Weeds - - everybody’s got them; and nobody likes them. They disturb site-lines; visually muddy-up an otherwise pristine-green lawn; and can be painful to step on.
I spent a bit of time over vacation (and in the early morning hours) pulling weeds in the back yard. It’s been on my mind. Also, during my vacation time, Jesus parable about the ‘Wheat and the Tares’ came round in the lectionary (Matthew 13: 24-43) – and I missed preaching on it. So, for these reasons, I’m now taking the opportunity here/now to talk about weeds- or rather, the eradication of weeds.
In the parable, the workers’ primary concern is removing the offending vegetation – and rightfully so. The question becomes: What is the most beneficial means of getting rid of weeds? The workers’ suggestion of just ripping all the weeds out of the ground was tempered with the farmer’s concern for the healthy, intended fruit growing alongside the weeds. How do we go about eliminating the weeds in our fields all the while cultivating and nurturing the good things growing in our midst?
The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, could easily talk about desires of self-indulgence, sexual vice, antagonisms, rivalry, jealousy impurity, bad temper quarrels, factions, malice, and drunkenness (Gal. 5: 17-20) as weeds, even as he speaks about the fruits of the Spirit (those things we want to encourage and cultivate: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness, and self-control). How to remove and eradicate the former (weeds) without disrupting the growth and flourishing of the later (good fruits)? Upon this, one can spend an eternity in prayer and meditation.
A couple years ago, the backyard at the manse was nothing more than a collection of weeds; the large maple tree, with its canopy shading much (most) of the backyard, prevented anything but the sparsest of grass to grow. The long-overdue removal of this tree caused an abundance of bright sunshine to warm the readily available fresh ground; weeds found a footing and went wild. These past couple of years, we’ve taken to address the presence of these weeds for the unsightly, unkempt state they are. But how?
We could have gone the Round-Up method – kill everything and start over - That seemed a bit harsh We could have gone through with a shovel and dug out each of the weeds. That’s a lotta ground and a whole lotta weeds and a whole lotta time bent over. We, instead, opted to nurture the good, healthy grass/lawn that’s growing. As the lawn has gotten thicker, greener, healthier- the weeds have found less and less ground where they can take root.
Now, it’s taken some hard work. Into this space, we’ve cut some new flower beds and a raised garden area; we’ve had to keep the weeds (and grasses) from growing here. We installed a dividing fence to keep the dog out of the garden.We have spent time bent over, pulling weeds; we’ve had to get water, consistently, on the lawn (and garden). This will be a process that never ends (cause there will always be weeds), but the healthier the yard is maintained, the fewer issues we have with weeds.
A similar dynamic can be seen in covenant communities; where healthy evidence of the Fruits of the Spirit flourish (or are being cultivated), the weedy evidence of our sinful nature is less apt to find a roothold.
Truthfully, I see this here at 1st Presbyterian Church; by bolstering, encouraging, nurturing the healthy fruits of the Spirit, those that are self-giving, I hope we are creating an environment, inhospitable for those weedy fruits of the self-indulgent variety. Will we ever be completely devoid of these ‘weeds’? No, but being aware of how to better control them, we’re less apt to be controlled by them. And we can then feel all the more free to focus on the luscious growth of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
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