We are Stuck on the Wrong Question

Matthew 13:24-30,36-43

Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” 

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

What are we to do about evil?  That seems to be the question.  Evil IS a thing!  Whether you choose to acknowledge it or you choose to pull your covers or cope up over your head and ignore it… Evil remains a thing either way.  So what are we supposed to do about it?  God, we are told, is only sowing good seeds, so there is clearly an “enemy”… an “evil one”… the “devil”… whatever… planting evil among God’s good.  But again, “What are we supposed to do about it?”

We see “the enemy” sows evil in the tricksiest of ways.  The weeds sown in this parable were a particular, poisonous weed that looks EXACTLY like wheat as it begins to grow in the field.  Those who sow evil in this world plant it knowing it will not spread without help.  So they sow evil in a way that tricks those of us who are inclined to fight against evil into unwittingly helping them with their dirty work.  In our zeal, we end up inadvertently doing harm along with the good… pulling up wheat along with the weeds.  

And while many get duped into helping spread evil while trying to do good, others… the ones Jesus calls “children of the evil one”… are recruited to spread evil by way of trauma, manipulation, lies, and fear.  Still the question remains… What ARE we to do about evil?  

Well, first, it seems this parable teaches us we are NOT to hide from it or ignore it.  Both farmer and slaves all saw what happened.  They recognized what it was, talked to each other about it, and they named it out loud, without fear, calling out clearly: “An enemy has done this.”  

So we too are to bravely look out the window and see it!  We are to recognize the evil and publicly bring it to the attention of others.  We are to name it in a Jack Webb, “just the facts, ma’am” sort of way, that neither sensationalizes the evil nor sweeps it under the rug.  We are not to worry about who might get angry or about institutional self-preservation when we point it out.  We are simply to shout it out!  “That is evil.”  

But calling it out?  That can’t be all… can it?  Come on!  What are we to DO about evil?  Well, this is where this particular parable becomes excruciatingly hard because this parable teaches us that once we’ve seen evil, recognized it, and publicly called it out… we are… to let it be.  You heard that right.  We are to let it be.  

Oh, I know!  I don’t like it either!  The quote* “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good folks to do nothing” pounds on the inside of my head in protest!  Yet this parable INSISTS that even those of us who set out to be as careful, diligent, and attentive as is humanly possible as we work to rip evil out of the world… we will ALL inevitably, albeit unintentionally, end up doing more harm than good!  The best thing we can do, this parable INSISTS, is… to let it be.  

Jesus’ explanation is really clear.  The work of separating evil from good is work that is well beyond our mortal pay grade.  It is work only the angels have the skills to accomplish, and it is work to be done at a time determined by, and under the direction of, the Divine.  

BUT… BUT… BUT… does that mean there is NOTHING that WE are to DO to fight against the evil overtaking our world!?!?  Jesus’ answer seems maddeningly clear. “NO”… there is nothing we are to do to fight against the evil in our world beyond seeing it, drawing others’ attention to it, and then publicly and fearlessly naming it.  Going head to head with evil, trying to overpower evil, pushing back against evil… all of it will only assist the evil in making the situation worse.

So, that’s it then!?  The answer to the question, “What should we do to fight against evil?” is just… let it be?  Really?  Really!?

Really.  But “What should we do to fight against evil?” is not the only question we can ask.  I think Jesus told this parable to get us asking a different question.  To get us to stop asking “how do we fight AGAINST evil?” and instead start asking a better question, like… “what can we do… FOR good?”

While it turns out there is nothing for us to do when it comes to fighting AGAINST evil, there is an abundance of things we can do when it comes to working FOR good!  We can love our neighbor.  We can do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly.  We can lift up the widow and care for the orphan, feed the hungry, heal the sick, and welcome the foreigner.  

Evil’s nature is to invite us into fight after fight after fight knowing that all the time we spend fighting evil, will be time we are NOT working for the good that Jesus knows can actually transform the world.  AND… every time we accept Evil’s invitation to a fight, we will also inevitably be ripping out some of the good, even while we’re trying our hardest to only get rid of evil!  

This parable is teaching us that fighting against evil head to head is not our fight.  As hard as it is to hear, we need to let that fight go.  We are neither called to that fight, nor are we equipped for that fight and when we get drawn into that fight, it always, always, always makes things worse.  

This parable tells us plainly, fighting against evil is angel-level work.  Jesus himself is asking us to let the angels take that fight!  Our work… beyond fearlessly seeing and naming and calling out the evil that we see, is NOT to work AGAINST evil, but to work FOR the good.  We are to do as John Wesley is often quoted as saying**… “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”  Let anyone with ears listen.  Amen.  

* Quote is often attributed to Edmund Burke without any evidence he really said it.

**No one can find where Wesley said this in this way all at one time.  It is probably a quotable consolidation that developed over time from things he often said.