Proper 11 July 19, 2026
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Julian Whitney
This morning’s parable is, like many of our Lord’s stories, one that is close to the life of simple, hard working folk: a tale of planting, nurturing and harvesting crops.
One of the (many) things that I like about the Easter Gospel is that the first person to find our risen Lord mistook him for a gardener. Within the complex hierarchy of Jewish society gardeners were pretty low ranking. Their work was manual and their clothes were plain and rough. The complex knowledge that they acquired and applied was not codified in sophisticated legal, medical or religious texts. Understanding of types, (strains) and characteristics of wheat was communally shared at everyday gatherings like the marketplace or tavern. Word-of-mouth was the medium for sharing knowledge.
‘The Father’ of modern genetics was the Czech/Austrian abbot, Gregor Johanna Mendel. Born, on July 20th 1822 [204 years ago tomorrow😊] into a farming family, Johanna Mendel worked as a gardener and studied beekeeping. He was given the name Gregor when he joined the Order of Saint Augustine. He was also able to pursue an education which otherwise would have been unaffordable for a farming family. His studies and research established rules of heredity – a thorough, scientific description of what famers had known for millennia, that – crossbreeding of animals and plants could favour certain desirable traits.
Two thousand years ago, two hundred years ago, and still today, there exists a snobbery about knowledge – certain groups are respected due to their dress, wealth and education. They speak the language of the intelligentia. Their work is published in established journals and broadcast on respected media platforms [Perhaps the advent of Social Media is changing this but old money and old establishments still keep their gates most jealously.]
Jesus read Biblical Hebrew and may have interacted in Greek as the lingua franca but most likely told his stories in the local language, Aramaic.
Today’s story is about good wheat and bad weeds growing together in a field. Jesus explains that God allows both to grow side by side in the world. In the end, God will separate them; the bad will be burned, and the good will live in peace forever.
We all live in this big field, which is the world. We see good and bad things in our lives. Perhaps we wonder, “Why doesn’t God remove all the bad people and bad problems?”
But in today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us a very good reason why He waits:
God knows how easy it is to make a mistake. If people try to pull out the bad weeds now, they might hurt the good wheat by accident. Additionally, God wants to give everyone time to grow. He is patient. He gives people the chance to change from bad into good by turning to Him.
The final choice belongs to God alone. We do not need to judge who is good or who is bad. Jesus said that His angels will do the final, perfect sorting at the end of the world. And in the meantime…
In every school or office, there are helpful people and difficult people.There are those who spread gossip, act selfishly, or cause trouble. There are also those who work hard, help others, and stay positive. We cannot force the difficult people to leave. Our job is to remain kind, do our best work, and let our good actions shine.
Social Media and the Internet contain both the worst and the best of human behaviour: angry comments, fake news, and people hurting each other with words. There are, however, encouraging messages, helpful information, and people raising money for charity. Most of us encounter this online every day. Instead of reacting to every bad comment, we should focus on sharing truth and kindness.
Our own hearts have both wheat and weeds. The weeds: Our bad habits, selfish thoughts, anger, and jealousy. The wheat: Our love for family, desire to do good, and faith in God. Weeds invariably spread more rapidly. Good growth takes more time and God’s patience with us as we learn to overcome our bad habits and grow our good side.
So, while we wait in this field, our job is to grow strong and show God’s love. We should focus on being the good wheat. We can let God’s light shine through us so that our lives bring hope and peace to the world around us. Let us trust God to take care of the field, and let us focus on growing for Him.
Thanks be to gardeners, and thanks be to God.
