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Growing Up Out in the Fields
Sermon by Rev. Sarah Buteux
for Sunday, July 21, 2002
Scripture: Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43
The parable of the Wheat and the Weeds raises some very difficult questions, not the least of which is, "Where did evil come from, and why does God let it persist?" Why does God make his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and why does he send rain down on the righteous and on the unrighteous alike? If God loves his children, the wheat that has sprouted from the seeds of his love and wisdom, why does he allow the weeds of evil to grow in our midst and entangle its roots with ours? According to the parable, even the angels, represented by the Master's servants, question the wisdom of this practice. "Where did these weeds come from"? they ask. "Don't you want us to go and gather them?" I'm sure the servants were thinking, "Wouldn't it be better for the wheat if we removed all of those pesky weeds?" But the Master says, "No. At least, not yet."
Swedenborg spent a great deal of time wrestling with these questions. We know that in the end, in spite of all the damage evil is responsible for, he did identify a value in its existence. To begin with, without evil, we would have no way of truly understanding and identifying what is good. In the Arcana he actually comes right out and says, ". . .what is good is learned by means of what is evil; in fact, the quality of the good is recognized by its opposite. All perception of any reality depends on its reaction to boundaries (formed) from opposites of different kinds and degrees" (7812, translation George Dole in a Thoughtful Soul). So, in a sense, good and evil provide a context for one another, a mutual background against which they can each be seen more clearly.
But what concerns us this morning is the question of what use evil plays in the process of our spiritual development. What good do the weeds in the field serve, if any? Why would the Master leave them there to grow? Why would God allow evil to thrive in our midst? Well, if you think about it, we would have no true freedom to choose good if good were the only choice available to us, and freedom is at the heart of true spiritual development. The fact that evil exists means we can identify what is good by comparison, and decide if goodness is something we really want to be part of, or something we really want to be part of us. Without evil, we would not have the opportunity to embrace what is good and gradually integrate it into our being of our own free will.
We are, in fact, born with a natural tendency to choose what is evil. (And I am sure that to some of you that sounds positively awful for me to even say that). But evil, at its root, simply involves loving ourselves more than God and loving ourselves more than others, and we've all been there. Swedenborgians believe that we are born into this world primarily preoccupied with our own personal needs, and life is a process that allows us through gradual stages of development to recognize that there are other needs out there just as valid, if not more valid than our own. Within his writings Swedenborg explained that this is not a tendency that God holds against us. How could he, if it is the natural condition of our existence? W e are not talking about "Original Sin" in the traditional sense. You are not born full of sin, but you are born with a serious predisposition in that direction. The good news, is that God loves us from the very beginning, in spite of our initial self-preoccupation, and he remains constantly present with us throughout our lives. His presence balances out our tendency to love ourselves over and above everything else.
The beauty of this system is this; because God is present with each and every one of us we have a choice. We are able to choose what is good, if we so desire. If left to our own devices we would always choose what made us feel good without giving a thought to how our choice might effect others. But God's presence with us means that we can freely choose between loving selfishly or loving selflessly. Our ability to discern and access what is good and what is evil in equal measure allows us the opportunity to truly wrestle with the consequences of both sides of an issue. The more we choose what is selfish, the more selfish and evil we become. The more we choose what is selfless, the more loving and good we become. In short, our spiritual development is a matter of personal preference, subsidized, if you will, made possible by the power of God. We choose what we want to love most and gradually come to love most that which we choose - and if that isn't sentence structure inspired by Swedenborg, I don't know what is.
Okay, so far I've been focusing on what happens inside an individual head of Wheat, inside your soul, and so far it sounds like spiritual growth is an interior, individual process. But let's get back to the field, because curiously enough, spiritual growth (even though it is taking place inside you) is best achieved in the context of community. We, as human beings, were not meant to develop in isolation, but like the wheat in today's parable, we grow up best in the company of others. The challenge, the reality, is that we are all out here growing together in the field, but it is a mixed field, full of good and evil, and therefore full of choices.
Our growth as children of the kingdom takes place in and amongst the people of this world, the good and the bad. And I'll let you in on a little textual secret. One of the hidden lessons in our parable today is the fact that at first, it can sometimes be hard to tell the difference. You will notice in our parable that the enemy sowed seeds of weeds long before the servants became aware of their presence. This is because the Greek word we translate as weed, has a more specific name. It is, in fact, a specific type of plant called Bearded Darnel, and in the early stages of its growth it is indistinguishable from wheat. However, by the time the plant has matured enough to be recognized for what it really is, it's roots are inextricably entangled with those of the wheat. You can not remove one, without removing the other. You cannot remove the evil weeds without also damaging the good wheat.
As humans we are often quick to judge. We want to remove the obstacles in our way, get rid of, or avoid, people who disagree with us. We want to make life as simple, as easy, and as straightforward as possible. And unfortunately, many people throughout history have taken it upon themselves to choose who belongs in the field and who should be weeded out. Hitler is an extreme and tragic example of a person who felt he had the wisdom to discern who should be allowed to live in his perfect world. He sought to destroy everyone he judged to be offensive. But one of the lessons for us today is to recognize that it is not our place to judge others. Every person you encounter, good or bad, is a person you can learn from. Our task is not to judge how others should live their lives, for that is between them and God. Our task is to think and judge for ourselves how we should act in our own lives and in response to others. By weighing what we see, feel, and discern, in the context of community, we are given the chance to choose whether we will let what is good grow in us or what is evil.
