Aren’t weeds a nuisance? They creep into our gardens, spring
up in our fields, and cause us no end of inconvenience. Gardeners know that it often
takes longer to control the weeds in our gardens than it does to plant those
gardens in the first place! Jesus’ disciples knew about weeds, too; so when he
told them this parable (Matthew 13:24-30), they were all on the same page. The
field of the landowner in this story is full of weeds. Those weeds had sprung
up everywhere; and it turns out that they had been planted intentionally by
someone who was out to ruin the harvest.
Jesus’ parables are meant remind us of situations that we
face in our own lives. What did Jesus mean by the wheat and the weeds? We can’t
know that answer for sure. Some biblical scholars think that readers in the early
church might have thought that both the wheat and the weeds represented people. The church at that time was
made up of a very mixed bag of Christians. Some were certainly devoted
followers of Jesus – they were the wheat – but others – the weeds – might have
been there simply to get a handout. Christians had a reputation of taking care
of their own, so that no one in their community went hungry; and that might
have attracted people who were more concerned with their stomachs than with
their spiritual lives. Other church members might have been spies, sent there
by the Roman authorities who wanted to find a reason to arrest members of this
new religion. There were all kinds of weeds in the early church, all mixed together with the wheat.
Today, we aren’t worried about Roman spies sitting in our
church pews; and the only people who want a handout are the ones who wander into
the food pantry. No, the weeds in the wheat field have other meanings to
us. For many people, the weeds represent the troubles that pop up in our lives
without any warning. You’re driving along minding your own business, for
example, when the water pump suddenly goes out on the car; and you have to dip
into your savings to fix it. That’s certainly a weed; but other weeds are far
worse. A family member becomes seriously ill, and we must suddenly learn how to
be a caregiver; or we become ill ourselves, and must learn to cope with
continuing medical treatments. Those weeds are very difficult to live with. Some
of the most frustrating weeds are those that throw their shadow over all of us
who live in this country: mass shootings; natural disasters like wildfires and
hurricanes; and national leadership that isn’t able to lead. Oh, yes, there are
plenty of weeds in our lives; and they come in all shapes and sizes. And this week, we celebrate Thanksgiving. What do we do with those weeds on Thanksgiving,
anyway? We can’t get rid of them. Jesus even hints that trying to pull them up
might not be the best idea in the long run. So what do we do? Do we curse them?
Do we try to ignore them? Do we make the best of them? Maybe we should look at
those who lived before us and try to discover their answer to those questions.
The Pilgrims – our ancestors who first celebrated
Thanksgiving on these shores – lived with plenty of weeds. Those early settlers
arrived on our shores late in the year, just as winter was setting in. The
supplies that they had brought from Europe weren’t adequate to get them through
that year’s harsh winter. Many were already ill with scurvy after the long
overseas voyage. Others became ill from cold and hunger. Some starved to death.
Of the 102 passengers on the Mayflower,
over half died during that first terrible winter. Their weeds were very tall, indeed! And over 250 years later when Abraham Lincoln established an official
Thanksgiving Day in 1863, things were no less difficult. Our country was split
apart by civil war. The Battle of Gettysburg had stopped the advance of General
Lee’s troops into the north the previous summer, but at a terrible cost –
almost 50,000 troops killed or wounded in just three days of battle. During the
days of the Civil War, just like the days of the first Thanksgiving that the
Pilgrims celebrated, the weeds threatened to overshadow everything else. But even
in the middle of all those weeds, the Pilgrims and President Lincoln gave
thanks. They couldn’t ignore their weeds; they chose not to curse them; and it
was very difficult to make the best of them. So they decided to give thanks for
what they did have instead of
focusing on what they didn’t have! They
gave thanks for loved ones who survived cold, hunger, illnesses, and battle. They
gave thanks for friends who supported them when they were certain that they could
not get through another day. They gave thanks to God whose presence went with
them whether their days were good or bad. They gave us a good example to follow
as we struggle to live among our own weeds!
We can do that now, too. Some years ago, several people who
are Facebook friends of mine posted daily what they were thankful for during
the month of November. Now, I know these folks; and I know that they all have
weeds in their lives: some small, and some very large, indeed. You might be interested
in what they were thankful for. (I have changed some of the posts so that my
friends can remain anonymous.)
·
I am thankful for
co-workers who care enough about me to phone me when they hear there's a huge
accident that would keep me from getting home safely.
·
I am thankful for
the songbirds in our yard.
·
I am thankful for
my spouse. It’s not always easy, but it is completely worth it.
·
I am thankful for
warm jammies.
·
I am thankful for
books, because I love to read!
·
I am thankful for
conveniences – a washer, a dryer, and a dishwasher.
·
I am thankful to
spend time with my family.
·
I am thankful for
the opportunity to learn. Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to get a good
education.
·
I am thankful for
laughter.
·
I am thankful for
life.
Are you thankful for some of those things? I know that you
are, and for many others that I didn’t mention. So this year, I invite you to
give thanks despite the weeds in your life, no matter how many of them there
are and how big they are. I invite you to hang on to God’s promise that those
weeds won’t last forever, and that one day, they will all be thrown into the
fire! I invite you to join the Pilgrims, Abraham Lincoln, and all the saints
throughout the ages in giving thanks to God for all the good things in our
lives. May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving, even in the midst of the weeds!
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