Let Them Grow Side by Side

Parable of Wheat and Weeds

July 19^th 2026

Scripture: Romans 8:12-25 & Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

         How do we know what is good and what is bad? Who gets to decide? Especially when what is good for some is bad for others and vice versa, depending on a LOT of factors, for example, biology, where you were raised, in what culture and environment you were raised in, and what religion or spiritual understanding you were taught. I’ve sometimes been told that I think in too big of terms, that I need to narrow my scope, but I disagree. What good is the gospel if it cannot span the diversity of all time and space?

         I’m not sure if there is a universal truth of what is good and what is bad, what is moral or immoral, because again, it’s all relative. Humans make up the rules under which we live; always have and always will. But what I think can help us in our discernment is what Jesus taught us throughout his time here on earth. Jesus himself proclaimed he came to liberate and redeem so that all might have abundant life. Instead of judging everything as good or b

ad, might we instead judge everything by its ability to give or take away life? My question to everything is not, is this good or right, but is this LIFE giving? My question to everything is not, is this bad or wrong, but does this deplete my life or the life of another? In this, I do believe there is a universal truth.

         When we look at this parable of the wheat and the weeds, there is not one singular truth here. To some, this passage gives them the authority to label people either wheat or weeds. To some, this passage is proof of the rapture, of the apocalyptic event when Jesus will return. To some, this passage is proof that the devil is at work in the world. For others, like myself, not a single one of those interpretations is life-giving. So, if Jesus came that all might have abundant life, what might he be trying to tell us here?

         Well, as many of you know, I love the Indigenous Proverb about the wolves. It says that inside of each of us are two wolves, a loving wolf and a raging wolf; what matters is which one we feed. This reminds me of Jesus’ parable, because are not each and every one our souls a field of wheat and weeds? Nothing in life is either/or, rather everything is both/and. There are no perfectly good people and there are no totally evil people either. We are all both/and. We can generate life and we can deplete it; it all comes down to our decisions and the lives we cultivate.

         Unfortunately, this means, we are not off the hook. There is no invisible war raging around us against Jesus and the devil, there is just the war raging within us and the choices we make and the thoughts we give into every day. You cannot burn all the weeds without harming the wheat, and you can’t yield 100% wheat without unleashing massive amounts of harmful chemicals in your environment that will, again, not just hurt you, but others in your area. The question is not how do we all become fields of wheat alone, the question is, how do we cultivate a balanced and healthy life for ourselves and the common good? 

         Now, if the devil didn’t sow the seeds and the weeds are a natural part of all of our lives, you may be frustrated that this does not fit your analysis of where evil comes from; I get that. I spent many years deep diving and studying this very conundrum, and I hate to tell you, all I’ve come up with are more questions. Like so much of our faith, there is no direct answer; it’s a mystery! So, while we can never answer, where does evil come from or why do evil things happen, what we can answer is this, how am I going to respond to this act of evil before me? Or as Rev. Robert Farrar Capon puts it, “Whose methods do you propose to use in dealing with this problem?”

         We are people who proclaim to follow the way of Jesus, thus our methods of living must mirror his own. Jesus said that he who lives by the sword dies by the sword. Violence was never the answer. Violence, even in what society seems to tout as acts of righteous vengeance, ‘I need to avenge so and so,’ or ‘right this wrong,’ violence just begets violence. Jesus, I believe, comes in human form to tell and show humanity that we got it all wrong with the theology of retribution. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind! The method Jesus replaces retribution with is the theology of the cross: turn the other cheek, suffer with those who suffer, forgive endlessly, shake the dust off your feet and move on, love unconditionally, and make peace.

         If these are the methods of Jesus, I hardly doubt the message he is trying to share in this parable is to grab a machete and just whack the whole field down – burn half and store the other half in the barn! Jesus says, let them grow side by side. ‘But Jesus, the weeds, they’ll choke out the wheat!’ Peace be with you, Jesus says.. because Jesus already knows that love wins. That life begets life and no matter how many weeds creep up, abundant life will prevail, why? Because God is the gardener, not us.

So why are we even concerned about judging the wheat from the weeds anyway? That’s not our department. Our department is choosing everyday how to think and therefore act in the footsteps of Jesus. Which ultimately means, our department is asking ourselves everyday, ‘how can I cultivate love?’ both internally and externally, so that life blooms without worry of the weeds. If we spend our days angry at the weeds, we let them choke out our compassion; we feed them like we feed the raging wolf. If we simply let the weeds be and feed the loving wolf, the wheat will grow abundantly. The weeds will always be there, but they don’t have to take over. Perhaps if we can stop demonizing them, we might find the weeds have some life-giving properties as well.. for nothing God has created is entirely, 100% bad.

Amen; thanks be to God!

Sources of Inspiration:

Richard Rohr's sermon on the parable of wheat and weeds

& Robert Farrar Capon's book on the Parables of the Kingdom