Wheat and weeds growing together

Can evil be rooted out? If so, how? And whose job is it? Can a community purify itself of corrupt practices or 'bad' people?

Penelopepiscopal has posted a sermon today on Jesus' parable of the wheat and the weeds, which was today's gospel from Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43.

She suggest that in this parable several realities confront us.

"First, good and evil, as well as good and bad, and good and not so good, exist side by side.
Second, they are hard to tell apart until they are in full fruit.
Third, the good often gets damaged when someone tries to root out the bad."

She raises difficult questions such as why is there evil in the world and what are we supposed to do about it? Is Jesus telling us in this parable that we must sit and do nothing when bad things happen?

She concludes:

"And so, Jesus says, don't spend your time trying to root out the people you think are weeds in your community. Good people will get hurt in the effort. And it's not your job anyway. Your job is to work at building up the kingdom as well as you can, to bear good fruit yourself, trusting that in the end, God will make things right."

Do read the full text. I found it very helpful.

Another helpful reflection on the same parable can be found at Preacher Woman

Image Credit: Wheat in Hulah Valley, Israel. Photo from Wikipedia.