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GOOD NEWS FOR WEEDS | MATTHEW 13:24-30, 36-43 | JULY 20, 2014
Olives on pizza. Green peas in vegetable soup. Bananas in banana pudding.
Raisins in chocolate chip cookies.
All of these represent ingredients sowed in or on perfectly already delicious food
by evildoers who seek only to destroy quality food dishes.
In my younger years as a child, I advocated on behalf of children everywhere, to
keep pizza, vegetable soup, banana pudding, and chocolate chip cookies free from
the likes of olives, green peas, bananas, and raisins. Unsuccessful in convincing
evil and irresponsible cooks to refrain from polluting delicacies with their devilish
ingredients, I implored young people everywhere to at least take the time to
isolate the olives, green peas, bananas, and raisins from their dish, by sitting them
off to the side on their plate or, even better, piling the ingredients on a napkin,
and throwing them into the fire of the trash can, where there will be weeping and
the gnashing of teeth.
For whats it worth, over the years I have begun to see the error of my ways; or I
have seen most of the errors of my ways. While olives are still an abomination,
olive oil is rather tasty, and allegedly healthy, if you believe the Sardinians, who
use a lot of it in their meal preparation, and live longer than anyone else on the
planet. Likely unrelated to olives, in my expert opinion.
Green peas, while mushy and disgusting by themselves, are a fantastic
introduction to babies segueing to solid foods, and can also serve to hasten the
development of fine motor skills as children learn to pick the peas up with their
tiny fingers. I guess this is important.
Bananas, while quite lovely as a stand-alone item, are inferior to the vanilla
pudding and vanilla wafers that they are inappropriately paired with in the
pudding of banana. Having said that, I am starting to appreciate how the
mushiness of the banana compliments the crispiness of the vanilla wafer, and
how both banana and wafer are useful as a vehicle for carrying the pudding to my
mouth.
Raisins in chocolate-chip cookies. While I will never understand the evil thinking
behind pairing raisins and chocolate chips, I can certainly appreciate the plight of
the raisin. The resurrection of a dead grape is theologically magnificent and
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deserving of my praise. And I will also say how impressed with the raisin I am
with standing next to the chocolate chip, because anything that is placed
alongside of the chocolate chip, though glaringly inferior, cant help be raised up
to a higher standard. You simply cannot stand next to the chocolate chip and not
be instantly improved, at least this is what I heard through the grapevine.
Alas, now, no longer a child, but rather an old man at the age of 40, I no longer
have the time or interest or motivation to carry on my principled fight against
olives, green peas, bananas and raisins. Not only have my taste buds changed -
some say improved, others say diminished - but I have better things to do that
with my time than separating things I dont like from the things I do. Im learning
to live my life aware that the chef sows the olives with the pizza, the green peas
with the soup, the bananas with the pudding, and the raisins with the cookie, and
that the day will come at the harvest, when the olives, green peas, bananas, and
raisins will be removed, thrown into the fire, and the pizza, vegetable soup,
banana pudding, and chocolate chip cookies will shine like the sun in the kingdom
of their Master Chef. Let anyone with ears listen!
+++++++
Shawnda and I were in the car yesterday with the kids, driving through the
parking lot over by where the Safeway is on First St. and 580. Its important to
know that Shawnda nor I are particularly prone to driving fast through parking
lots, since people are generally against being hit by a car while walking to their
shopping desintation. But yesterday we saw this really cool looking food truck
parked in front of Livermore Smiles, the cool looking dentist office for kids. It was
clearly a ploy to get people to stop and sign up for some new service they were
offering, but Shawnda and I didnt care. Shawnda slowed down so we could see
what kind of food was being served. We both love food truck food and we were
curious. We were probably going 3 to 5 miles per hour when this car came flying
around us out of nowhere, almost ran up on the curve, and sped by, making a
sharp turn in front of the CVS, which is already a dangerous turn at 3 to 5 mphs,
but at 20 miles per hour is just ridiculous.
Shawnda got that look on her face like she means business, and so she said
something like, Oh, heck, no (b/c my wife doesnt curse, ever, which makes
things meant to sound mean sound endearingOh, heck no!), and she took off
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after the car or, more precisely, the person driving the car. To make matters
worse than speeding around us and endangering lives in the process, the person
pulled into a handicap parking space in front of Safeway, leaped out of her car,
and ran into the store. When Shawnda caught up with the person, she yelled out
at her, Are you kidding me, lady? You had better be picking up medicine for your
sick children or else Im really going to be angry! and Shawnda laid on the horn,
scaring one innocent couple to death who was crossing over to enter the store.
