“Let both of them grow together.” Matt 13.30
So the man rushes to stop this forlorn figure from throwing himself off Chelsea Bridge.
‘Why are you trying to end it all?’
‘I’ve nothing to live for!’
‘Don’t you believe in God?’
‘Yes I do.’
‘Well that’s great - so do I! Are you a Jew or a Christian?’
‘A Christian.’
‘Me too! Are you a Protestant or a Catholic?’
‘A Protestant.’
‘What a coincidence - so am I! Anglican or Methodist?’
‘Anglican.’
‘Who’d be anything else! Does your church use the Prayer Book or Common Worship?’
‘Common Worship.’
‘Amazing. So do we! Traditional Language or Contemporary language?’
‘Contemporary.’
‘Die heretic!’
Most Christians have so much in common and yet they let so many things tear them apart and divert them from building the Kingdom
Today’s Gospel is one of the many Kingdom parables of Jesus. Remember that Sunday School definition of a parable? - an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.
And remember too that all parables have one main point. They are not allegories where you try to find meaning in every part.
It reminds me of the Welsh preacher who was getting into a lather as he described hell (not at all what this parable is about) as a place where “there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth”. A little old lady pipes up from the back – “what if you haven’t got any teeth?” “Teeth will be provided!”
So what is the main point of this parable? Well it’s not primarily about Church discipline, or church order. Matthew 18 gives instructions about how to deal with disagreements in the fellowship.
And we must also remind ourselves that the Kingdom of Heaven (Mark calls it the Kingdom of God) is about how God exercises his kingly rule, how he operates in our world here and now. The Kingdom of Heaven is not the Church, although it includes the Church.
So this parable is about that constant temptation to try and do God’s work for him; to decide who are really on the side of the angels.
And then when we’ve decided, to drive out those who are not one of us – one of God’s chosen; to dig up the weeds and consign them to the flames.
Jesus reminds us that God is patient, and although judgement will come, it will come in God’s time and in God’s way. “Let both of them grow together”, says Jesus, “until the harvest.”
Now this is not to say that we shouldn’t lock up murderers, or throw out the church treasurer who has been fiddling the books.
It’s about those areas where we have to make judgements, but where we cannot always be sure our judgements are correct.
Let’s bring this home to what’s been happening in our own Anglican Communion over the past few years and to the divisions that are already evident as 230 bishops stay away from the Lambeth Conference.
Christians disagree and fall out about nearly anything and everything. Although to be fair, this could be said about any group of people who hold strong religious, political or philosophical views. It is part of the process by which fallible human beings come to hold some common group identity, like being socialist or conservative, or Anglican or Baptist.
A key part of this process is the way in which we handle the differences, and the degree to which we demand conformity. This is at the heart of the present controversies.
Despite all the sensationalism that we read in the papers, the history of Christianity over 2000 years, running parallel to the development of the modern democracy, has demonstrated a growing degree of inclusiveness in handling differences, and a lessening concentration on exclusiveness.
We only have to look back a century or so to see how we excluded Jews and Roman Catholics from full participation in society.
Now this greater inclusiveness is not surprising, as arguably it was the Reformation in Europe in the 16th century which provided the conditions for democratic nation-states to thrive.
Some Conservative Christians such as those who met at GAFCON in Jerusalem last month, regard all this as the rottenness at the heart of liberal Christianity. They caricature Christians like many of us, as believing so little that we have no Gospel to proclaim!
Whereas, thoroughgoing liberals interpret any demand for conformity as an affront to the great god of individual freedom, and democracy with a capital D. They caricature the conservatives as mindless and arrogant.
Over 16 hundred years ago Augustine tried to give a rule for dealing with the squabbles of his own century:
[In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas,The current debate here and in the States, focussed on human sexuality and the role of women, is a debate about whether this is something ‘essential’ to Christianity or whether it is a debateable area.
In omnibus autem caritas.}
In essentials unity, In debateable areas liberty,
But in all things love.
On the role of women as priests, the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion has put structures in place (or in the case of women Bishops, is putting arrangements in hand) to allow for freedom of conscience. It’s not always a comfortable state of affairs, but with Christian charity it has allowed us to move on with the main agenda.
With regard to gay laity and clergy, we have lived with wonderful Anglican fudge and English reserve, so that we know it is tolerated in many of our churches, positively welcomed in others, and is complete anathema in some.
This too is often an uncomfortable state of affairs, but like all growing pains, it must be endured with patience.
Of course each side in these disputed areas thinks the others are the weeds. If we could just get rid of them we would have a much better harvest.
But the teaching of Jesus makes it clear that there can be no ‘pure’ church; no wholly good nation. And this is because it is made up of men and women like us who in our own lives reflect the parable of the wheat and tares.
Paul put it this way in today’s epistle:
We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. (Rom 8.22f)We are imperfect creatures in an imperfect church in an imperfect world. “Get over it!” says Jesus.
Now this is not an excuse for not bothering, for not striving to be better people; for not helping to build a more loving church and a more equitable world order.
But it is a cry from our Lord to be generous and patient and slow to make judgments about others. For like the Flower Pot Men (whom many of you remember) by making friends with little weeds, they may blossom into beautiful flowers who become our friends.
We should pray for the Bishops gathered in Lambeth over these weeks, and for those who have not gone.
And we must look to ourselves, that we don’t start identifying people as weeds that we would be rid of.
Edwin Markham’s verse is a good reminder of the royal way of love, the way of the kingdom:
They drew a circle that shut me out
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win
We drew a circle that took them in.
“Let both of them grow together,” says Jesus.
