For those of us who have been brought up
to believe that weeding is an honourable duty, an absolute necessity and that a
weed free garden is a virtue, such a statement seems almost sacrilegious, if
not insane. Surely the sensible thing to
do is to get rid of weeds as soon as possible. They rob the soil, smother the
legitimate plants and harbor pests.
It comes as a surprise to us to hear that we
may do better with those we don’t want in our midst than we would do if we
tried to get rid of them. Those we
regard as mere weeds in society may be important companion plants in God’s
gracious judgement, as precious as wheat.
It is made quite clear in the story that we are not in the position to
judge the insiders from the outsiders, those who belong and those who do not,
those who have a worth and those who are worthless, a fact that we are reminded
of in the story of Jacob. It is not good to assume we are the wheat and the
others are the weeds. God may see it differently.
Sometimes it feels a risk to let all things
grow together, but God appears to like risks.
Why else did God choose Noah, Abraham, Sarah Jacob, Moses David,
etc. How do you allow those whom you
believe to be wrong to grow along side you and those whom you love? When my older son was fourteen, we were asked
to take a fifteen year old boy who had been in trouble with the police, into
our home. The request felt like we had been asked to transplant a weed into our
crop. It took us so long to decide that by the time we said yes, they had found
somewhere else for him.
We are just beginning to appreciate the
benefits of diversity in bioculture and becoming aware of the dangers of
monoculture. Today, in the Uniting Church around Australia, multiculturalism is
being celebrated. May we, too, give thanks for diversity, enjoy being part of
it and encourage others to be true to themselves as they grow around us. May
God bless you all as Jacob was blessed by God’s words, “Know that I am with you
and will keep you safe wherever you go.” In line with the parable, Christ has
added to this, “Relax, and leave the weeding to me!”
Rev Julianne Parker (full sermon n sermons page)
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