Shawnda put up her hand to them, as though to motion an apology, and said, Im
mad at that woman, not you. Keep moving.
+++++
Its moments like these that I am so thankful that God, the boss farmer of the
farm and field, says dont worry about trying to separate the wheat and the weed.
When its time for the harvest, Ill take care of figuring out which is which...
because Shawnda is wheat and Im a weed; Im the olive to her pizza, the green
pea to her vegetable soup, the banana in her banana pudding, the raisin in her
chocolate chip cookie. But the weed that I am is made better because the wheat
that is her loves me anyway.
Leave it to my wife to qualify her anger with your kids better be sick and youre
getting them medicine or else youre going to really feel my wrath. Me, the
weed, I already had two visions competing for my initial response to this speed
demon. Possibility one: take the multi-use tool from my glove compartment box,
that includes my choice of several different blades, and puncture all four tires.
Possibility two: take out the tire iron from my trunk and break all her windows,
then puncture her tires.
Possibility three: defer to the part of me that is wheat, and tell the other part of
me that is weed, to settle down; she probably is just getting medicine for her sick
children, although I must tell you that she was wearing workout clothes, was
probably late for her spinning class, and just wanted to grab a Caribbean Passion
drink from Jamba Juice before hitting the gym, all of this justified, in her mind,
flying past us in the parking lot.
John. Breathe. She really does have sick kids at home, and they need medicine.
Stat. Wheat in. Weed out.
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+++++
Who among us wants to believe that we are weeds in the garden of Gods
exquisite creation?
We read a story today like this one from Matthews gospel and, if youre anything
like me, immediately start tallying up the weeds we know which, automatically,
puts us in the wheat category. If you dont mind being honest today, raise your
hand if you did that? If youre wheat?
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Its been said that if you read Jesus parables about what the kingdom of God is
like and you manage to come out the hero, then you should probably read them
again.
Deep down we love a parable like this. We love it like Matthew loved it; like
someone who thinks nuance is a waste of time; who thinks complexity is
unnecessary; who loves so-called morality because it delights in black and white,
either/or approaches to life and living.
Are you a Republican or Democrat? Are you a capitalist or communist? Are you a
suburbanite or an urbanite? Are you pro-life or pro-choice? Are you gay or
straight? Are you pro-industry or pro-environment? Do you love guns or do you
hate them? Are you a legal citizen or an illegal alien? Are you a Catholic or
Protestant, Israeli or Palestinian?
We thrive on separation. We thrive on picking things out that do not belong, or at
least that we think dont belong, and remove them. It might be as trivial as
picking olives off a pizza or as serious as telling scared children theyre not our
problem. From the trivial to the profound, it seems to be human nature to create
an us/them scenario when given the chance.
We love to feel so justified in our thinking that we are on the right side. After all,
we are the wheat, and the wheat is sanctified and redeemed and holy and God is
on our side, and you are weed undesirable, unloved, unwanted, showing up
where you do not belong and sucking up resources that you are not entitled to.
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But God, the boss farmer of the farm and field, when pressed by the laborers to
separate wheat and weed, says its not your concern. Let it go. Ive got it taken
care of.
When its time, Ill do what I need to do.
According to Matthews gospel, and only to Matthews gospel, since this story is
not in the other gospels, what happens is that the Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and
throw them into the furnace of fire. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in
the kingdom of their Father.
Well, this is good news for sinners and evildoers, Republicans and Democrats,
capitalists and communists, suburbanites and urbanites, pro-lifers and pro-
choicers, gay and straight, pro-industry and pro-environment, gun-lovers and gun
haters, legal citizens and illegal aliens, Catholics and Protestants, Israelis and
Palestinians because, in the words of St. Paul,

all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God which, theologically speaking, means were all weeds and are
thrown in the fiery furnace of Gods everlasting love.
+++++
When I read this text about the righteous shining like the sun in the kingdom of
their Father, my mind doesnt immediately think hey, Gods talking about the
wheat. My mind says, the righteous, is the new name you get when the wheat
and weed in you is absolutely consumed by the love and grace of God.
We may not like that God takes judgment out of our hands, but then again, its
called the kingdom of God, and Gods the boss of the farm and field, not us. Id
like to condescendingly tell you to go get your own field and farm if you dont like
the way God conducts business here, but I dont really want to puncture your
tires or break your car windows. I want to be the one who offers to care for your
sick children and, if I have to, even be the one who drives you to the gym and
holds your Jamba Juice while you spin on the bike, because thats how the
righteous shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
God loves you and I do too.
Amen
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