Many Christians have questioned the wisdom of this arrangement, just as the servants of the master did in the parable. They have sought various ways to either avoid evil or destroy it. Those people who seek to avoid evil, by attempting to leave the field altogether, typically withdraw themselves from life in the world. They seek a new place where they can meditate on what is good and holy in solitude, or within the confines of a like minded community. They seek to be holy by removing themselves from temptations. But temptations, or more accurately, the over coming of temptations, is what enables us to grow. It is very difficult to learn how to love others as God loves them if you never actually interact with others. Patience, forbearance, generosity, kindness, tolerance, love, humility, compassion, these virtues cannot be learned in a vacuum. Can you really call yourself patient if no one ever tests your patience, or generous if you have no one with which to share or withhold what you most value? Virtues need to be learned out in the field, amongst our brothers and sisters, our neighbors, and even, if not most especially, amongst our enemies. Jesus says that if you love those who love you - Big deal! It's loving those people you don't particularly like and who don't particularly like you that is the mark of a God-like person.
So much for the people who try to avoid the weeds, but what of the people who want to destroy them. Earlier I used Hitler as a misguided example of a person who thought he had the right to rip out whole groups of people, but some of you will say that there are times when we need to actively take up arms, like the allies did in WWII and do our very best to destroy evil. Our country is in fact currently engaged in a war against an entire axis of evil. And let me preface this by acknowledging that this is a very delicate and tricky question, and I guess the answer lies in an even larger one, "What is your ultimate goal?" Jesus said you ought to, "love your enemy and bless those that persecute you". And I will tell you right here, right now, that that is perhaps the most difficult injunction in the whole Christian Gospel.
Should we actively seek to destroy evil in this world? Well, the Master is not removing the weeds and he's not allowing his servants to either. I believe we are stuck with evil in our midst because evil isn't some abstract concept, and it's not a man in a full length red suit with horns and a tail. Evil is people who have as much a right to their choice as we have to ours, and punishing them, executing them, wiping them from the face of the earth, isn't going to change that fact. There will always be evil people in the world, or maybe I should say there will always be people in the world who at times embrace evil, and I have been one of them. If a person makes an evil choice, a destructive choice, a choice that hurts you, or disrespects you, what good is accomplished by destroying that person, ripping them out at the roots? The only way good can truly come out of evil is if the person who initially made the wrong choice has the opportunity to repent, try again, and honestly make the right one. They need to recognize their wrong and allow God to effect a change of heart within themselves. And you can't force that choice on a person from the outside, it needs to come from within.
Gandhi understood this, and he got the idea of non-violent resistance to evil from Jesus. Martin Luther King Jr. picked it up from them both. But they are such big, almost archetypal examples at this point, that they can sometimes be hard to relate too. So let me share with you the story of a lesser known man, Rev. John Perkins. According to Philip Yancey in his book "Soul Survivor", John Perkins, a black minister in the South "lived through the worst nightmares of the civil rights movement"(Yancey, Soul Survivor, p 31). He started a church, then a Bible Instate, a radio program, followed by a health clinic, a co-op, a vocational training center, a recreational center for youth, as well a tutoring, after-school, and housing program. But when he started a voter registration campaign and led an economic boycott to protest police brutality in downtown Mendenhall, MI, he crossed a line. He was accosted by over a dozen white police men and beaten so severely that doctors had to remove 2/3 of his stomach and it took him 18 months to recover.
Perkins has said that:
"That time was without a doubt my deepest crisis of faith. It was time for me to decide if I really did believe what I had so often professed, that only in the love of Christ, not in power of violence, is there any hope for me or the world. I began to see how hate could destroy me. In the end I had to agree with Dr. King that God wanted us to return good for evil. 'Love your enemy', Jesus said. And I determined to do it. It's a profound and mysterious truth, Jesus concept of love overpowering hate. I may not see it in my lifetime. But I know it's true. Because on that bed, full of bruises and stitches, God made it true to me. I got a transfusion of hope. I couldn't give up. We were just getting underway in Mendenhall" (p 35) Many years later Perkins found himself back in Mississippi, where he spear headed a movement for racial reconciliation, often appearing with "Thomas Tarrants, a KKK operative who served time for murder, got converted in prison, and now pastors a multiracial church in Washington, D.C." (35).
Perkins knew he couldn't force change. He could only love change into being. No laws, or prison terms, or violent acts could shake the sin of racism out of his white neighbors. Only loving them, even to the point of death, could effect the kind of change needed. Not a law change, not a violent change, not a forced change, but a love change . . . a change of heart. If God were to rip all of the evil out of the world he would rip all of us out right along with it. Rather than be overcome by evil, we need to recognize it for what it is and use it well. Every temptation, evil action, or difficult person gives us the opportunity to rise above rather than respond in kind. It is not our place to judge, seek vengeance, or condemn, but to love, seek peace, and a means to co-exist even if we cannot agree. You can't force change on people, any more than God is willing to force change on you. You can only love them and hope they choose to change. All you can do is love, not the evil, but the person, and love yourself enough to choose a higher path.
In the words of Dr. King, "Hatred and Bitterness can never cure the disease of fear; only love can do that. Hatred paralyzes life, love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illumines it."
Amen
Copyright 2002 by Rev. Sarah Buteux
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