of the householder wanted to go out and pull the weeds from among the crops. However, the householder ruled against it.

The servants did not know the difference between weed and wheat. Therefore, in their zeal to rid the field of weed, they would have destroyed the crop. Let them grow until the day of the harvest.

While Jesus was explaining to the disciples, Peter, Judas and Thomas, along with James and John, according to our standards, they should have been booted out. They later became an embarrassment to Jesus. Judas betrayed him, Peter denied him, Thomas doubted him, and the brothers James and John cared only about their individual concerns.

Based upon our standard, we would have thrown them out of the group. But instead, Jesus forgave them. He did not come to destroy. Rather, he came to heal and redeem.

God alone understands the human heart and He alone knows whether we are sincere. Yes, only God knows the difference. Then, let God do what is best suited to Him, judging. Amen.

  
• Reverend Samuel M. Boodle, pastor at the Lutheran Church of Nassau, 119 John F. Kennedy Dr can be reached at P.O. Box N 4794, Nassau, Bahamas; or telephone 426-9084; website: www.nassaulutheranchurch.org.

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