How many of you have seen at least one Harry Potter movie? Are you a “Muggle?” I am sure you’ve heard that term, even if you haven’t kept up with the Harry Potter series. A Muggle is a person who lacks the magical gifts of the characters in the story. There have been eight of these fantasy films and they have grossed over $7 billion! The series of books and films have lasted long enough for some people to go from childhood to adulthood. My brother waited at a bookstore in New York at midnight to purchase the second volume for his young daughter, who was then 13 years old. Now she is 26. The books and movies are still in circulation. If you haven’t caught the last of them, “Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows: Part Two” is currently running on cable television.
These movies are hardly Walt Disney! They contain a world of strange creatures. Some are out right evil. For example, Severus Snape, Harry’s longtime nemesis. He is sometimes framed by a coffin-shaped window. There is a fire-breeding albino dragon. Then there is Harry’s arch enemy, Lord Voldermort. He is so evil people don’t even mention his name. He is called, “the name that shall not be mentioned.” (A woman, after a nasty divorce, referred to her former husband as Lord Voldermort — but that’s another story!)
What chance do the good people in the story have — Harry, Hermione, Ron? They’re so good, clean-cut, well intentioned. The forces against him are so powerful, ancient, insidious and deeply evil. The series doesn’t sugarcoat or easily push aside the threats against the good and upright. In the last episode there are some deaths of beloved characters. Close your eyes if you do not want to know — but Dumbledore dies in the last film!
With all the forces of the dark side seeming so invincible, people could hardly wait for the last episode to see how the story would end. Children, as well as adults, were hoping that goodness would triumph and evil finally be overcome. But it was clear in the film that it wasn’t going to be easy. There were struggle and pain before it was all over. For a while, the outcome was even in doubt. Wikipedia likens the plots of the Harry Potter series to Christian allegories. It is not hard to see why. They have a lot in common with today’s parable.
The parable we hear today is a tale with a similar theme. There is a field with good seed and weeds; a conflict between good and evil. The workers express concern. They ask questions similar to the ones we would ask, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?” We might have added, “Will the weeds win out at the end?
The parable reflects Jesus’ life. He is the good seed planted among us. Throughout his ministry his enemies sowed weeds against him. Even religious people, whom he wanted to win over as allies, yielded weeds. At first evil won the day; Jesus was crushed. But here’s the bottom line: the story didn’t end there. God raised Jesus from the dead. Finally, despite all doubt, goodness is the end of the story.
Someone said the other day, trying to console a woman whose husband had died, “God will never give you more than you can bear.” The parable suggests that’s not how God works. The owner plants “good seed”and is not oblivious to the presence of evil. When asked about it, his response is very clear, “An enemy has done this!” Can’t blame God when bad things happen to us. “An enemy has done this,” may not be a complete or the specific answer we would like. But it is clear we can’t blame God for the weeds.
The owner cautions workers, warning them not to be so hasty ripping up the weeds. Implied is a question that is posed to us, “Are you so sure you know which are the weeds and which is the wheat?” I love the story about Fred Astaire’s screen test. The testing director wrote his evaluation: “Can’t act. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.” Astaire had the memo framed over his fireplace. Despite our current experience — you never know.
Where does all the evil come from: the evils we struggle to protect our children from; the evil that seeps into and can mess up even our best plans to do good; and perhaps most discouraging of all, the evil that has been present in the church since its very foundation? Evil like these and so much more, can discourage and derail us. You would think that the Bible would give us a definitive answer to such an important question. But it’s almost silent on the subject. What is very clear from this parable is that the owner is not the source of the weeds. It’s not God who gives us sickness or hard times. It’s not what some people say to us when we are burdened, “God is testing your faith.”
Aren’t you glad that we don’t have to be the final judge of the world? The parable suggests someone who knows, will take care of that. Aren’t you glad the parable grants time for us to work things out in our lives? We have been given time; we haven’t been judged hastily. There is a gift of grace and time in the parable: time to change and the grace to make the changes we must make.
There is also reassurance in this parable. We are not on our own. The owner of the field has invested a lot in us and is vitally concerned about how our lives are going now. The parable is story of confidence. There is no doubt that there will be a fruitful harvest, even if in the present it’s hard to tell. The bottom line of the parable is hope — even without overwhelming proof, we can have hope.
,
The parable is for:
C married couples who have hope when they go to a marriage counselor to work through weeds in their relationship.
C college kids who have hope and during Easter break go to Appalachia to work on a school playground for kids.
C those struggling with the weeds of serious illness sewn into their bodies and have hope that God is close and is their strength.
C those trying to end an addiction or break a bad habit. Sometimes we are not sure we can do it, but we hear a promise in this parable. The owner will not let weeds triumph.
C those decent people who enter into the tangles and weeds of the political arena, hoping to make a difference for the good in the community.
At this Eucharist, along with the bread and wine, we offer the struggle we are currently involved in: trying to do the right thing and not getting discouraged despite opposition. We celebrate Eucharist, our prayer of thanks to the Owner of the field, who nourishes us with the living presence of Jesus, who was faithful to God throughout his life, despite the weeds that tried to choke the good that he was doing.